Tuesday 20^th March, 2012

Early in the morning we went with a bus to the harbour. First we boarded a glass boat were we could see the floor of the sea for just 3 minutes. Then we boarded the excursion boat. About 20 persons took part of the trip. Through big waves we went to the reef. Equipped with snorkel and flippers we went into the water. Immediately I got a bit panic and thought: “what I am doing here!” Every time while breathing in I got salt water into the mouth. I let me bring back to the tour boat by the safety boat. I explained the problem and I got first an explanation how to breath. As I told them that I think that the snorkel has a defect, I got a new one. After I did not have any problems anymore and I could maze at the beautiful corals and fishes. I am fascinated every time of the world below the water, I also completely loose the sense of time. After a small snack we continued. We were looking for the biggest fish of the world. This is the whale shark which can get up to 18 m long. They come to the Ningaloo Reef when the corals release their seeds in March and April. I felt a bit crumbly as these animals are gigantic. On my first jump into the water I just got a glimpse and the whale shark was gone. The second time I could watch the guy from the side. There were another two swims where I could see the animal very good. It was impressive to swim with them. We saw 5 whale sharks and the sixth one dived away as soon a we spotted him. After lunch we went to another beautiful snorkelling place. Here I could peacefully observe the fishes. This was a very impressive day for me.