Shark Dive at Pacific Harbour - Fiji

I just the most thrilling and terrifying experiences diving with sharks in Fiji at a dive centre at Pacific Harbour, Fiji. The dive was billed as diving close up and watching the feeding of all types of sharks; Tiger and Bull Sharks being the biggest. No cages just lying on your belly 2 metres away from the feeding area. I've seen this many times on TV and jumped at the chance of being able to do it. I am a PADI Advanced diving and have done about 30 dives. However the last one would be about 8 years ago. I had certainly picked an interesting one to start off again. I was therefore a bit nervous but was assured they have full safety procedures which are strictly adhered to. We are under full instruction with safety divers at the back and front with metal poles to prod the sharks away if they came close. The Fijian diver acting as the feeder had a chain mail glove that went up to the armpit in case the shark mistook his arm for food. The dive company came recommended and have been doing this dive for 6 years week in week out.

So with some nerves I jumped off the boat yesterday morning. Immediately below the surface I saw a 3 metre Bull Shark circling us at about 10 metres. There was no panic and all seemed normal as we descended past the shark and down to a ledge at 32 metres. We knelled behind a wall and in front of us was a metal box which had been filled with tuna fish heads. A huge shoal of Groupers, Tuna and Jack fish swam around the box. The feeder opened the box and started pulling out the fish heads. The Groupers and Tuna darted in and savaged the heads. Then came the first of the big sharks. Bull Sharks between 2 and 3 metre came from the dark and would cruise in taking whole fish heads. I was surprised at how timid and shy they were. In fact I saw the aggressive Grouper fish hound a Bull Shark which eventually spat the fish out. These sharks really are not the agressive monsters you think they are.

We then moved up to 10 metres and watched the feeding from no more than 1 metre away of smaller sharks; Black Tip, White Tip and Reef Sharks. They completely ignored us. I even got a brush of a tail to the head as one cruised past. Again the Groupers and the Tuna got the main share of the fish. This was an awesome first dive but the best was to come.

After the 1 hour safety stop on the surface we jumped for our second dive. We settled at 18 metres lying on our bellies on a platform of a sloping ledge that disappeared into the depths. The feeder box was 2 metres away from us. When opened I looked down and saw around 20 Bull Sharks swimming up from the depths. The largest was well over 4 metres and the size of a Ford Escort. She was called Grandma. There was complete calm. The sharks circled around us for a while and then gracefully came in and took their fish heads. I can not explain the feeling of being so close to such huge majestic creatures. I felt completely safe with the safety dives around us. Eventually the fish heads were gone and we made our way to the surface. While at 5 metres we stopped for our safety stop in open ocean hanging off the boat line. Looking down I could count 15 Bull Sharks circling beneath us. We got into the boat and I was estantic. These were the most amazing dives I have ever that. A truly awesome experience.

Today I was suppose to be diving on a wreck of a fishing boat and a soft coral reef. At the dive centre there was a mad Irish girl doing her PADI Open Water. She was gutted that she couldn't do the shark dive and was her last training dive before she would head back home to New Zealand. After much cajoling and persuading she managed to get agreement to dive at the same shark dive site as that the previous day for the second dive. The Fijians can be very accommodating. A little too much so at times.

My first dive was plagued with issues with my googles and buoyancy. There was also a strong current that tired me out. We did find a nice swim through which then rose up to a chimney. I had different weights for this dive as yesterday's dives as we were to swim around and not just sit still at the bottom. However I was finding it hard to find neutral buoyancy. That with my leaking googles meant I really didn't enjoy the dive. I started getting nervous about the second dive at the shark site. We had no safety divers with us this time only my Fijian buddy/guide and there was no remaining food to feed the sharks. This was finished yesterday. The sharks are now use to the sounds of the boat engines and this usually means they are about to get a free feed. But not today! The captain then tells us that 6 metre Tiger Shark which didn't make an appearance yesterday also tends to turn up on off days when they carrying out maintenance. And if it should turn up we should lie on the bottom, wait for it to leave and then head back to the boat. All very reassuring. This, together with the vivid memories of the monsters I had met yesterday, had me wondering 'why am I doing this?' as I jumped out of the boat. Immediately my googles start filling up with water and I am virtually blind descending to 18 metres, and again I am finding it difficult to find my neutral buoyancy. I knelled at the bottom to clear my goggles and to calm down a bit. The mad Paddy was doing her fin pivots with her instructor so I headed off with my Fijian buddy to explore. To be honest I could not wait to get back on the boat.

Swimming along the bottom there were five pinnacles in front of us. I set off in the direction of the first pinnacle, annoying rising all the time. I could not get neutral buoyancy the whole dive. My Fijian buddy was 3 or 4 metres behind me searching the bottom for shark teeth, which he found quite a few. I swam ahead and straighted to I round the first pinnacle. I kid you not but my heart sank and my worst fears were answered. In front of me was a 3 metre Bull Shark at my level, heading straight for me at about 15 metres. I lifted my arm and hit the button to let air out of my BCG with no effect. I looked over and my paddy was still below me filtering the sand for teeth. I shat myself and froze! Then after about 5 metres the shark took a sharp left turn and headed away. I however turned towards the boat and took off like a Polaris missile thrashing the water to near foam. My Fijian buddy said I was going so fast he could not keep up. After 20 metres or so I went in slightly the wrong direction moving up onto the reef. I turned and saw my buddy waving me back pointing to the coral. I swam over and he was focused up close and pointing at some jelly coral. I am sure he was trying to make the dive even more interesting but in my mind I told him exactly what he could do with his jelly coral and headed directly to the boat as fast as my fins could carry me. I have since been told that I was not in any danger as the sharks are not interested in us humans unless we have food or they think we are food! However it is now 10pm and my heart has not stopped racing all day. A stiff drink has definitely been the order of the day.

To conclude if you want to have the most exhilarating diving experience you will ever have then I highly recommend the official Shark Dive from the Beja dive company at Pacific Harbour, Fiji. If you want to fill your pants/wet suit then go on the unofficial one.

Thanks for sharing that experience! It shows that it does pay off to do your activities with licensed and qualified operators who know what they're doing. Saving a few bucks is alright, but if it comes at the cost of unease, lack of safety and a bad experience, it is definitely not worth it.
Glad you enjoyed your first day though, I am hoping to do the shark dive sometime soon myself.