Wiggsy
Contributor
Beqa Lagoon Resort once again delivered a great group trip in July 2007, and 'BULA' to 'Hammerhead' who I had the priviledge of meeting on our trip. This was my third group trip to Beqa and after missing out on the shark dive in 2006, we managed 3 shark dives in July 2007. This shark dive is simply amazing. The dive site is called "The Bistro" (wasn't too sure what or who was on the menu) and is 18 metres (60 feet) down pretty much directly beneath the boat. Upon arrival there are masses of Remoras and Rainbow Runners, with school of Giant Trevally circling on the bottom at the feed site. Divers are lined up along the 'safety rope' (apparently the sharks know not to cross it!) and the action begins.
Three wheelie bins full of fish are offered up to the clouds of Trevally; Ranibow Runner and Fusiliers, and then the sharks start arriving. On 2 out of 3 dives we had no less than 7 species of sharks - Bulls up to 12 feet long; Silvertip Whalers up to 10 feet long; Grey Reefies; White Tip and Black Tip Reef sharks; cuddly Tawny Nurse Sharks; and sinister looking Lemon Sharks. Our first dive here was awesome - very full on but well controlled and incredibly exciting. I've done quite a few shark dives before, but nothing like this. Normally the Grey Reef SHarks look big, here they were small fry.
But on our second dive here, we scored big time - a 15 foot Tiger Shark - a beautiful young female arrived wanting to play. She was only slightly interested in the food, and seemed more curious than aggressive. I got to within three feet of her head on (see the photo in my gallery) and felt no threat whatsoever. The fijian diveguides did have to work hard to "steer" her away from getting too close - but again she seemed to want to play more than to hurt us! As soon as she arrived diveguides tightened the divers up a bit and went into overdrive, controlling the group and the shark(s).
It's taken me 30 years of diving to experience this, and yet my daughter Georgia was there (her 10th dive no less) smiling broadly the whole time. At one point, a 12 foot Bull Shark went straight past in front of her within touching distance - she held her ground with no hint of panic. Absolutely an awe-inspiring event. If you get the chance, just DO IT!
Three wheelie bins full of fish are offered up to the clouds of Trevally; Ranibow Runner and Fusiliers, and then the sharks start arriving. On 2 out of 3 dives we had no less than 7 species of sharks - Bulls up to 12 feet long; Silvertip Whalers up to 10 feet long; Grey Reefies; White Tip and Black Tip Reef sharks; cuddly Tawny Nurse Sharks; and sinister looking Lemon Sharks. Our first dive here was awesome - very full on but well controlled and incredibly exciting. I've done quite a few shark dives before, but nothing like this. Normally the Grey Reef SHarks look big, here they were small fry.
But on our second dive here, we scored big time - a 15 foot Tiger Shark - a beautiful young female arrived wanting to play. She was only slightly interested in the food, and seemed more curious than aggressive. I got to within three feet of her head on (see the photo in my gallery) and felt no threat whatsoever. The fijian diveguides did have to work hard to "steer" her away from getting too close - but again she seemed to want to play more than to hurt us! As soon as she arrived diveguides tightened the divers up a bit and went into overdrive, controlling the group and the shark(s).
It's taken me 30 years of diving to experience this, and yet my daughter Georgia was there (her 10th dive no less) smiling broadly the whole time. At one point, a 12 foot Bull Shark went straight past in front of her within touching distance - she held her ground with no hint of panic. Absolutely an awe-inspiring event. If you get the chance, just DO IT!
