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Excited to see a whale shark today... I hope!
The staff at SUB AQUA DiveCenter did tell us there is no guarantee but whale sharks are year-round on the outer reef of South-Ari Atoll. Maybe we get lucky.

The day starts with the breakfast buffet at Angaga Island Resort & Spa. In the early morning, from 7.30am, it is usually the divers at breakfast. This means a leisurely breakfast then to the diving dhoni at 08:45am. The breakfast on Angaga is great - fresh fruits, cereal selection, breads, cheeses, Maldivian breakfast (Daal curry) and an egg station for eggs cooked just as you request.

There was an atmosphere of excitement at breakfast already. From the restaurant, you can look out over the crystal clear azure waters of Angaga's shallow lagoon. Further out to sea, are there whale sharks?

At 08:45am we board the dhoni and set up our diving equipment already. The instructors made a good briefing to make sure we did not forget anything. Do you have your snorkel? (Very important on this day). Do you have your dive computer? Weights? Buddy?

There was an introduction of what to expect from the day and then we were on our way to the outer reef of South-Ari Atoll; all very excited in anticipation and a little bit nervous. What if we don't see one?

One hour later we reached the southern edge of South-Ari Atoll. There was an interesting folder on board containing information about whale sharks so I learned some things on the way. Did you know whale sharks are estimated to live more than 70 years! Also, it is possible to identify individual whale sharks by their markings.

This is what SUB AQUA DiveCenter try to do when they see a whale shark. If they get a clear photo of the whale shark, the photo is shared with the Maldives Whale Shark Research project to help identify it. Some of the whale sharks seen by SUB AQUA DiveCenter divers have been sighted year after year, with early sightings as far back as 2008.

Approaching the outer reef of the Atoll, you see more boats. The dhonis from hotels and liveaboards are cruising up and down the outer reef, all in search of the gentle giant! The diving instructors on board told us to be ready with our snorkel equipment only. Quite often whale sharks are seen at the surface and not actually on the dive so it is best to be ready.

The boat moves at a slow speed for a better chance to see a whale shark. Instructors and boat crew stand atop the sun deck, scouting the water surface, looking for the telltale shadow.
But no. No whale shark yet.

So, we prepared to make our first dive. A dive briefing was made. Buddy checks were completed. Time to jump!
The first dive site we were told was typical of the outer reef; a long, gentle slope from the shallow reef-top plateau down to 15-30m. Divers drift or swim along gently, together in the same direction. It was an easy and relaxing dive. Back on the boat we were all buzzing with the excitement of what we had seen - turtles, white tip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, big moray eels, tunas, and even one nurse shark sleeping under a ledge. Nice!

Back on board, the boat crew laid out the lunch. Cheese and tuna sandwiches, boiled eggs, fresh fruits and some tasty sponge cake! Soft drinks were also available for purchase. (2 bottles of 500ml drinking water were provided free of charge). This was very relaxing. It was relaxing for us divers at least! The diving instructors and boat crew never stopped looking out to sea, really trying to find the whale shark that we so wanted to see.

Whale sharks don't pick their time. They can show up any time and don't care if you are eating your lunch or not!
The gentle lull of the boat was sending most of us divers into a doze but then wait... big commotion... WHALE SHARK!!!!!!
Can it be?
The dhoni crew shouted excitedly for us to 'get ready'! Sure enough, they had spotted the shadow of a whale shark just beneath the surface.

The captain carefully maneuvered the boat to drop us in the water in front of the whale shark. We were strategically positioned to be close enough not to miss it but also far enough away not to disturb it, or its path.
Everybody jumped off the side of the dhoni and headed in the direction of where we had been told. One instructor also jumped ahead of us to act as a 'spotter' so we knew what to look for.
Where? Where? Where?
Oh wait....

There it was. Our whale shark.
The first sight of this 7-metre long fish is unforgettable. For such a big creature, it is so graceful and majestic in its movements as it slowly swims on by. I say 'slowly' but we were finning like crazy to keep up!
After a minute or so, more boats were coming to get in on the action. More snorkelers jumped in alongside. It was getting rather crowded but we have all come for the same thing. One whale shark to many boats is how it is and this is unavoidable if you want to see the largest fish in the sea!

We were happy though. We had actually been the first group to see the whale shark and everybody was ecstatic! We were all comparing photos and experiences, and still we had one dive still to go...

For the second dive we moved to a more quiet section of the outer reef. There was a steeper coral slope and the corals seemed much more healthy and colourful than on the first dive. More turtles and sharks but we also saw nice macro life too; scorpion fish, nudibranches and flat worms, cowries and an octopus!

All in all, we had 2 amazing dives (without whale shark) and an incredible surface interval where we found our whale shark! Could not be happier!

By 4pm we were back on the jetty at Angaga Resort & Spa. Perfect timing for a relaxing sun-downer at the Sunset bar. This was the perfect end to a perfect day. An incredible pink sky, the burning circle of the sun dropping below the horizon... thank you whale shark for visiting us today!