Whalesharks at Ningaloo Reef

Whaleshark Season in Western Australia runs from late March until usually the end of June.
If you have the opportunity to snorkel alongside one of these gentle giants of the sea, believe me it is an experience you will remember for the rest of your life.
If you haven’t snorkeled before, don’t worry – as long as you can swim competently, the Instructors at the various Whaleshark Tour Operators in Coral Bay and Exmouth will look after you.
At the same time every year, these beautiful creatures visit the North-West Cape and feast upon the myriad plankton and krill that fill the waters of the Ningaloo Reef when the coral is spawning.
They are actually the largest of the shark family, but unlike the man-eating legends of Hollywood’s spin, these graceful fish are gentle and harmless to mankind. If only the converse was true as well. Certain countries are still known to commit barbaric acts towards them.
They can grow up to 18 metres (about 60’) in length, though the ones who visit Ningaloo each year are typically between four to twelve metres, and weigh up to 15 tonnes with a mouth that can be over a metre wide. If frightened they will usually dive and have been known elsewhere to achieve depths of 700 metres!
The various tour operators take you to the outside of the reef, and after testing your skills with a practice swim and snorkel, they give you a great lunch on board. Then they have spotter planes in the air, looking for whalesharks. When they find one, they radio the co-ordinates to the boats.
The skipper will position the boat so that the snorkeling group can enter the ocean directly in the path of the whaleshark. Imagine your excitement as a living creature the size of a small boat comes into your line of sight surrounded by a host of other smaller fish.
I had the joy of swimming alongside a whaleshark that measured around 8½ metres and looking it in the eye. The sense of tranquility is truly amazing.
Of course you will also see plenty of other wonderful creatures during the day in this very special marine park.
Don’t miss this spectacle. It’s not cheap but you won’t regret it. Contact our booking team at Club Red and we can book ahead so you don’t miss out.
Tonaldo the “Inn Man”
22nd March, 2009

Our Story: Flashbacks & the Evolution of Planet Inn

1.    The Evolution of Planet Inn

March 1996

In March, 1996 Tony Inman and his business partner at the time, Ian Cassin, took over the hostel known as Redbackpackers, from Steve Treleaven. The lads worked incredibly hard to upgrade the premises, which was pretty much a ‘squat’ for scruffy backpacking pioneers.

In those days, before mobile phones and i-pods were invented, guests used to carry their own backpacks down the street – they couldn’t afford taxis! ; they sent messages home by fax or “letter”;
they drank relentlessly – oops that hasn’t changed much! ; they brought home most of Perth’s streetsigns – hmmm; they conversed deeply and meaningfully about life – well that still happens at Planet Inn, but we do still wonder why so many of today’s technology-enhanced globetrotters travel 20,000 kms to sit watching soap on TV when the sun is shining!

I guess the consistent thing is that young people get to travel, experience some cultural differences and make some great new friends in a chilled out, laid back, homely environment where people can just be themselves, and in many cases, discover themselves. That is the experience that we provide.

From 1997 to 2003

In 1998, Ian left to seek his fortune and Tony and his wife, Lesley continued in business. The hostel grew and the new Company was established for expansion. In 2000 the Club Red brand was born and the hostel became Club Red Backpackers, while Club Red Cars and Club Red Tours were added. Over the next few manic years, Tony and Lesley worked tirelessly, adding holiday apartments, a liquor licence, Club Red Cleaning, Club Red Employment and Club Red Relocations.

Some of these experiments, though fun, were closed back down in the interests of retaining some form of sanity! The Car Yard ran for 8 years though, with a Dealership, Workshop and Hire Car Division. In October 2008 the yard closed owing to high overheads, though a small fleet of hire cars remain.

Alas the marriage did not survive the pressures of such ambitious projects and Lesley returned to the life of a happy wanderer. Tony has two children in Perth though, Craig and Kim, so he continued to battle on with the business.

After the turmoil of a breakup, Tony decided to re-launch and re-enthuse both himself and the hostel. To demonstrate his obvious madness he went against the stream and renamed, rebranded and redecorated the lodge. Thus in 2004, it rediscovered some of its essence in becoming something cosy, homely and inviting for global travelers… Planet Inn.

Of course, there are still other Divisions to the Company! More about that, next time!

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