Back in Oman after my trip to Switzerland I had one urge: Back into the warm water! So on the whenever I found time, I grabbed my freediving gear and continued exploring.

But the most exciting thing was not the usual marine life, but the beginning of the whale shark season in Oman. First sightings had been early this year, so I tried my luck as well. On the second trip I got lucky and I was able to swim with one of these gentle giants. Usually they feed on the surface, but I managed to capture one shot of it emerging from the depth, just in front of another swimmer:

As much as this magical encounter fascinates me it also raises a lot of questions on how sustainable tourism that respects the animals in their natural environment can work. Whereas some captains of the tourist boats respect the guidelines on how to approach the animals there are still a lot of boats that get way too close to the animals, drop people right in front, or even try to ‘herd’ the whale sharks towards their customers. So if you ever plan to go on a trip, ask the company about their policies on how to approach the animals in advance.

On a happier note: while on a trip to Mussandam we had some dolphins playing in the wake of our boat:

And of course there were plenty of other encounters with marine life over the past few months. Here some of the most memorable ones: