As a very lucky member of the media, I got to experience this new adventure as a trial, and boy was it something to write home about.
THE INVITE
When I got the invite for the ‘World’s Most Extreme Dining experience’, my heart skipped a beat. Something I have always wanted to do is go shark diving, but mustering up that kind of courage isn’t easy. Especially when nobody wants to do it with you. I knew immediately that while I would be a nervous wreck until the dive, I had to RSVP with a massive yes!
THE DAY OF
Like anticipated, I couldn’t function properly the entire day leading up to the shark dive. I got no work done, I couldn’t eat. I was a pain in the a** to all my colleagues. It was a nightmare. Thankfully, the colleagues I were annoying were actually really excited for me! Or maybe they just wanted a shark to eat me. Either way, their support got me to Sea Life that afternoon, bubbling with excitement.
ARRIVAL
I was part of the second group to go diving, which I thought would make me more anxious, but instead put me at ease after I saw how placid the sharks were with the first group in the tank.
The incredibly knowledgeable workers at Sea Life watched on with us as the first group took their dive, informing us that from our point of view, everything in the tank seemed A LOT smaller than what it actually was. From where I was, the sharks already looked HUGE, so knowing that they would be 3 to 4 times larger when I got in there had me nervous beyond measure.
THE DIVE
I’m not going to lie, the hardest part of the dive wasn’t the fact that I was faced with 3.5 metre long sharks heading my way and bumping into my head. It was becoming accustomed to breathing with the air tanks that were strapped to our backs.
Trying to tell my 26-year-old body that breathing through the nose was a no-go was incredibly difficult, but didn’t take long to become accustomed to. Thankfully, the instructors were incredible in getting us prepared for entering the tank, teaching us the hand signals and procedures to help in case of a panic. BECAUSE BOY DID I PANIC!
Being in the tank felt exactly how they explained it. Surreal, and also like you’re walking on the moon. Because you have weights strapped around your waist, you aren’t able to float, meaning you have to walk (with great difficulty) across the bottom of the tank. But it was also incredibly weightless. That zero-gravity feeling made the experience so much more fun!
I wouldn’t in a million years think that I would have various photos of myself doing a peace sign while a bunch of Grey Nurse Sharks float ominously behind me, but here we are.
I did it for the ‘gram and it was so worth it.
THE DINE
After heading out of the tank and having a hot shower, we were greeted with the most beautiful setting to have dinner together. It was something we all agreed would be perfect for a proposal, with the hundreds of beautiful sea creatures floating around us in this magical blue universe.
This was an experience of a lifetime that I am so grateful to have done. Dive and dine with the sharks promised to be an exhilarating experience, and it was.
With ALL funds raised going directly to the SEA LIFE Sydney’s next shark rescue, it’s something you definitely want to be a part of.
A very limited number of tickets go on sale at midday on Monday 16th March for just $143 (with all funds raised going directly to the SEA LIFE Sydney’s next shark rescue).
