Unique Experience Part 1
Swimming with sharks
This voyage was such an exhilarating experience! But let us start from the beginning. When planning my trip to Hawaii, I knew I wanted to find activities that would allow me to interact with various animals in their natural habitat. Shark diving and swimming with dolphins (which I’ll also talk about in another post) both allowed me to do so. I felt so privileged to be in their presence. But before I was able to witness their beauty in person.
There were some things I made sure I had prepared before booking my experience with North Shore Shark Adventure. For me, it was essential to have personal snorkel gear, although they do provide them at no cost if you need them. I knew I wanted to invest in my own for two reasons. One is that I see myself getting involved with more water activities, and the second reason is that I wanted to be extra safe during the pandemic. I also brought my go pro and waterproof casing to film as well. The footage you are seeing was from my friend’s iPhone, which she used in conjunction with a waterproof phone case. I will link all of these below. These items helped enhance my experience and would bring them along to most other water activities as well.
Once I organized all my items, we headed out to the meet-up location, then took a boat to the diving site. There were beautiful views of the luscious green mountains around us as the anticipation started to increase. On a side note, I usually suffer from motion sickness, but overall I felt alright during the boat ride. I did not feel a significant urge to vomit, nor did I experience any issues while snorkeling. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and if you suffer from severe motion sickness, it might be helpful to bring some relief with you just in case.
After about 15 mins we arrived at the diving location. We all looked down as they released the cage in the water and saw several sharks swimming around the boat. The excitement on our faces couldn’t be contained. The diving instructor broke our group into three separate groups to ensure that the cage wouldn’t be too crowded so that each person or pair had a place to swim and observe.
Once in the water, I immediately started to float. The water was so salty that it made us highly buoyant. Initially, I had a mini heart attack because my feet kept rising up and out of the bars, and I was fearful that the sharks would swim over and bite me. I just tried my best to relax and bring my toes back into the cage. The sharks kept a healthy distance throughout the entire experience. After understanding how to maneuver a bit better in the cage, I felt comfortable taking it all in.
I would 100% recommend this experience and may even try cage-free shark diving, but we will see.
Would you ever try shark diving?
Links to products mentioned above:
Go Pro Hero 8
Go Pro Floating Handle with wrist strap
Go Pro Hero 8 Casing (knock off brand)
Water Proof Phone Case
Fins
Snorkel
