KEY POINTS:
"The sharks are fed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, so you have no worries."
Somehow I'm not totally convinced by Andy's little pearl of wisdom as I join our group of six divers in the clear acrylic tunnel. There are nine two-metre long predators constantly circling the tank, each fixing me with one malevolent eye. They know just how defenceless and vulnerable I am. Those eyes are a dead giveaway.
Andrew Baker, manager of Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World on Auckland's waterfront is giving our group every assurance we will live through his new Shark Survival close encounter experience.
From within the safe confines of the tunnel, accompanied by dive instructors Rebecca and Jen, we observe the seven broadnose seven-gill sharks, Tommy the sleek bronze whaler and Wobbe the heavily camouflaged Australian wobbegong carpet shark.
We follow their perpetual motion with intense curiosity. Those deep, black eyes follow us relentlessly, but we take comfort in Baker's words. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the finned wonders were fed this morning so they're not exactly gagging for a taste of homo sapiens right now. Nonetheless, swimming with nine menacing ocean killers is a concept I am finding increasingly difficult to warm to as the dive time approaches. I don't have to do this - I'm not a Navy Seal.
Our instructors kit us out in black one-piece dive suits, booties, gloves, mask, weight belt and fins.
The shiver down my spine that I was saving for the first shark encounter comes much sooner, in the form of a cold trickle of water inside my wetsuit. We don a buoyancy compensator, air tank and regulator combination in the small shark-recovery tank and prepare to dive into the main tank on Rebecca's signal.
This is a dream dive, with clear visibility and no current. On the bottom I have just enough negative buoyancy with 12kg on the weight belt to settle on my knees and observe the passing parade of finny friends. Sharks, stingrays, hapuku, trevally and kahawai swim overhead within touching distance.
We are permitted to stroke the fish and the rays but have been cautioned about the reality of stingray tail barbs and the ability of broadnose sharks to reach around and bite their own tails. We resist the urge to touch them.
Rebecca devoted considerable time in our briefing to highlight the potential for these sharks to bite your hand from any position.
One cheeky character in our group could not resist saying: "So we're allowed to pat them then?"
After an initial face-to-face encounter, we are guided over the tunnel and swim along to the open shark-feeding area for another time of silent contemplation.
The silence is illusory as my regulator is "whooshing" at an arrestingly rapid rate. I'm matching my breathing to my "kabooming" heart rate of about 120 beats a minute. Finally, I take a leap of faith and calm down. Soon our presence evokes some piscine interest from the sleek, grey ones, but the "sharks have been fed" reassurance still holds good. After all, we are not talking great whites here, that can chomp through the steel mesh on protective cages.
But when those dark impenetrable eyes are less than a metre away you know these specimens are not to be trifled with. What if they are still hungry, frustrated or are just having a bad day?
We move further down the tank to pay our respects to Wobbe in his hideaway, but he feigns disinterest, which is consistent with the perverse nature of carpet sharks.
Having gleaned the vital knowledge that her jaw reaction time is six times faster than a human eye can detect, we decide to pass without giving her a friendly pat on the head.
Crossing over the tunnel once again we traverse the narrow Collision Alley in solo runs, conceding right-of-way to oncoming traffic.
In the next open area we take our last look at this silent world of patrolling predators. I wave at the gaggle of wide-eyed children inside the clear tunnel. I wonder what the little ones think about the goggle-eyed black monster seal staring at them through the cloud of rising bubbles. They wave back while pressing broad smiling faces against the acrylic sheet. A quick flip of my fins and I complete my 30-minute sojourn in inner space and leave its denizens to their weightless, restless, worry-free lives.
Shark species have been around for at least 400 million years, pre-dating the dinosaurs, and the "modern" shark by 100 million years.
They have an excellent sense of smell and specialist cells on their head for detecting electricity produced by the muscles of prey, particularly when the prey is injured.
There are more than 350 species of shark in the oceans. I ask Andrew if he has experimented with other species and learn that small tiger and hammerhead sharks (up there with the makos and great whites as dangerous to humans) were given a trial at Kelly Tarlton's. The new sharks apparently got the notion that it was their duty to cull the less aggressive species. Predators tend to do that somehow, as if they have a diminished sense of fair play. Maintaining a mixed-species tank invites alarming consequences.
The Shark Survival interactive experience is a great way of informing us about the mysteries of the ocean and introducing some of its highly evolved creatures. It is also great fun for people of all ages. No diving experience is needed as basic training is given.
Taking the plunge into this highly charged water world is something of a personal challenge that can lead to a real interest in the undersea realm. Perhaps even an adventure that will last a lifetime.
- Detours, HoS
