2022
Thank you @GillianC for your captivating post about "Where to swim with sharks in Australia... I will give it a try any moment from now - subject to having you coach me more and possibly stay by my side all through the adventure.
@GillianC wrote:As an Aussie, I’ve been brought up with the ocean. I spent my first 18 summers with the family on the south coast, getting dumped by waves, kissed by the sun and swimming til my fingers turned wrinkly. The next 18 years have been spent living a stone’s throw from the ocean, leaping in it at any chance possible - a quick dip after a run, washing off a long day at work, training for a surf boat carnival or competing in an ocean swim. To me, summer equals the four ‘S’s: surf, sun, sand….and sharks.
That fourth ‘S’ is the one that most people fear the most…. and I’m no exception! But once you learn about and appreciate these incredible beasts, you’ll realise the fear is largely irrational. Did you know that there’s another creature, the Irukandji jellyfish, that's the size of a matchstick head and is considered more dangerous (source)? Compared to deaths from smoking, road accidents, lightning strikes or even other animal attacks, the risk being attacked by a shark is extremely small, according to experts.
By taking a few simple precautions (eg. swim at patrolled beaches, don’t enter cloudy water, avoid swimming at dawn/dusk - read more tips) the likelihood of even seeing a shark are small...unless you WANT to see one. To help overcome my (irrational) fears, I’ve deliberately sought out opportunities to get up close and personal with sharks….and what I’ve found, is they are magnificent.
Here’s how you can deliberately seek out an encounter with few of these ‘feared and dangerous’ creatures of the ocean in Australia:
WHALE SHARKS: NINGALOO REEF, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Image of the whale shark - a beautiful beast. Credit: Visit NingalooWhales sharks are the largest fish in the world, growing up to 18 metres. I’ve spent 5 days of my life on a boat (unsuccessfully) trying to find them, in both Honduras and Australia. Between March and August each year is whale shark ‘season’ at Ningaloo Reef, on the North West coast of Australia. If you’re lucky enough to spot them, you can snorkel with these awe inspiring, non-predatory, creatures. I mean...look at them!!!! This once-in-a-lifetime bucket list item is still waiting to be ticked for me…..
Image Credit: Visit Ningaloo
GREAT WHITE SHARKS: PORT LINCOLN, SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Image of a Great White Shark surface cage dive. Credit: Rodney Fox
Are images of the movie Jaws popping into your mind? I gave my sister a voucher to go cage diving with the Great White Sharks off Great White Sharks at Port Lincoln, South Australia, off the coast of South Australia, for her 30th birthday. As she opened the present, all blood drained from her face, and she thanked me with much trepidation. A few weeks later she traded in the voucher for a new queen size bed. While seeing the whites of a shark's eye may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it is the BEST way to appreciate and increase your understanding of the Great White Shark in it’s natural habitat, with a company like Rodney Fox who have been doing it since 1965. My friend ranked this experience as the #1 highlight of her life (before kids, and husband..naturally?)
Image credit: Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions
GREY NURSE SHARKS: SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Image of a Grey Nurse Shark swimming above three divers in Manly.Affectionately called the ‘puppy dogs’ of the ocean, the Grey Nurse shark looks far from it! Believe me, I wasn’t thinking ‘aw, sweet!’ when one decided to brush past me during my ocean swim to Shelly Beach, Manly while training for a triathlon. I may actually have beaten Michael Phelps in a 50m sprint that day. However, I’ve since learned my response was irrational. The fours others I was training with shrugged it off, and dived straight back in for the return swim to Manly Beach. Grey Nurse sharks are regularly seen at many beaches around Australia, yet very few attacks have ever been reported. They’re not man-eating predators, and are highly endangered due to hunting. To overcome my fear, I’ve deliberately come face to face with several Grey Nurse sharks - once at the Shark Dive Xtreme at Manly SEA LIFE Sanctuary (also at Sydney Aquarium) and once in the wild, scuba diving 20m deep into a grey nurse cave at Magic Point in Malabar. Both experiences were calm, fascinating and surged my adrenalin, in a very good way.
Image Credit: @GillianC (I’m safely in the middle). Hello puppy dog!
So, have I changed your mind about sharks? Will you deliberately seek out a shark encounter when you visit Australia? If you’ve already had a (positive!) encounter, share in the comments below - I’d love to hear your experiences! No fear mongering please - there's enough of that in the media 🙂
