We started our day early to catch the whale sharks at the shores of Oslob. When we arrived at the whale shark watching area, we attended a short orientation before interaction with the gentle giants.
Here's an illustration of the guidelines
We were instructed not to put some sunblock for the chemicals might harm the whale shark itself. So if in case that you arrived at the venue with sunblock, don't worry, there is a shower area for you to rinse off. A young girl (maybe on her highschool already) led the orientation and I was amazed that she speaks English fluently. Good job! There were a lot of foreigners in the area, mostly Koreans, that day. After the orientation, we proceeded to the shore to wear our life jackets. If you did not avail of a tour package, you needed to pay a fee for this but I am not sure how much it was because our Oslob trip was pre-paid for 3,000php/person (including accomodation, transfers and activities in Day 1).
Sunday morning at the shore where the small boats are parked
Each boat can carry around 10 persons and the interaction is for 30 minutes. This is already enough for you to enjoy swimming with the whale sharks because there are plenty during the morning. I remember our trip in Donsol, Sorsogon where the whale sharks were known to be in their shores as well. It was way back 2011 and we had a hard time to see a single whale shark. We were only able to see one and not that close though. Good thing that one of the fishermen of Oslob was able to discover that whale sharks can be driven in their shores by feeding them during the morning.
Heading towards the interaction area
The sun was greeting us intensely that morning and was worried that I might catch a sunburn. So you might want to wear a long-sleeved rash guard to somehow avoid your skin being burned.
The interaction area was actually just a paddles away from the shore which I did not expect. Ready your noses for a not-so-good smell of the sea because of the food of the whale sharks. Once you're at the area, you can just jump off the boat then just wait for the whale sharks to appear around you. They are EVERYWHERE! Haha. Just make sure to keep a 4-meter distance from them as part of the guidelines. In the middle of the area, there are fishermen who keeps feeding small fishes to the gentle giants to make them stay. I wonder why they were called the gentle giants. I remember one of the whale sharks almost touched me with its mouth but it was sensitive enough to swam away from me. See? They are harmless that they know when something unusual is coming their way. So don't be afraid.
We enjoyed swimming around and observing the main attraction of the moment. Good thing that 2 of my friends brought their GoPro and we were able to document our encounter. (Shout out to Ma'am Jacq and Dreb!)
By the way, should you not have any underwater cameras to record your encounter, they have some at the orientation area that are for rent. Diving gears are also available for rent at the area.
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