Diving with the sharks in Manly

Shauna

12 years ago

Sign me up for a bridge climb or a chocolate tasting and I’ll be happy as Larry, but sign me up for a shark dive, and well, I’ll be terrified to say the least!

And terrified I am after realising what I’ve put my name down for. But what better way to conquer my fear of sharks than meet them head on in a cage-less scuba dive? My bravery (or stupidity) surprises even me sometimes.

Grey Nurse Sharks are a highly endangered species, with recent estimates putting the figure at less than 500 along the entire Australian coastline. The sharks are fish eaters, and their rows of thin, sharp protruding teeth are perfectly designed for grabbing slippery fish. Unlike species such as Great White Sharks and Tiger Sharks, Grey Nurse Sharks are unable to tear flesh with their teeth, meaning larger prey items (like humans – phew!) that don’t fit in their mouth in one go are well and truly off the menu.
With this somewhat reassuring information in the back of our minds, lastminute lovely Nicola and I try to relax as our ferry approaches Manly Sea Life Sanctuary. We’ve got an underwater date with seven Grey Nurse Sharks.

As part of our thorough two and a half hour training, Brendan leads us around the aquarium and we are able to ‘say hello’ to the slippery residents of the tank. There are seven 3.5 metre Grey Nurse Sharks that occupy the waters of Manly Sea Life Sanctuary, as well as four large turtles, some enormous smooth rays (the size of a queen size bed!), thousands of fish and other friendly underwater inhabitants.

Before we jump in the tank we need to practise our scuba diving skills. As the experience doesn’t require any scuba diving qualifications such as PADI certifications, all divers must undergo 15 minutes of learning to breathe and walk underwater. And let me tell you, with sharks on my mind, this is not as easy as it sounds!
We are weighted down so that we can walk through the tank and then with a communal thumbs-up, we’re ready to go.

Let’s go!

Once in the tank, we walk to the section of the tank that is most densely populated with our Grey Nurse friends. Jumping up onto the edge of the tunnel, we stay here for the majority of our 30 minute dive. Talk about up close and personal! We are able to look around and literally come face-to-face with the sea giants. As Brendan warns us, the sharks have a tendency to swim directly toward you, but not to worry because they will veer off right at the last minute. This makes the experience truly incredible as we stand inches away from the docile creatures.

Check out some of the breathtaking photos from our dive below: