Pictures: Lyle Such

Writing: Thu Buu

Camera: Canon 5D MkIV

As with most outdoor activities, weather is a deciding factor. Same policy applies with shark dives. If the water is too rough and the swells are too high, the excursion must be aborted. Our first two scheduled outings were both cancelled due to turbulence, and our chances of diving seemed minimal. But on the night before the third rescheduled date, the captain gave us a two thumbs up.

We shared the waters with serious looking albatrosses.

The captain began chumming the water with minced fish to lure smaller fish to the area, which would hopefully entice the great whites to come play. We patiently waited for thirty minutes before we caught sight of the first fin. I was the first to go under since I’ve had previous diving experience.

The cage was not as low under the water as I had expected. The top of the cage sat at the water’s surface.

Even with a weight belt on, we had to slide our feet under the loops at the bottom of the cage to hold us down. There is a rectangular gap that goes all the way around the cage big enough to stick one’s arms and maybe my tiny head out if I were inclined to. There were a few times I had to resist the temptation to reach my arms through the gap to pet the sharks as they swam by. Besides, there was a giant yellow warning sign discouraging that very action.

For being claustrophobic, Lyle stayed under the water the longest and got some amazing closeup shots. At one point, there were three great whites circling the cage. By this point, I was already out of the water but was able to follow their movements from the surface. Lyle got the best show!

These poor creatures all carry their battle scars right on their bodies. We wondered what happened to leave such deep gnashes on his face. As it turns out, cage-diving is a controversial practice in New Zealand. The scars on these creatures in part come from the cages themselves and careless tour operators who allow sharks to collide with their boats and cages in order to give divers the best show possible. Because of the danger to the sharks, along with sharks associating humans with food, cage-diving has been banned in New Zealand permanently. Although we don’t completely agree with this decision, it is understandable and we consider ourselves lucky to have been able to go cage-dving in New Zealand while it was still legal.