Swimming with Sharks

Close encounters of the giant kind characterize a dive in Papua.

I have done thousands of dives, but when it comes to seeing underwater marvels in the form of the big creatures, I’m not that lucky. I had been diving for several years before I had my first manta ray experience. And, sad but true, I have never seen any sunfish (mola mola), despite numerous visits to Bali during its season between June and October.

So when a friend asked me to come along to West Papua to see the whale sharks of Nabire, I pretty much doubted the encounter would ever happen, even as I agreed to go.

For many divers, swimming with whale sharks is the ultimate underwater experience. The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is the world’s largest fish species, and can grow to more than 12 meters. Although a member of the shark family, the whale shark does not share the notorious fierceness of its kin. Rather, these warm-water-loving filter feeders, which eat mostly plankton, macro-algae and small marine vertebrates, can be as tame as house pets.

“I’m such a pelagic jinx!” I warned Ronny Rengkung, the prominent Indonesian underwater photographer who arranged the trip for a bunch of whale shark virgins.

He was not concerned. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Unlike anywhere else, a whale shark sighting in Nabire is 100 percent guaranteed!”

Into the Deep

Only partly convinced, I headed off on the long journey to Nabire via Biak with a group of very busy people who, as Thoreau put it, wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. That’s why we only managed to squeeze in five days, including the journey. Traveling to this part of Indonesia, of course, requires flexibility given the unreliability of flight schedules. Two days and three cities later, we finally arrived at the village of Kwatisore.

I have taken small planes to Indonesia’s remotest areas several times, but the plane flying us to Nabire from Biak was the smallest ever. Accommodating 12 people, including a pilot and co-pilot, the single-propeller plane was almost like a helicopter with no doors separating the cockpit, so that passengers could see everything that was going on. The flight was only 70 minutes, but it was delayed by four hours. Then, when we arrived in Nabire late in the afternoon, it was too dangerous to cross to the village of Kwatisore in Cendrawasih Bay, so we stayed in Nabire to make the trip very early the next day. The journey to the village from Nabire was expected to take two hours by speedboat.

Kwatisore is the village nearest to the sites where local fishermen place their fishing structures (bagan) that entice whale sharks to frequent its waters all year round. It has no proper accommodation but a deserted local teacher’s house in a village school. Luckily, the villagers, used to visitors, have turned the house into very basic accommodation with meals. The women cook local food using local ingredients. Unless rice is requested, they serve steamed cassava with the grilled catch of the day – anything from fish to lobster. The food was great and it was such a nice surprise to be served grilled lobster for breakfast.

Whale of a Time

We cruised around the fishing structures, located about 20 minutes from Kwatisore. Ronny kept asking the fishermen if they had seen any gurango (the local name for whale sharks), and then he asked if they had enough anchovies to feed the giant fish. The fishermen use anchovies as bait to catch tuna and throw the bad ones back to the sea. This anchovy feast invites whale sharks to linger in the area – hence Ronny’s gurango guarantee.

Whale sharks foraging on nets full of anchovies scare away the tuna and the fishermen used to wound or even kill them in retaliation. However, they have since stopped, having seen that whale sharks are of greater economic value alive.

So when the fishermen told us they had enough anchovies for the feeding, the boat came to a halt and we donned our snorkeling equipment. It was bottomless open water without any reefs – the whale sharks are the only attraction in the area.

My first sighting of those wild whale sharks in the sea left me dumbfounded. They didn’t seem to be afraid of us, swimming toward us with ease. It took me about five minutes to pull myself together and start clicking my camera like crazy. The whale sharks swam so close to the surface that sometimes their heads were out of the water. A few times, I saw the fishermen push a handful of anchovies into the mouth of a whale shark. It was unbelievable! I had never known wild whale sharks could be that friendly.

In many other places where whale shark sightings are frequent, the creatures hang around for only a few minutes before they swim away. The whale sharks of Nabire, however, stay for hours, as long as the supply of anchovies lasts.

Look but Don’t Touch

Although whale sharks are not afraid of bubbles, scuba diving is not encouraged when they are near. Snorkeling and free diving are a more friendly approach for swimming around these giants. It is also strictly prohibited to touch the whale sharks, although sometimes they accidentally bumped against us. They are wild animals and the microscopic organisms on human skin, if transferred by touching, could harm them, and vice versa. The bacteria on their skin can grow as thick as 10 centimeters, and they often swim with a group of remora (a kind of cleaning fish), which eat the bacteria.

We stayed in Kwatisore for only one night and fit in three sessions to play with the whale sharks. Although the journey is long, two days and one night there is more than sufficient. Those with more time could stay on a liveaboard or at Ahe Dive Resort on Ahe Island, about three hours by boat from Kwatisore Cape.

Although we spent more time on the journey than at the destination, the experience of swimming with the gentle giants of the sea was well worth the time and money.

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Getting There

Garuda Indonesia (www.garuda-indonesia.com) flies seven times a week to Biak. From Biak, Susi Air (www.susiair.com) flies seven times a week to Nabire. Expect a lot of delays and stay overnight in Nabire before heading to Kwatisore.

Accommodation

Kwatisore Village (Bram Maruanaya, 08124891651)

Liveaboards (www.komodoalordive.com, www.papualiveaboard.com)

Ahe Dive Resort (ahepapua@gmail.com)

When to Go

Year round.

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