Ryan and Carol Handyside
UK/South Africa
We set off without any high expectations for the day but to adventure in the longtail boat and soak in the environment. Our first stop was Libong Island where we snoekled and while watching the small fish, we began our connection with the marine life. About 20-30 minutes into the journey, the boatman spotted a dolphin. He stopped the engine and reminded us to be very still. Then Carol thought she saw the tail of a large dolphin but our boatman said it was a turtle.
Then we saw the nose and then the shell surfaced before it disappeared. We continued to see dolphins swimming on their own or in pairs (about 8 sightings in total). We felt privileged by our experience and in awe of what we had witnessed. Just as we were beginning to feel totally overwhelmed, we heard a big splash and saw the rings in the water left by a Dugong. We waited in silence and after 4-5 minuets, it surfaced again before disappearing. A passenger off another longtail boat wanted to see more and dived in. We gave up after another 20 minutes. The boatman believed that we had scared the dugong away. We were very grateful for such a wonderful experience.
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