For years, I had pursued the elusive Whale Shark through the Indo-Pacific oceans hoping for just a glimpse of this gentle giant.

In 1996, I found myself diving off a liveaboard some 50km off the coast of southern Thailand, near the Similan Islands National Park, when the most amazing diving experience I've ever had occurred:

My dive buddy and I had been the last to enter the water for this particular dive. Nothing special was planned for this dive, just a nice, pleasant drift over some lovely coral bommies. As such, we were also the last to run low on air.

Just as everyone else had finished their dive, and my buddy and I were contemplating a safety-stop, this mega- fish came out of the Deep Blue Wet straight at us!