SHARK!!!

I’m popping this one up out of order, but I figured you’d all want to see this. I had the most AMAZING experience at the Manly aquarium. First, I watched a safety video that was set to the theme of Jaws – just to set the mood. Then we all got suited up and entered the practice pool where I was taught a few techniques. They said the water temperature was 18 degrees, but it felt a lot colder. The water and the small fish are washed in directly from the ocean, so that would have been the water temperature at the beach.

After I passed my 3 requirements (removing and replacing the regulator, clearing my mask, and a bouyancy test), we entered into the aquarium. I was first in, and I made my instructor howl with laughter with the expression on my face. You’ll see that expression yourself, as it doesn’t disappear for the whole dive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWqJnnFCVhQ

We descended about 4 metres to the bottom and walked along the sand, rather than swimming, as that would disturb the animals too much. We were only allowed to touch certain animals, and one of the first things we did was pet a GIANT sea turtle – he was longer than me, about the size of a small car.

We made our way to the viewing spot, sidestepping rays and smaller sharks that were lurking on the bottom. And then the sharks came….

Even though I knew that these were “tame” grey nurse sharks (sand tigers in the US) that were probably as docile as farm animals, it still is incredible to come face to face with a mouthful of teeth and those staring cold eyes. I had the theme from Jaws running through my head the entire dive, which probably didn’t help. These monsters would cruise by, literally about 10 inches from my face. The video shows only a few minutes of the 30 that we were underwater, but it gives you a sense of what it was like.

Truly an incredible experience.

Thank you, Fred.

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