Shark Festival 2012

by Camila Gough

They say Grey Nurse Sharks are the puppy dogs of the sea. As far as I’m concerned, puppies have sharp teeth and boisterous ways. The good thing about them is that they come in huggable sizes, which sharks don’t. There’s a lot to be said for showing a healthy dose of respect for an animal twice as big as you and with enough choppers to turn an arm to mince with one bite.

Despite my light anxiety and my lack of experience - I had only logged 7 dives at this point - I signed up for Sharkfest at the end of July. I still wasn’t too sure about it by the time we anchored at Flat Rock, so I thought I’d take it easy on the first dive and see how I felt about the sharks from a distance before venturing any further. Not a chance. I had been at the bottom for less than a minute when a 2m long male came to say hello. He eyed me up, decided I was rather uninteresting as either food or playmate, and off he went.

Once I saw that first shark snout close up, my impulse was to get closer, not to swim away. The image of up to 30 sharks patrolling the alley made me think of the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace and put a huge smile on my face. I still don’t think of grey nurse sharks as puppies, but as cool-looking rangers I need not fear.

Our downtime on land was just as good, with great food, games and shark education. The friendly staff made us feel very welcome and our intrepid leaders Jeremy and Damien looked after us in all possible ways, from answering our hundreds of questions with the patience of saints to ensuring everybody had a fun, chilled out time in and out of the water. (Besides, anybody who gets up at 6am to fix my breakfast is a hero in my book.) We even got to see a seal! Thanks for that, gentlemen.

Can’t wait for Sharkfest 2013!