My best friend who lives on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu has been playing tour guide to her 12-year-old nephew who is visiting from Texas. For the past week she has taken him to all of the local hangouts that we used to frequent as children. But, yesterday, she called to tell me that they had done the unthinkable—something we had never considered doing while growing up in Hawaii—swim with sharks.
Typically, when someone offers to take you “swimming with the sharks,” you would likely respond with a simple “no thank you” and make tracks in the opposite direction. However, when the offer is made to you in Hawaii you should consider saying “yes.” My friend said she and her nephew had an unbelievable time and that everything she read in the shark adventure brochure was true.
Their two-hour adventure began with a safety briefing, which covered basic shark protocol. Next, their group boarded a medium-sized boat that took them about four miles off the North Shore of Oahu. Along the way they saw several spinner dolphins, Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles, and sea horses, along with breathtaking views of Oahu’s coastline. The boat stopped in crystal clear water about 400 feet deep. Minutes later a shark cage was lowered into the water. (The cage can fit about three people comfortably.) My friend said she was surprised at how quickly the sharks showed up. Whereas she was prepared to pass time by taking underwater pictures of all the other sea creatures that glided by their cage, within minutes an 8-foot shark appeared seemingly out of no where and came within inches of the cage. The shark adventure brochure promised that if customers “didn’t see a shark, the ride would be free.” Looking back, my friend says coming face-to-face with a “denizen of the deep” was worth the $100 she forked over for the experience.
Listening to her excitedly tell her “shark story” made me wonder why we had never taken advantage of the tour in all the years that we lived in Hawaii. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t because we were afraid of becoming their lunch, it was more likely because like Para-sailing, taking a helicopter tour of the volcano or hula dancing at a luau; swimming with the sharks was always considered an activity reserved for tourist. (Sure, it’s a stereotype, but that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.) What I have learned from my friend is that an adventure is an adventure and often you don’t know what your missing until you give it a try. After, hearing her rave about swimming with the sharks I can’t wait to go home and take the plunge myself.
For more information or to reserve a spot on a “Hawaiian Shark Adventure” click here.