Saying Hello to Oslob's Whalesharks

After we did our Badian Canyoneering we had a three hour ride going to the town of Oslob which is very famous for its whalesharks. This is the main reason why we went to Cebu. My friend wants to swim with the whalesharks. Unlike other places in the Philippines, the whalesharks in Oslob can be considered as a domesticated animal of the town. The whalesharks no longer leaves the place. You may also see whalesharks in Donsol and in Sorsogon however these are migratory whalesharks and only passes by these provinces in certain months which means there are chances that you will not see them when you go there. In Oslob, there is a guarantee that you can see and have an encounter with these giant creatures.

We woke up at 5AM to prepare for our whaleshark encounter.Our guide said that there were a lot of tourist the other day that the queue number reached to more than a hundred. We were hoping that at least we will be able to see the whalesharks early because we have other plans for that day.

There were already lots of people when we reached the place for the whalesharks encounter. Everyone is required to attend a brief orientation wherein they discussed the guidelines and necessary precautions for the activity. 

Boats are lined up for the whalesharks encounter. They have a very systematic way of ensuring that everyone will get a chance to see the whalesharks.

The whaleshark encounter is about 30 minutes which enough for you to see these gentle sea giants. It is ideal that you have a underwater camera so that you have opportunities to capture the image of the whaleshark and your encounter with it. However, if you don't have a underwater or waterproof camera, you may rent a camera at the Whaleshark Center. The boatmen will took your pictures with the whalesharks.

There is a boat that give feeds to the whalesharks. Tourists are not allowed to give foods to the whalesharks. Tourists are not also allowed to get near to them. We were very lucky that there are several instances that the whaleshark came near to us and brushes our feet with its tail. It swims quite fast that we were just shocked when we saw it just beneath us or at our back.

The boatmen willl usually help you go underwater and will take your picture with the whaleshark as your background. It was a very nice experience however I wouldn't say that it's worth the peso we paid. Still, an encounter with the whalesharks is something that should be part of anyone's bucket list and is something worth remembering.