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Annually, from late March to early July, WA's World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park lays on an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet for whale sharks. The world's largest fish congregate here to chow down on the local zooplankton, giving snorkellers and divers a chance to experience the thrill of looking them in the eye as they mooch by, propelled by a gentle swish of their supersized tail fins. Whale sharks can grow up to 18m long and weigh up to 30 tonnes. But they pose no threat to humans; their giant mouths, large enough to accommodate a family hatchback without collapsing the wing mirrors, are primarily designed for filtering microscopic nutrients. Boat and snorkel tours are operated out of Coral Bay and Exmouth and run daily when the whale sharks are in town. During the height of the season it's not unusual for tours to encounter multiple sightings -- which is good news if, like many visitors, you're just too excited to operate your underwater camera when the first fish comes looming at you from out of the blue.