Cebu’s Whale Shark: The Tukî Experience
Only a few meters from the shore, we saw this giant silhouette slowly swimming visibly below us. Locally known as tukî in Cebu, and butanding in Luzon, these whale sharks were spotted years ago near the shores of south of Cebu, between the mainland and Sumilon island.
The news about Cebu’s whale sharks spread among diving enthusiasts. It made to mainstream when it was published by Sunstar Daily News and featured by GMA 7.
Lucky for me, I read my idol SCUBA diver and travel blogger Inday Guapa‘s post and was planning weeks before it became mainstream. And luckily, she has a cousin who is a good friend of mine way back college so she knew the details about whale sharks and how to get there.
Where Do I Start?
My guide told me to just float far away from the boats and the tukî will approach me. Only a few minutes after just aimlessly floating around, the biggest of the 14 whale sharks there slowly inched its way towards me. I froze, I could hardly breath, not knowing what to do as the giant butanding of about eight meters in length was coming straight at me!
I didn’t panic, I remember the guide telling me to just float there, stay calm, and and do nothing. Which what I exactly did.
Seconds passed and this massive thing was closing the gap, me holding my breath and the level of anxiety shooting to the roof of my head! Only moments before impact or about only a foot or two away from me, it veered to its left.
I heaved a sigh of relief. I asked myself. WHAT WAS THAT???
That was, I answered my other self, was amazing.
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it
RSS Feed
Yehey! Excited nakong makita to sa Friday! Weeee!!!!
WOW!
feeling nako i’d need a life vest ig langoy nako in case i panic! hahaha. but this one’s amazing dwin! can’t wait!
Wah angkyut nya
Sana makapag-dive din ako soon. Do I need to learn how to swim bago makapag-dive?
bahala na si lord. basta gusto ko to ma experience.. sana pag balik ko janary anjan pa yan
amazing! wow! grabeeee! shucks kung ako to dwin basin mo freeze nalang hehehe thanks for sharing this! mahimo na dyud ning next tourism phenom =)
Whoa!!! suyaa nako ani oi!!!
dli kaha ko mukaging nuh if tuparan nako sa whale while floating..
tsk tsk tsk =D
@drew: sayang di ako makasama!
@marcos: wow talaga! punta ka na ditey cebu kami naman ang maghohost hehehehe
@doi: magpanic jud. daghan ko’g instances nga makalimot ko’g ginhawa, makalimot ko to stay afloat, makalimot ko’g equalize, etc etc. hahaha
@micamyx: pwede lang snorkel! pwede nga sa banka lang hehehe…
@eric: resident whale sharks daw to.
@cille: i think. pero hopefully naay environmental and safety measures for the tukîs.
@mark: ma anad ra ka brad hahahaha.
nakakainggit naman . this post deserves fb share para makita nila yung ganda ng whale shark experience ninyo, inggit na inggit lang ako… like like like
waaaah! lalo akong naexcite pumunta ng CEBU! Lakbay! sama ako!
cant wait to swim with them.. hahahah! could u provide expenses brad? hihih! para naa nlng idea..
exciting! kung ako yan, matatakot din ako… hehehe!!! given the chance, i would also love to swim with the Tuki (kahit di ako marunong lumangoy..hehehe!) sana soon! thanks for shring this… Happy Holidays!
Woooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhoooooooooooooooo! Dugaya mag friday oooyyy! Hahahahahaha Leeesssggooooooowwww!
i wanna experience this too!
nice travel blog…sarap maglakbay.
huwaw! edwin nakakainggit!!!ang sayaaa!
@chino: salamat!
@darwin: sama ka nila doi bukas! hahaha
@mark: 100 ang entrance tapos 200 ang bayad sa mananagat, good for 40 minutes.
@mervz: hindi sila nangangagat promise hahahaha. it’s natural at first to fear them, but later on you’ll get the hang of it.
@lourd: ugma na brad!
@jean: go!
@spiky: thanks!
@gael: na i-inggit din ako eh oh. hahaha..
sana makapunta rin ako dyan…malapit lapit lang samin yan.
Inggit ako. Probably the closest I can get to creatures like this is Seaworld!
Halaaaaaa! Ka nice jud!!! Ikaw na ang pinaka-abtik mag blog about your whaleshark experience
)
@spiky: san inyo?
jie: hahahaha… balik na cebu!
@renz: di ko ka get over man gud.
When do you think is the best time for me to go and swim with them? I’ve never been to Donsol but I want to go diving in Moalboal/Malapascua, so I better swim with them as well. Cebu really rocks!
well, from the feedback of the fisherfolks there, they’ve become residents to the place already. the best time i guess is summer: clear skies, sunny weather equals clear underwater pics.
wow grabeng adventure!
KAKAINGIT!
I’m in Cebu for about 8 years and never have done this! I hate myself! LOL.
I want to do this too, I hope they won’t eat me. What camera were you using by the way?
diyan pala ang tuki talaga lumalapit. naalala ko yung sa donsol kung saan kami ang humahabol para sumabay sa langoy nila.
Chuyyaaaa aniii oieeeeee…pilay budget aniii/total-investment??? Hehehe og pila ka taw ideal kuyogon?
may alam ka po ba na murang lodging sa oslob.. kahit homestay lang.. 2 kami.. balak namin puntahan yan next week eh.. dumaguete kami manggaling..
@randy: grabeh jud. adto nya mo rands, malingaw to’s baby reese
cottage lang kasi yung iparent ata nung caretaker.
@gay: i’m using olympus tough 3000 series.
@dong ho: eto di na kailangan lumangoy wehehehehe…
@vernon: mga 700 damage 1 day including transpo, boat, and rest-house.
@rainier: uhm hindi po ako sure kung meron dun. sorry.
alam mo ba kung anong oras available ang whale watching dun?
buong maghapon ba?u
i think they’re available whole day, but it’s advisable to get there before noon. they start as early as 5am, and they might run out of food to feed the whalesharks late morning.
kuyawa pud kaayo ang kadako sa Tuki ba. Puede man mag life vest ani dwin no?
.
They have whale sharks in Cebu?!
swerte niyo naman. congrats! happy new year!
Can someone post contact numbers pls? Will be going tomorrow and the person I talked to said they won’t open tomorrow. Major problem!
nindota sa emu experience oie… nindot unta masakyan ng whale… hehe
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I am sooo green in envy right now! I can’t wait til February! Will go rubbing elbows with them Whale Sharks~
GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! I am sooo green in envy right now! I can’t wait til February! Will go rubbing elbows with them Whale Sharks~
@bonzenti: o, dako jud. pwede ra mang lifevest.
@corrine: we do!
@atticus: happy new year too!
@timmy: uhm. i’ll send an email.
@macky: hehehe nindot unta sakyan pero dili maayo
@zhequia: kaduha jud mo comment???
Pasensya. Pakidelete sa isa please?!
wish I could have a great experience like you do. kaso magaling kang lumangoy eh, astig!
what does “Ang ang ang ang-ang ang-ang” mean? im interested. hehe
Swimming with sharks, which is unusual, really is a fun experience.
Tourist should really try this encounter
Whale sharks really are not sharks that everybody’s afraid of.
Well, you are lucky. Not all get the chance to see these animals. But you, you had an close encounter.
kapupunta lang namin dyan sa Cebu last August and thankfully like you my nakita din kaming mga butanding. grabe nakakatakot talaga pag super lapit na nya sayo. pero it was an extraordinary experience!
@joan: apir! nakakatakot talaga yung mga gentle giants na yan
hello may alam kaba na cheap resort to stay ? gusto din namin mg whale watching hehehe