Exmouth Navy Pier (WA, Australia)

Sharks, sharks, sharks! The cool water and poor visibility had me disappointed and regretting the decision to dive for the first 60 seconds, until a 2.5m Grey Nurse (Sand Tiger) swam right by me – from then it was on.

We followed (him?) under the pier to where an identical Grey Nurse was lying on the sand. They circled a few times and then swam off so we continued our dive – by now I was buzzing. We came across three White Tips resting under a log. In contrast to the slim, sleek cat-like appearance one normally associates with these sharks, these looked beefy and well fed.

We saw 3 tasselled Wobbegong Sharks, many endemic catfish, and several Giant Grouper. Under the Pier is a hive of activity, with schooling fish of all shapes and sizes.

Tasselled Wobbegong - Look hard!! Head to the left, tail to the right. He is so well camouflaged even with me within touching distance.

The highlight of my dive was the end, however. I went back to find the Nurses. I settled on the sand next to one who was lying there resting. The other soon appeared and we spent a good 5 minutes eyeing each other up.

He was very curious about me and I have never been so engaged with a shark. He swam up and down in front of me looking me in the eyes, and then swam right for me, coming within 30cm of my face. He then settled in the sand near me, obviously content that I was not a threat. Grey Nurses are not aggressive sharks and he was swimming slowly and calmly so there was no danger involved, but I was buzzing that he was so curious and spent so much time with me.

http://www.sharkwater.com/

Whale Sharks in Exmouth

We were picked up by Ningaloo Blue and immediately discovered that one of the crew was from Nelson so we had a lot to talk about. We were told that they had seen three sharks the previous day. We struck gold with our first shark – 8 metres long!

He was very relaxed and we swam with him for what seemed like eternity although I never wanted it to end. I spent most of my time level with his left pectoral fin, looking him in the eye and wondering where all the other snorkelers were – I began to feel guilty thinking that I must have been hogging the shark but when we finished the swim it turned out that everyone has the same feeling – the sharks are so large that everyone gets their own unobstructed view.

Over the course of the day we saw a total of eight sharks, this was the record for the season. We were very lucky as others from our hotel had only seen one or two – we chose the right company to go with! Spotter planes are a must. We had 3 very relaxed larger sharks, and five of the smaller more active and flighty sharks (small is about 4-6m!).

This last photo shows a shark “banking” – this is where the shark rotates so that his back is facing a perceived threat. The threat in this case was a free diver who got too close for the shark’s liking. The skin on the shark’s back can be 14cm thick so this is a mechanism to protect the shark’s vulnerable underparts.

 On our way home we saw humpback whales EVERYWHERE – they seemed to be following us, and they put on a spectacular show of breaches and tail flips. Every time we lost one group we would find another.

http://www.heartsforsharks.com/ is an organisation started up by Amy, the crew member we met from Nelson. Have a look!







The sky is crying the streets are full of tears
Rain come down wash away my fears
And all this writing on the wall
Oh I can read between the lines
Rain come down forgive this dirty town
Rain come down and give this dirty town
A drink of water a drink of wine

If I been hard on you I never chose to be
I never wanted no one else
I tried my best to be somebody you'd be close to
Hand in hand like lovers are supposed to

As you'd sleep I'd think my heart would break in two
I'd kiss your cheek I'd stop myself from waking you
But in the dark you'd speak my name
You'd say baby what's wrong ?
Oh ? Here I am baby I'm coming back for more
I'm like a wave that's got to roll into the shore
Yes and if my love's in vain how come my love is so strong ?

If I been hard on you I never chose to be
I never wanted no one else
I tried my best to be somebody you'd be close to
Hand in hand like lovers are supposed to

Now you and me go parallel together and apart
And you keep your perfect distance and it's tearing at my heart
Did you never feel the distance
You never tried to cross no line
'CAUSE it's another dirty river and another dirty scar
And I don't know who's kissing you and I don't know where you are
So far from home don't you think of me sometime

If I been hard on you I never chose to be
I never wanted no one else
I tried my best to be somebody you'd be close to
Hand in hand like lovers are supposed to(2x)

Sky is crying see the streets are full of tears
Rain coming down to wash away my fears
And all this writing on the wall
Oh I can read between the lines
-Dire Straits