Mum's incredible encounter 1km off Aussie coast: 'It was magical'
Jo was enjoying a sunset paddle along one of Australia's most picturesque stretches of coastline on Western Australia's Ningaloo Reef when the three-and-a-half metre manta ray glided right by her and began slapping the top of the water.
Having spent the past several months in the region, Jo and her family are lucky enough to have encounters with marine life on a near-daily basis, but the mum's most recent encounter will be a lifelong memory.
"It was such an unexpected sight," she told Yahoo News of the exciting encounter.
The Ningaloo Reef is one of only two places in Australia where they can be spotted year-round. Despite this, Jo said that she hasn't seen any mantas in the waters near Winderabandi Point, where the family are camping, for several months.
"It was very relaxed, almost like it was resting and taking a bit of a break in the bay," she said, adding that at one point she even fell in the water, and the manta wasn't remotely spooked.
"It hung around for quite a while," she said.
Ningaloo attracts thousands of tourists every year thanks to its amazing marine megafauna, including manta rays, whale sharks, humpback whales, turtles, and even the elusive dugong.
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A post shared by Jo + Ben | Adventure Travel Family (@liveyonder)
Jo described watching the animal splash about beside her as "really relaxing". "To see them move in the water is quite magical," she said. "They have such a calm nature about them."
However, returning back to shore after paddling 1km out to sea on her own felt "a little sketchy" in the dark.
The amazing sighting comes after another family travelling in the same area captured a similar scene off the coast earlier this year. Renee Pike and her husband David, couldn't believe their eyes when they spotted a manta ray do a backflip in the water.
Despite countless daily encounters on the reef, Dr Amelia Armstrong, principal researcher at the Ningaloo Manta Project, described what Renee and David saw as a very "lucky moment". While breaches themselves aren't rare, she said catching one on film is "less common".
Dr Armstrong was able to identify the animal in Renee and David's footage as a manta nicknamed The Hoff. The stunning creature was first photographed in Coral Bay in 2005, and has been spotted more than 50 times around the region since then.
She urged everyone to upload their footage to the Ningaloo Manta Project's citizen science program which collects thousands of photos over the years, helping scientists keep track of the rays that call the Ningaloo home.
"Every sighting adds a valuable piece to the puzzle of understanding these animals and their mysterious lives along our coastline," Dr Armstrong said.
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Family's caravan adventure was 'best decision'
Originally from Adelaide, Jo, her partner Ben and their two daughters packed up their belongings and hit the road two-and-a-half years ago and have not looked back.
"It's one of the best decisions," she said of their nomadic lifestyle, with both parents able to continue to work while on the road.
WA's Ningaloo coast has a special place in the family's heart. "It feels completely new to learn new skills in a new environment," she said. The mum has thrown herself into learning new skills, including diving, spear fishing, and driving the family's tinny.
"This life can look extremely glamorous but anything worth doing comes with serious ups and downs," she said. "If it were easy, everyone would be doing it."
She urged anyone who is interested in exploring Australia's vast land to give it a try. "Give it a go if you want to try it," she said.
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