When we were planning for this trip, I wasn’t really sure if I’ll have the guts to actually jump off the boat considering the species is a combination of the 2 scariest sea creatures. Plus, I couldn’t imagine how you could possibly swim with a whale shark. What if it bites or swallows me?!
Anyway, after asking locals and watching the video orientation at the Tourism office, everyone’s description has been consistent - butandings are peaceful creatures.
Here are some tips to remember when on an interaction tour:
1. Always be on your toes. When a butanding is spotted, you should be ready to jump off the boat with your mask, snorkel and flippers on. A few seconds of delay increases the risk of losing the butanding.
Also, please make sure your mask fits properly to prevent water from entering. As you can see in the photo, I'm fixing mine underwater! Even as when water entered it, I didn't want to go up the surface as I was afraid of losing the butanding we were swimming with!
2. Hold hands. The guide will lead you to the direction of the butanding and each one in the group should hold hands so you can swim together. In our case, the guide had to drag us (not just lead us) because we weren't really good swimmers. Check out our Aquaman-like guide, Lino, pulling me! Haha...
3. Always be alert. Sometimes you'll hear your guide mutter instructions from the surface or point his fingers underwater. The first time we attempted to look for a butanding, I just heard Lino mutter "Look to your left!" and there, I saw a butanding! It was so surreal! We followed the butanding’s direction and swam above its polka-dotted body. Apparently, a butanding’s spots are its form of identification (their version of our fingerprints).
4. Trust your guide and don’t panic. There was a time when I was swimming just above the dorsal fin of the biggest butanding we encountered –about 7 meters or 23 ft long! I panicked because the fin was right smack my tummy! What if the whale shark goes up the surface? I started panicking and started pushing my guide towards the side of the butanding’s dorsal! Haha... Later on, I found out from our guide that I was actually swimming just at an arm’s length from the butanding's fin!
5. Maximize the interaction. There will be several attempts to try to catch butandings but sometimes, there will be futile attempts because some butandings are too fast (that's why you've to strictly follow rule #1). But just the same, keep on jumping off with the guide (I did even after my friends already gave up due to exhaustion!).
Usually, the guides can spot a butanding based on the water’s movement or the shadows in the water. According Lino, ideally, the best way is to meet the whale shark head on so you can then swim above its head! On our last attempt, we were able to do that. It was our longest interaction – we swam for about 10 mins with a butanding about 7 meters long – not just above its head but even ahead of its head that’s why I even saw its mouth! We only lost it when it swam deeper into the sea.
6. Don’t attempt to take photos underwater. It’s difficult because your hands are engaged. Just enjoy the experience. I tried to but I just kept on clicking without even looking through the camera viewer (so I'm not sure if I got any good photos). But thanks to Dave from WWF who kindly snapped these photos from his Olympus waterproof camera.
All in all, I saw 5 butandings – 4 under water and 1 that passed near out boat. It was truly an amazing experience.:)
P.S. While in Donsol, try the firefly cruise too. You'll leave the resort around 6:15pm and take a 30-minute boat ride. The fireflies are such a beautiful sight. They look like dancing lights. Our boatman, Mang Jason, caught some fireflies for us so we can see them up close but we eventually freed them. The fireflies are too small to be captured by my camera though.
