Into deep water in Fiji

DARREL MAGER dons scuba gear but is not reassured when told the sharks are friendly in Fiji.

Jaws has a lot to answer for. Just when I thought it was safe to enjoy Fiji's warm and inviting waters, a baby sprat brushed my leg, leaving me dog-paddling frantically for the shore as if a serial-killing great white shark wanted me for lunch.

It truly is sad when you can't relax and enjoy the country's many beautiful lagoons and coral reefs - world famous snorkling grounds - without looking back over your shoulder every five seconds to see if a set of razor- sharp teeth is right behind you.

I was just a kid when the 10m hunk of plastic called Jaws first graced our screens back in the 1970s and taking a swim was never the same again.

Jaws psychosis is widespread and has ruined the beach for plenty. Only one person from the group of Kiwi journalists I was travelling with on a week-long tour of Fiji claimed not to be afraid of sharks. He boasted about swimming with sharks back home, although he had carried a big stick with him, just in case.

By the end of the tour - six days of travelling on boats - he was to become heartily sick of our constant cowardly shark comments.

One fellow traveller refused to enter the water during the entire stay. I could only psych myself up to enter the shallows by slipping a Swiss Army knife down my trunks.

Tourist operators seemed well aware of peoples' fears and all initially tried assuring us, with hand on heart, that Fiji was just one of those rare countries that didn't have sharks.

But we all knew that where there were small fish there must be bigger fish, and it did not take a Steven Spielberg to follow the food chain through to sharks - and even bigger sharks.

So we kept asking the hard questions until finally one local Fijian snapped under intense questioning that "yes, of course there are sharks ... but we only have friendly sharks over here."

Still we were not fooled. Why were they friendly? Was it because they were well fed on tourists?

It disturbed me to learn that Fiji was where New Zealander Elizabeth Rogers was nearly killed by a 2.5m tiger shark while snorkling about 30m from the shores of the tiny Taveuni Island in the north-east in 1997. Half her leg had to be amputated.

So, with the shark issue confirmed, our first days in Fiji waters were very scary indeed.

Our first nervous encounter with the deep blue came courtesy of the 10m schooner Seaspray, around the Mamanuca Islands near Nadi.

The water was very warm. Sharks like warm water.

We found that we could actually get up the nerve to go snorkling provided there was a large group of us to help even out the shark-bait odds.

I had a theory that drinking plenty of alcohol would act us some sort of shark repellent and deter Jaws. But that false sense of security was quickly destroyed after I accidentally knicked myself with the knife. Sharks like blood.

I wasn't long in the water on that trip.

The fear continued to fester away with each swim until I decided it was time to face my fear and get out of the shallows.

The chance came when the mad colleague who had swum with sharks convinced me to go diving during a Blue Lagoon Cruise in the Yasawa Island chain in the north-west.

Even though it was only a 12m beginner's dive off Tavewa Island with Westside Watersports, I still had a bad case of the jitters.

The instructor almost managed to put me at ease: "Hey dude, you're over six feet tall. That makes you a big fish out there. A shark's not gonna mess with you. Besides, by the time you actually see one he'll have already seen you and will be heading in the opposite direction."

Being among all those fish among the coral had a relaxing effect and my eyes were opened to a whole new world - a world I had been refusing to acknowledge.

In 12m I became one with the shark (though happy not to have seen one). It was a spiritual experience and went a long way towards curing my fears.

In the following days I jumped at every chance to go snorkling and even ventured alone into deeper waters - minus pocketknife.

When the opportunity arose to go diving again during a visit to the Coral Coast in south-west Fiji, I took it. This time I graduated to two dives off the back of a Pro Dive Fiji boat on the open-sea side of the reef.

We had to climb down the mooring line in a strong current before descending to 18m to check out the amazing Golden Arches and Three Sisters coral reefs.

Big snapper-like fish kept circling us trying to determine whether we were friend or foe.

I was confident and comfortable until something sunk its teeth into my flipper. I spun around ready to plunge my finger into the shark's rolled-back eye, only to discover it was instructor trying to drag me back.

Another group of divers had gone past moments earlier and I had somehow mistaken their Fijian instructor for my own and started following along.

In the end I was a little disappointed not to see any sharks.

One of the Pro Dive instructors believes the best way to get sharks out of your system is to actually see one on your first dive, and there's some logic in that.

There is a place near Mana Island, off Nadi, where a guide called Api specialises in taking out daring divers to a place known as the Supermarket, where you can swim with sharks.

The divers all cling to a hunk of coral reef while Api hand-feeds sharks then playfully wrestles with them.

Despite doing this for several years, I was assured he still had all his "bits and pieces."

Other diving charter operators have mixed feelings about such a practice. Some fear it will dull the shark's natural feeding instincts.

What happens if the day comes when Api stops feeding them? Will they be able to go back to hunting naturally? Will they swim up to unsuspecting divers expecting a feed? I hope not.

With another shark-afraid colleague - who was impressed with the impact of the diving on my fear - I actually contemplated joining Api at the Supermarket. Lack of time saved the day.

Maybe next time.

Taking the plunge has helped me make peace with the sharks and I can highly recommend it to others.

I'm still angry with Spielberg, but perhaps on my next visit to Fiji I will look up Api - provided he still has all his bits and pieces.

* Darrel Mager dived in Fiji courtesy of Pro Dive Fiji, Air Pacific, the Fiji Visitor's Bureau and Blue Lagoon Cruises.