14 hours ago
I swam with the world's largest fish – and it might be the coolest thing I've ever done
Swimming with a shark big enough to swallow you whole (but won't) might sound mad. Yet, after chatting with travellers from across the country, I can confirm it's one of the biggest bucket list experiences in Australia. That 'shark' is technically a fish too, and the largest in the world, for that matter.
Like many others, swimming with whale sharks at the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Coast was at the top of my 2025 bucket list. Stretching 300 kilometres along Western Australia's coastline, Ningaloo is one of the world's largest fringing reefs – and the most reliable spot to have an encounter with these gentle giants. The season typically runs from March to July, but last year, sightings continued all the way through November.
Swimming with whale sharks is a bucket list item for two main reasons. Firstly, it's not cheap. The Ningaloo Reef has only a dozen licensed tour operators, with a maximum of ten swimmers allowed in the water with the shark at any one time. That exclusivity means tours book out weeks ahead, with day trips like the one I took with Exmouth Dive and Whalesharks Ningaloo priced at $575. In my opinion, it's absolutely worth the splurge to experience this in an ethical and sustainable way – unlike some spots in Thailand and the Philippines.
Secondly, Ningaloo Reef isn't just around the corner from a capital city. Whale shark tours run daily during the season, departing from Exmouth and Coral Bay (an 11 to 13-hour drive from Perth). The nearest airport, Learmonth, only has direct flights from Perth and the Cocos Keeling Islands, and from there it's a 60-minute drive to the jetty where the tours depart. But trust me, it's worth the trip!
The Ningaloo Coast has developed a safe and sophisticated system for whale shark swims, with spotter planes locating the sharks from above and directing boats to their location. My boat of 20 hopeful snorkellers was split into two smaller groups and started the day with a practice snorkel in the inner reef. The whole process is incredibly organised and accessible, whether you're a first-time snorkeller or an experienced diver.
So, how do the swims actually work? Pretty much, when the skipper is alerted of a nearby sighting, they shout out: 'Get ready!' That means swimmers need to gear up in their wetsuits, flippers and snorkel masks, then line up in formation at the back of the boat. When the skipper yells 'Go, go go!' the first group of ten plonks into the water, treading in a straight line while waiting for the cue to look below. Meanwhile, the second group waits onboard, ready to be dropped in the shark's path a few hundred metres ahead.
As I dive below the surface for my first encounter, I immediately feel dwarfed by the size of the whale shark – which somehow appears out of nowhere. We're told this one is almost five metres – roughly the size of a minibus – but the largest ever reported in the Ningaloo Reef measured a staggering 12 metres. What really shocks me is the size of the fish's mouth – we're later told it's about 1.5 metres wide, lined with more than 3,000 tiny teeth arranged in 300-odd rows. Don't be alarmed, though! These gentle giants have no interest in us humans. They're harmless filter feeders whose diet consists of plankton, krill and fish eggs.
Whale sharks can dive as deep as 2,000 metres, and after just 20 seconds, our first sighting disappears into the dark blue below. But it's only minutes before we're back in the water for round two. This next fish is even bigger, and we swim beside it at a safe distance (three metres is the legal minimum) until we can't keep up. That could be anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes, depending on your fitness level.
I'm in awe of the whale sharks' effortless grace, and mesmerised by their gills gently flapping open and closed as they glide just below the ocean's surface. It's fun to spot smaller fish hitching a free ride on their blue and grey spotted fins, offering a cleaning service in return.
Over the next two hours, we swim five more times alongside four different whale sharks. Every time we climbed back on the boat, we had to be ready to get back in the water as soon as another whale was spotted – which for us, was mere minutes apart. It's surreal, but exhausting, and we were all huffing and puffing after every swim. Half the group had called it quits by the final round, but I couldn't resist one last snorkel. 'It's not every day you get to swim alongside the world's largest fish,' I said to the person beside me – and we both agreed, it was perhaps the coolest thing we've ever done.
