Swimming With Sharks

Swimming with some of the ocean's scariest predators was always on my "to do" list, though, honestly, it's not something I thought would ever actually happen. It was one of those dreams that you'd tell people was on your bucket list, next to "jump out of a plane" and "clean up under my bed." Yeah, THAT bucket list.

But when it came to celebrating my 20th birthday (July 2016), my partner Mark and I had a "why not?" kind of moment and booked a session at the New Zealand National Aquarium to swim with the sharks. I was excited, elated, absolutely quaking with anticipation for weeks while we waited for time to pass. Mark, however, was wondering what he'd gotten himself into by dating me. Fair call.

So when the time finally came, we packed up and drove hours from home to what possibly was about to be our deaths (I may be being a bit dramatic). We had one last night of fine dining and luxurious baths before the moment of truth, and to tell you the truth, once we were admitted into the aquarium, the shock hit. I realised my mother was right—I was crazy; batshit insane. I was terrified.

We suited up into wetsuits, fins, masks and snorkels, and climbed into the small side pool that was attached to the shark's tank. At this point, I couldn't tell if I was shaking from fear or because the water was sitting at around 13 degrees Celsius, but looking back, it was definitely a bit of both. Our instructor ran us through the rules; stay on the surface (if you dive, they'll think you're feeding them and swarm you), don't cross the flags (that's the shark's safe zone to go to if they don't like you), and DON'T TOUCH THE SHARKS. Easy. Don't touch the giant sharks. Done.

She did mention that the other fish in the tank (schooling fish, snapper, small carpet sharks, and stingrays) shouldn't bother us at all. They're all pretty chill creatures who are used to this sort of thing. The large sharks, however, get very inquisitive and, even though we weren't allowed to reach out and touch them, they may come along and touch us. We had 30 minutes in the water to swim with them but could get out whenever we wanted if we were uncomfortable.

Got all that? No questions? Swim away!

One of the stingray that we shared the tank with. They're pretty oblivious to you, but they way they move still creeps me out...

One of the smaller sharks and some schooling fish!

That's when this experience got real for me. Mark, the one who had been suffering nerves over this for WEEKS just glided on into the pool like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

Myself? I waddled awkwardly to the edge of the side pool and looked down at the drop-off... Not a smart idea, I know, I'm not a smart person in times of panic. So I look down and see the largest shark that lives in the pool right below me. Around three metres long and gliding by like it's nobody's business, while I buckled at the knees and almost sprinted back to the car.

But I saw Mark out there having the time of his life and realised I was wasting precious minutes being a wimp!

Next thing I knew, I was in the pool.

The BIG MAMA

It was wonderful. I suddenly wasn't scared anymore. It was like I wasn't even there in that moment, like I was just looking down on another world with little creatures going about their business like I didn't even exist. In a way, we really didn't, because they took almost zero notice of us for the first ten minutes. However, neither of us ran into any of the big sharks... Yet.

It was like they had gone to have a meeting on how tasty we might be, and all emerged from the dark corner under the flags all at once. They were massive, they circled us and swam along the surface just like we did, sizing us up. One even got a bit too boisterous and swam head first into Mark's face mask, dazing him, but ultimately causing hilarity, and instead of being afraid, I was in awe. These massive creatures could have come straight for us and, well, let's not go into details, but instead, they checked us out, swam with us, and wanted to watch us and enjoy our presence.

Soon, it was like neither of us really noticed each other. I hadn't seen Mark in what seemed like forever, but he was having just as much fun as I was, attempting to blend in with sharks. We swam in a tank that had a viewing tunnel for other aquarium-goers and it was amazing watching their faces as they realised there were people in the tank along with giant sharks!

Children smiled and waved at us while we waved back, and their parents got the same look on their faces that my mother did when I told her I was getting in the tank. One man came through the tunnel three times to see us, once when he realised we were there, the second he took photos on an iPad, and the third he was face-timing someone to show them! I gave him a good thumbs up and continued on my way, feeling like some sort of celebrity. Or maybe they wanted last photos of me before my tragic death?

The viewing tunnel from dry land. We swam in the water you're seeing!

All too soon, we got the five minute call and it was time to say our last goodbyes to the sharks. Both Mark and I were slowly floating towards the exit when the unthinkable happened to me. I was focusing on getting shots for my Go Pro when...I was touched.

At first, I thought it was the blind fish they warned us about. It swims whereever it wants and, because it can't see, it quite often bumps into people. But I met that fish earlier and this wasn't the same feeling.

I glanced down to see the nose of their largest shark directly below me (You can tell which shark is which by the scars on their nose. The keeper pointed out the big girl to us on our walk-through), gliding silently along the length of my body, her dorsal fin pressing against my wetsuit. I froze. There was nothing I could do but let her pass me at her own speed, and hope her inquisitive nudge didn't include a nibble.

But she passed me and glided off into the flagged area of the pool, and I returned to the side pool to catch my breath.

All in all, it was exactly what I had imagined in my dreams; scary, exciting, and thrilling, but also surprisingly calm and peaceful. The terrifying predators I thought I was going to meet were nothing like what was in that tank, though, no doubt, they could be if they wanted to be. The sharks we met were smart, friendly, and docile creatures, willing to co-exist with something new rather than just mindlessly attacking like what you see in the movies.

This experience has given me a new love for sharks that I don't think will ever fade, and I would 100 percent be willing to do the exact same experience again because it's not something that would get boring or predictable. If you're thinking about doing something that takes you out of your comfort zone, I'd tell you to do it as soon as you can, without overthinking it. It'll be one of the best experiences of your life.

After the Swim (and freezing!)

If you'd like to see a more in-depth account of how the swim went and get to see all the creatures up close, please check out the YouTube video I made of our swim!