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We went shark diving today! Oh my god it was such an amazing experience! At first we were worried we weren't going to make it because the company had forgotten to pick us up. We were standing outside wondering what the hell was going on and were worried that if we were late we would miss the boat! When it was obvious no one was coming Chris went in and called them. Luckily the office was only five minutes away so they came and got us very quickly. When we arrived at the office we had to rush to put our gear on then we were ushered straight onto the boat, phew! We made it.
The short journey through the river towards the mouth of the sea was pleasant and we got to see some local people getting ready to go fishing for the day. We went past the other dive company and wondered what they would be like to go with, so we might try them tomorrow.
Just before the boat could leave the river officials had to inspect it for anything illegal. Everything was ok so on we went. As soon as we left the river the sea got choppy! We all had to hold on as our bodies got propelled into the air over every big wave! Thank god the dive site was only five minutes away, I wasn't sure how much more my arse could take!
The dive site itself, Shark Reef Marine Reserve, was shielded by coral reefs so the water was a lot calmer. The morning sun glistened across the sea and it was very peaceful now that the boat engines had been turned off. We knew it would be a very different story once we got below the surface. The dive masters talked us through the dive plan, then told us how important it was to keep our arms in and heads down to void being mistaken for shark food! It was very exciting and nerve racking at the same time.
Everyone had their tanks on, all the gear was double checked and we were ready to go! We jumped in and dived straight down to thirty meters. Within moments the scene was swamped with huge bull sharks swimming all around us! The dive masters quickly showed us to a wall carved out of the rocks and signalled us to kneel down low. Everything was dark and colourless from being so deep but the visibility was clear. Chris counted at least ten bull sharks in sight at once but there may have been more. It was hard to tell, they were appearing from every direction. There were also so many fish which we thought was strange, we thought they would have hidden at the sight of sharks. Suddenly from up above us one of the dive masters began pulling out huge tuna fish heads larger than basket balls! He threw the heads down and the sharks circled them until they were within their reach. With great gaping jaws and razor sharp teeth showing, each shark took their turn snatching up a head for themselves. Most of them swallowed them down in one go but others got the heads stuck sideways in their jaws which was really cool to see and funny! They swam around shaking their heads and chomping ferociously until the head either collapsed under the strengths and pressure of each bite or became dislodged. All the other fish swam up towards the diver above us, feeding on the scraps he threw out. We realised then he was a decoy to keep the visibility clear so we could watch what was going on in front of us. One dive master stayed behind us with a pole ready to jab any shark that came too near. The other two were only three meters in front of us pulling out more heads from a dustbin and hand feeding the sharks! Wearing chain mail for safety they stretched out their arms and held the head up until a shark was curious enough to take it. It was obvious the divers and sharks were comfortable with each other now, as we watched them confidently hand over the heads, their fingers only inches away from also going with them! We even saw them pat the sharks like they were no more than a family pet to them! Chris really wanted to have a go himself but they wouldn't allow it, they just wouldn't take the risk and to be honest I'm a little glad they didn't let him.
We watched the big ones for fifteen minutes then we all ascended to fifteen meters where we saw two meter white and grey tip reef sharks being fed, there were so many of them! This time we knelt behind a wall and gripped a rope to help keep us steady in the current. Only our heads appeared above the wall so we could get perfect views of the sharks being fed by the feeder who lucky for us was directly in front of us!
Chris's almost had his mask knocked off a few times they were that close, he had to hold it on his face! The grey tips were really aggressive trying to snatch up the food and test the feeders confidence but the safety divers were always their ready with their poles. They gave the sharks a few jabs to keep them in line which was funny to see. I don't think they ever hurt them though. The white tips on the other hand were like cats, slinking in under the feeders arms and rubbing against their bodies as if to show affection. They seemed really friendly and were gentle taking the food from them. We noticed the feeder stroke them a couple of times so when one came down the side of me I took the opportunity to stroke it too! I had a thick glove on so I don't know what it felt like but I imagine its skin was soft and silky. I forgot the safety diver was behind me so was startled when he suddenly grabbed my wrist and shook his finger at me. lol oops I won't be trying that again!
We had one more wall to visit which was just below the surface at four meters. It was a nice way to complete our safety stop before going up. We got knocked about by the waves breaking over the reef so had to hold a rope again. The white and grey tips were slightly smaller at this level and were darting in and out from every direction, it was brilliant! It was like being dunked into an aquarium at feeding time! We sat right in front of the feeder again so had sharks swimming literally past our faces!
Chris grabbed me and I suddenly noticed everyone take a quick step back from the rocks we were on. I looked in front of me and saw a massive moray eel about a foot wide easing its way in and out of the rocks in front of us, he was scavenging for the dropped pieces of fish. Every now and then he turned with his jaws wide open and showed off his teeth to us, threatening us to keep back. We had to be careful where we stood after that. Chris said he saw a white tip s*** in front of him, another snatched and ate a yellow and orange fish as it swam in front of his face which made him laugh through his regulator. He said he also put his hand towards some Nemo fish and one bit him! The fish must have been protecting his babies.
The dive lasted forty four minutes and we saw so much! There was never a dull moment. Back on the boat everyone was chatting about the dive while drinking tea and eating cookies. It's always so nice to have a sweet cup of tea to help get rid of the dry taste of sea water in your mouth, but that only made us both need to pee desperately! It was ok for Chris and the guys, they just pulled down their suits and peed off the back of the boat! While I had to dip back into the sea making it obvious to everyone what I was doing! None of the other woman went, so they were obviously holding it for when they got back in for the next dive, which we had to wait an hour for! Sod that!
Before we knew it, it was time to get ready again. We were diving in the same area except this time there were meant to be a lot more bull sharks! We couldn't wait, as soon as everyone was ready we jumped in and dived down to twenty five meters. As soon as we got down Chris needed a pee, he later told me there was no way he was going to be able to hold it for forty five minutes so just went there and then in his wet suit, eew! This time we had to lay down down, Chris counted thirty bull sharks in sight! Who knows how many more were nearby beyond our vision! The biologist with us later said there is always double of what you can see around you! We watched in awe as they chomped on huge fish heads, showing the strength in their jaws as they clamped down hard. It was impossible not to imagine being in place of the fish head. Their strength and power could tear our fragile bodies to shreds within seconds and Chris still wanted to hand feed them! They got a lot closer this time, some times only one and a half meters away! It was cool to look straight into their black eyes as they curiously watched us and slowly swam by. The feeder above dropped fish heads directly in front of us to bring them in closer. That's why we had to lay down on this dive.
After keeping still for so long I started to feel cold, then my body began to shiver uncontrollably in an attempt to get some warm blood circulating. I knew the possible dangers if I ignored it so I was just about to tell Chris when finally the dive masters asked us all to follow them. The chills soon disappeared after that. Next we went up to fifteen meters, Chris loved watching the big bull sharks so much he would have stayed down longer if he could but we had to stay with the group. We were swimming along the corals when suddenly I noticed two small white tip reef sharks hiding under a large fan coral, they looked so cute! Chris was concentrating so hard on looking for shark teeth on the ground that he completely missed the turtle swim by. It didn't matter how much I flapped or shouted at him, I couldn't get his attention so I went off on my own with one of the safety divers with a video camera. It was really cool swimming slowly along next to the turtle, it didn't appear to be bothered by me at all. We swam back before we were too far away from the rest of the group, I caught up with Chris who was still searching for teeth. Unfortunately he never found any.
Back on the boat we all had tea and cookies again and took off our wet suits and gear. At first I thought I could smell piss on the boat then I was sure of it when I told Chris and he agreed. obviously neither of us said anything, but I couldn't help looking at the water gushing around the boats deck, wondering if it was pee out of the wet suits!
We got back and paid for our diving and a video too which we can't collect until tomorrow, then the staff dropped us back at our hotel. We were out of the private room and into the dorm tonight but we didn't mind because we were the only ones in it! Chris pulled out our damp clothes from a bag and hung them up by the window to dry, then he started sniffing his shorts. He passed them to me and asked me what I could smell. They stunk of bloody piss! I threw them back at him and he started laughing! So the entire time it was Chris that stunk of piss on the boat! He then made a point of telling me he had peed in them at least four times during the dives! Disgusting! He quickly left the room and went straight for a shower and to wash his shorts, lol.
After watching the sharks eat so much fish earlier we wanted some our selves, well not exactly fish heads, I had battered fish and Chris had a fish burger, mmm yum. A girl named Elise we spoke to briefly before diving this morning came over to chat. She had just come back from diving with the other company in the area, Aqua Trek Diving and Chris wanted to know how it went so we could decide if we should go with them tomorrow. She said it was cool, then said she got to stroke a nurse shark! Well that sold it for us! After finishing lunch we jumped straight into a taxi over to Aqua Trek Diving and booked ourselves on for tomorrow.
So we have another two shark dives planned before we leave Fiji in the next few days. We spent the rest of the evening chilling out by the pool bar, eating take away pizza in our room then had an early night ready and refreshed for tomorrows exciting day. We weren't lucky enough to see the huge Tiger shark this time but fingers crossed well get lucky tomorrow.
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P Your blogs are working again?! My god I have some SERIOUS catching up to do!!