APRIL TO JUNE WHALE SHARK DIVES
PICTURE TAKEN AT LAST YEAR'S WHALE SHARK DIVE
Spring time is approaching and in Belize that means the largest of all fish, the whaleshark, will be visiting our waters very soon. During the full moon phase of the months of April (9th), May (9th) and June (7th), large schools of snapper congregate to spawn at Gladden Spit on the southern Belize Barrier Reef. The event lasts about 10 days and the whalesharks will come to feast on the spawn of the snapper. This area of the reef becomes a hive of activity at these times, and this year we will be offering diving and snorkelling trips to the whaleshark zone at Gladden Spit. As well as these gentle giants you may also encounter large schools of jacks or pods of dolphins. Gladden Spit is 25miles south east of "The Lodge', and is only a 60min fast boat ride across the coral lagoon of the Barrier Reef.
Our whaleshark snorkelling trip, headed by Martin Spragg our dive master with Second Nature Divers, located at our resorts, will depart in the morning, at 9.30 and will travel along an unexplored part of The Barrier Reef to Gladden Spit. There will be stops along the way to snorkel several pristine reefs, and there is also an interesting wreck site to explore in suitable weather. After lunch, which will be taken on board the boat, we will take the boat into the whaleshark zone at Gladden Spit, which is outside the reef in deeper water, to look for whalesharks. The whalesharks are unaggressive filter feeders and swim amongst the snapper during most of the day, but they are curious and will come up to the surface to swim amongst the snorkellers and divers. After snorkelling in the zone we will return to the lodge by mid to late afternoon. This is a great day out snorkelling a little visited part of The Belize Barrier Reef with the chance of swimming alongside the biggest fish in the sea, a whaleshark.
Our whaleshark diving trip usually departs mid morning and will travel along unexplored parts of the Barrier Reef to Gladden Spit, where we will register with the park warden. We will have 2 dives in the whaleshark zone, with a 1.5 - 2 hour surface interval with a light lunch between dives. Belize is one of the few places in the world where you may actually dive with whalesharks, and as such there are strict regulations to protect both the whalesharks and the spawning aggregations of snapper. The whaleshark zone is outside the reef, and the dive will start at about 60ft and as the dive group is led out into the deeper water, the divers will stay at 60 feet although the bottom will be a lot deeper, and the maximum depth for the dive is 80 feet. The snapper gather in deep water, and sometimes it appears as though the seabed is moving, and this in itself is an amazing sight. The whalesharks swim amongst the snapper during most of the day but they are naturally curious and will often come up to check out divers bubbles - even though they are the largest fish in the sea, they feed on plankton and are harmless and unagressive. There is a also a good chance of being visited by dolphins, schools of jacks, barracuda, grouper, turtles, and occassionally other sharks, as well as these gentle giants. After the second dive we will return to the resorts in the late afternoon.
For more information contact: reservations@almondjaguar.com
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