Diving with sharks is something that our team loves. We’ve been lucky enough to see mid-level, filter feeder and scavenger sharks in the wild. But, encountering apex sharks was something we wanted to highly prioritize on expedition. Why? Because to understand apex predators means to understand how the entire underwater ecosystem works. Without them, the ocean would be fundamentally out of balance.
So, off to Fiji we went, as it’s one of the best places to see the shark kingdom and its hierarchy in one place. In 2022, on my first expedition to Fiji, I got violently sick, leaving me with a bit of hesitation going back. I was something of a medical mystery to Fiji’s local physicians when I had checked into their hospital last time. There was no real diagnosis for my “condition.” But ejecting out of all ends for 72 hours straight made my flights from Fiji’s remote islands to mainland and back home to Australia to be something special.
If it wasn’t for the local family I was staying with, I’m honestly not sure I’d even be here today to tell the tale. They were my saving grace, taking such good care of me when I had never been sicker. And all the while, they made light of a terrible situation, letting me laugh between bouts of spewing and shitting myself.
Nevertheless, for my second time around, there were sharks to see and an eager expedition team ready to explore Fiji’s underwater world. Touching down at the Nadi International Airport, I was trying to block out those visceral memories from the past. Adding to my apprehension was the less than ideal weather conditions. After weeks of intense rain, we were quite literally sinking into the ground—our legs covered with mud. We knew we were in for a wild week in Fiji above and below the waterline.
We made our way down to a place called Pacific Harbor, where we met with the Beqa Adventure Divers research team to get our shark on. Unfortunately, the weather had us sequestered to land, as it was far too rough to make the passage out to what the locals call, “The Wall.” Going to The Wall meant that you’d be in open ocean with the legendary bull shark, among other species that swim through the channel. This was the main event we were here to document.
Watching palm trees aggressively bend with every gnarly wind gust, we prayed to the weather gods that tomorrow would be our time in the sun. We didn’t get that lucky, but at least the rain stopped and the wind died down—enough to get us somewhat safely to The Wall. Sharing a boat called “The Predator” with a visiting research team, we donned our gear and took the plunge.
Led by Natasha D. Marosi, the Director of Conservation at the research center, we dropped to 30 meters (100 feet). It was dark, murky and the definition of eerie. These were not the tropical clear waters one might typically associate with “Fiji water.”
Natasha had deeply briefed us the day before and that morning. Our plan was simple: we were to traverse the murk, after major rainstorms, to find one of the ocean’s top, apex predators. Easy enough, right? She told us to stay alert, calm and still, as the sharks would find us. Upon our descent and in a matter of seconds, we were surrounded by 30+ bull sharks. All swimming slowly, it felt like their eyes were peering into our souls. The state of the water and overall general conditions down there made it feel extremely raw, as if we had just taken a step back in time.
The occasional lemon or reef shark would find its way in the mix with the bulls. This made for an interesting comparison, as those mid-level predators looked small next to the impressive, broad bulls. But thinking of the Star Wars quote, “there’s always a bigger fish,” I don’t think I truly could understand this reference until feasting my eyes upon a tiger shark.
We only saw one while in Fiji. But she was more than enough. Coming in close for a good look, her behavior and personality broke through the sea of bulls, making her the definitive queen of this vast ocean. There’s not much in this world that could send a feeling of high alert through your body faster than seeing a tiger shark circling you at depth. The curiosity coming from this shark humbled us to the core.
The bulls, seemingly acting as the tiger’s minions, continued to swim quietly around us—avoiding the queen as she bumped any one of them that got in her way. We started to wonder what our ascent was going to look like with shark soup all around us. Gradually starting to rise, the tiger followed us all the way to 5 meters (15 feet), looking directly at us during our entire safety stop. As if she were to tell us this was her turf and we were lucky to be there.
Although uncommon for sharks to attack, they are still wild animals. Diving with certified shark professionals and experts is a good idea if you’re going to be in open ocean with any kind of shark. Going with the people who study their behavior and understand how to navigate different scenarios makes diving with sharks as safe as it possibly can be.
When you have a shark of that size, presence and power looking right at you, it evokes feelings that are simply indescribable with words. You have to just experience this for yourself. It gets you thinking quite deeply about how ancient creatures like this really are. They’ve been calling this earth home long before we have, and nothing quite like it can make you feel so small.
After the last dive, I was so excited that I accidentally drank right from the tap, forgetting what had happened to me only a year prior here on this very island paradise. This is a hard no when in Fiji, and on most islands in the Pacific.
If you don’t mind being fully on island time, with long transfers to and from places, while having to watch where you get your water from, Fiji is a good stop for your dive bucket list. If you want to have some of the most incredible shark encounters in the world, make your way to Pacific Harbor. But, if I can lend a single piece of advice, make sure you take the time to connect with the locals if you find yourself in Fiji.
Despite some grim encounters along the way, our time spent with those who have made Fiji their homebase has definitely been the highlight. They will show you uncharted territories and safely bring you as close as possible to some of the most magnificent creatures on the planet. Most importantly though, they might save your life if shit (literally) hits the fan!
To be continued …
The rich text element allows you to create and format headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, images, and video all in one place instead of having to add and format them individually. Just double-click and easily create content.
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
