The boat is squared away and swinging on a mooring off Marina del Ray on Gili Gede. Nik and I have traded in the small spaces of Sea Otter for a beautiful spacious villa in Kuta Mandalika on the south coast of Lombok. Before we decamped from the boat however we had one last excursion that Nik wanted to do, which was to see the whale sharks in Saleh Bay in Sumbawa.
We had sailed across the top Sumbawa last month
on the transit from Komodo to Lombok and passed by the head of Saleh Bay. Nik had read about the whale shark tours but
we decided not to do the tour as it involved a round trip detour of around 60NM
which may not sound like much but would be about 10 to 12 hrs of motoring. However having since talked to some other
cruisers who did the tour and hearing their experiences Nik decided we should would
try again but not on the boat.
On Thursday 16th July we drove to
Lombok Airport and then flew to Sumbawa where we were collected for another 2hr
drive across the island to Labuan Jambu on the southern shores of Saleh Bay. The whale shark tours commence really early
morning and so we checked into our accommodation, had a bite to eat with a warm
beer and went to bed. At 3:30 am we were
up and had time for a coffee before being whisked off to the jetty meeting
point. At around 4:00 am we boarded an open
boat with around a dozen others and motored out into the bay. The boat was set up with blankets and pillows
so you could lie on the deck and sleep some as the transit was about two
hrs. We had to motor out to the spots
where the whale sharks are enticed to the surface. The way this is done is that the squid
fishing boats – those ones with the massive outriggers and lights – which are
moored, attract the whale sharks by chumming with krill. Supposedly this is only
a small amount of the whale sharks daily intake. The sharks come to the surface to feed and
will usually stay around for a couple of hours.
We reached the first squid boat around dawn and
it was mayhem. There were about four
tour boats around the squid boat including a massive phinisi and a plethora of
fins and snorkels crowded around the chumming station on the squid boat and a
whale shark trying to get a feed – I was ready to call it quits at that
stage. Luckily after a quick look around
our boat pushed on for another 20mins to a second squid boat where there were
initially no other boats and even when a couple more turned up they were
relatively small with few passengers.
We moored up off the back of the squid boat. There were already two whale sharks around the boat. They hang vertical in the water with their huge mouths just breaking the surface taking in the krill being thrown into the water by the crew on the squid boat. They hang like that for a few minutes then sink down, swim around and come back to the feeding station. The sharks can remain around the squid boat for a couple of hours so there is enough time to swim, have a break and a cup of coffee onboard and go back in again. As an extra, the tour used a see-through kayak and drone to get some visually stunning photos. Nik had organized to do this and whilst she could not see the sharks lying in the kayak the photos are pretty impressive.
Nik swimming with the whale Sharks
Being in the water close to the sharks is pretty amazing. They do not even seem to notice you are there. As they are feeding they remain relatively still so you get a good look at them.
After a couple of hours we motored back into
port and Nik and I reversed our journey back to Lombok and Sea Otter. All in all it is a memorable tour however having
now experienced it I am not so sure of the ethics. Whilst they say the feeding of the sharks is
not detrimental to them as the amounts are only a fraction of what they eat I
tend to believe other reports I have read which says it is detrimental as it
alters their feeding habits. Nik and I
were lucky enough to swim with the whale sharks in Ningaloo a few years ago and
that was completely different and a completely wild experience. In
addition, the numbers of people in the water at the same time with no real
management can turn the whole experience into a bit of a tourist circus.
Once back onboard we had a couple of days to
clean the boat and I installed a new AIS unit as the one which I had shut down
when I was troubleshooting it earlier this month. I also have been lucky to find crew for the
sail up to Malaysia. There was a notice
at Marina del Ray from a young woman which I followed up on. Abi is a travel blogger living in Gili Meno with
some sailing experience and a heap of enthusiasm and has a few weeks to kill. We met up in Kuta for dinner and she will be
great.
On the 20th July we left the boat
again and headed to Kuta. Kuta is on the
south coast of Lombok and is the centre of the surf scene on the island as it
is the south coast that is exposed to the trades, especially this time of
year. The villa we hired is beautiful
and we met up with Graeme, a friend of ours who has flown up from Perth to spend
10 days with us. After being on the boat
for the best part of five months it is very nice to move ashore for a few days
and have all the amenities we take for granted normally such as a big bed, a
front opening fridge, fresh water showers, convenient shops and services. We are spending our time relaxing, relaxing
some more, eating and doing yoga. Graeme
is an avid yoga practitioner and he has inspired Nik and I. We hired scooters to have a look around for a few days also.
Kuta is quite busy as it’s the high season but still no where near the level of Bali. The town is on a large bay and built around a main street which runs up from the jetty to the hills that surround the town. It is a bustling place full of holidaymakers and surfers mainly from Europe it seems. There are many low rise villa’s, hotels and guest houses and lots of restaurants both local and international. It has the same Bali feel but less developed with no nightclubs or sports bars and, for me anyway, more enjoyable. There is also a motor racing track here which hosts an annual international GP event. We will have a look around Kuta and then move across to Bali for a week before I re-join the boat for the sail to Malaysia and Nik flies home.
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