What better experience is there than to swim alongside whales. It's probably one thing that's on everyone's bucket list and now, it might be a possibility. Recently, the Western Australian government allowed some of its local operators to offer humpback whale tours for travelers.
According to The Telegraph, the whale tours are now available for guests both locally and internationally. People can now swim with whales in the Ningaloo Marine Park. However, snorkeling is only allowed because scuba diving is too intrusive.
It's indeed a unique and once in a lifetime experience to swim with whales that are why the tours would last for about four hours to give travelers enough time to enjoy the experience. According to Sunreef Mooloolaba, each trip would cater a maximum of 20 people and they will be oriented on what to do.
What would happen is that after a whale is sighted, the boat will stop at about 100m away from the whale? If the conditions are safe, the participants will be allowed to swim in a designated area and it's up to the whale if they would come or swim away.
It's an all-natural experience and the conditions are not forced just to cater to the participants' requests of swimming too close to the whales. Not to mention that humpbacks are fast swimmers so there's no guarantee that you will get the best view. But if a whale is not sighted, refunds are also given to the participants.
The prices are a little high since the costs of operations are also included. According to Australia's Coral Coast, whale tours would cost around $350-$400 dollars depending on the tour operators. Prices would also differ for adults and children.
Swimming with humpback whales in Australia is indeed a must try for everyone. Humpback whales were considered endangered species back then but with the increasing population, it's a good opportunity to have people witness these majestic mammals and promote awareness that these creatures should be taken care of.
