Artsharkkids 2 wiggs by Alan Wiggs

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THE SHARK KIDS

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fiji

WHAT KIND OF TEACHER DELIBERATELY TAKES HIS SCHOOL STUDENTS DIVING WITH A BUNCH OF MEAN-LOOKING SHARKS? CRAZY... IRRESPONSIBLE... FOOLHARDY... STUPID... OR JUST PLAIN LUCKY? RIGHT NOW, I FEEL PRETTY LUCKY. I’VE JUST SHARED AN INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE WITH MY OWN FAMILY, AS WELL AS ‘THE PENINSULA SCHOOL BEQA LAGOON OPEN WATER GRADUATING CLASS’ AND A GORGEOUS FIVE METRE TIGER SHARK CALLED ‘PRINCESS’!

eqa Lagoon Resort was the venue for our fifth annual Fijian Scuba expedition, and I was tour leader for a group of 32 staff, students, families and friends from The Peninsula School, Mount Eliza, on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula. Some of the students had completed their Open Water Course prior to leaving Melbourne and had spent the first days of the expedition gaining in-water experience, completing shore dives and boat dives and building up their hours. Another half dozen had been in the pool under the watchful eyes of Delana and Joeli, the resort’s friendly and patient PADI instructors.

For the course candidates the days wore on – gear assembly followed by pool practicals then shore dives and de-briefing sessions. Endless evenings watching PADI course DVDs and poring over text books while we old hands looked on sympathetically, vainly

trying to remember how those damned deco tables actually worked. And then there were questions, lots of them - repetitive groups; surface intervals and ascent rates were discussed as the students nervously prepared for the dreaded theory exam. Kids always hate homework over the school holidays, but this was very different. They all passed the theory and prac. with flying colours and looked very comfortable in the water, so I had a quiet word with Joeli and Delana one balmy evening. “So... are they up to the shark dive?” I asked cautiously. We discussed each kid’s skills and competencies and decided that four would be good to go after another couple of days of successful boat dives, while the others needed a few additional hours under their weight belts. The decision was not made lightly, and I discussed the dive with their parents, phoning them and asking them to consider the issues carefully and

Left to right: The shark kids prop in the gentle current at the safety zone wreck - we had a-one-to-one adult to student ratio and all divers displayed a confident and calm manner. How close is too close? As she wheeled overhead I breathed in deeply, rose off the bottom and managed to catch her toothy smile.

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Olivia Langdon, year 12 Peninsula School student, up close and personal with one of the tawny nurse sharks, closely supervised by Joeli, the fijian shark wrangler.

give an answer the next evening. I was carefully outlined the risks and the opportunities this remarkable dive offered. All agreed, if a little nervously. Taken out of context it must have seemed a strange request! Lachlan Shaw’s mum was fine with it – her older son had done the same dive three years earlier on our first Beqa expedition and returned intact. One evening we showed the earlier shark feed DVD so the group had an idea of what to expect. The drill was to descend fairly quickly, hit the bottom in one group and kneel behind the rope line separating us from the feeding station a few metres away. Their excitement was almost palpable as we headed towards Pacific Harbour to meet with Brendan from Aquatrek who manages the shark feed. Gearing up in a light chop at ‘The Bistro’, Sam joked “Are we on the menu?”. I explained how to recognise each of the eight varieties of shark they were likely to see. The slate-grey bulls would cruise in slowly from the shadows hugging the bottom while the silvertips would nervously flash in from overhead in a smash and grab

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Facing page: A spectacular lemon shark wheels over the heads of the student divers. The flotilla of pilot trevally seem to only associate with this particular species (at least at this site). A small upturned wreck provided a welcome resting base for the exhausted remoras dislodged by all the commotion. It was fun to watch them glide in then casually flip over to land on the back of their head! A gorgeous female tiger shark cruises overhead at The Bistro. The Peninsula School Beqa Lagoon PADI Open Water graduating class. Pictured from left to right are Peter Langdon, Sam GlennSmith, Lachlan Shaw; Lyall Clarke, Olivia Langdon and Kat Crow.

raid. The lemon sharks swim slowly in straight lines and their ragged-toothed jaws would be flanked by a flotilla of pilot trevally on each side. The tawny nurse sharks tend to rummage greedily around the food bin, while the grey reefies and blacktips will circle at a distance in midwater waiting for an easy snack to drift past. But one shark needed no introduction – they’d know the tiger if they saw it. It commands the midwater – and the other sharks back off. I’d done the shark dives three times previously and seen the tiger only once, so was not overly optimistic of a repeat. With a few of the diveguides down below standing guard, Joeli declared “The pool is

open” and course graduate Sam GlennSmith, keen as mustard was first in. Within moments, Sam was yelling through the chop “Hey Wiggsy, there’s a tiger shark down there”. “Yeah right... whatever Sam! Keep ya reg in and ya mask on,” I replied, dismissing him as another noisy beginner. I must admit we geared up a lot quicker – maybe he was right! My 15 year old daughter Hannah and I were next in, and as we first looked down onto the reef, there she was, gliding through a tornado of fusiliers and trevally – a large female tiger shark as fat as a cow. Our pulse rate took a hit as she left the bottom and circled in behind us, the contrast in size between Hannah and the tiger was obvious. I hadn’t expected her to come in so soon - I didn’t quite have all the camera functions set, so that photo op of a lifetime passed by in seconds. Damn! We descended to the feeding area where a vortex of rainbow runner and surgeon fish were already churning up the bottom. Elbow to elbow, we kneeled in position, my eyes on the newbies who’s bouyancy and breathing control belying their experience level. The tiger sliced in effortlessly, sucking in a tuna head as the blizzard of movement and life continued – it proved almost impossible to frame a shot as the water was so thick with fish. Video is the best medium here as only it can capture such chaotic movement. A spectacular lemon shark wheeled overhead and it was easy to ignore the moray eels and the slightly

Tavua

O Lautoka

VITI LEVU NADI SUVA Sigatoka

confused trumpetfish nosing around our knees. I remember thinking, I’ve done over 2000 dives and seen a tiger shark twice, and yet for Hannah this was only dive 10! How would she handle it? The big tiger soon moved on and then it was time for the bulls to approach, their beady eyes watching our every move.

Pacific Harbour

BEQA Vatulele

Their powerful build and large size helps explain why they’re statistically the world’s

This page top to bottom: Tawny nurse sharks are the greedy pigs of the shark feed and typically immerse themselves fully in the feed bins. We enjoyed the great visibility at "Blue Wall". Pictured from left are Lachlan Shaw, Olivia Langdon, Rod and Sam Glenn-Smith. Lachlan Shaw and Sam Glenn-Smith enjoy their first wreck dive at Carpet Cove, an entry level dive site at Beqa.

most dangerous shark. And yet, this dive is so well managed that we only felt excitement and awe – fear isn’t really part of the deal – the sharks seem too well fed and well behaved for that. Hannah was apprehensive, the size of the beast was rather confronting, but she stayed close to her sister Georgia and watched with eyes as big as saucers. Joeli invited Olivia and Kat over the rope to get a little more up close and personal with the tawny nurses, who didn’t mind a quick pat on the flanks – which didn’t interrupt their feeding at all. Kat’s turn was cut short as a three metre bull approached. All too soon a steady metallic rapping indicated it was all was over and reluctant divers gradually left The Bistro and ascended to the safety zone on the reeftop. Here a small upturned wreck provided a welcome base for the exhausted remoras dislodged by the commotion. It was fun to watch them glide in then casually flip over to land on the back of their head! The group assembled, eyes wide, still watching the sharks below as we completed a long and entertaining safety stop. Back on the boat, the students struggled to process what they’d just seen. Their first shark dive and they get not only bulls,

Kadavu

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When they weren't hanging around the pool or underwater, the Shark Kids often visited Ravi Ravi village to play volleyball or rugby. Some epic struggles ensued – we lost!.

lemons, silvertips and reef sharks, but a well behaved, seemingly gentle tiger shark. This is not only a great dive, but a chance to study the different characteristics and behaviours of up to eight species of sharks. It was a pretty steep learning curve for the course graduates and a very early peak in their diving careers. Monday in the pool – Sunday diving with sharks!

BEQA ISLAND FACT FILE CLIMATE: Beqa is 18 degrees south of the equator. Summer (Oct-Mar) has days up to 35 degrees and humid nights. Winter (Apr-Sept) brings warm fine days up to 28 degrees with cool nights. We had 27° water temperatures (in July no less!) DIVING FACILITIES: Beqa has three huge diesel powered ex-cray boats that easily take up to 20 divers each. Head; sun deck; and camera storage in the lounge area. A good range of hire equipment is available, as are all PADI dive courses. A full service facility – you won’t lift a tank and can expect to be spoilt. POWER: 240 volt Australian-style plugs. The generator runs 24/7. PASSPORT – Current passport – no visa required. OTHER ACTIVITIES: Diving is the mainstay of the resort. Snorkelling gear and sea kayaks are available. Village tours, jungle walks and waterfall treks are all part of the

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package. Firewalking, warrior dances, Fijian bands and choirs help to fill in the evenings. The pool, resort grounds and the main dining room are all quite impressive. The wonderful new spa facility offers massages and beauty treatments. GETTING THERE – Ex Nadi; then via coach for the two hour trip to Pacific Harbour. Dive boats then transfer guests. WHAT TO BRING – Apart from diving and snorkelling requisites, sunscreen is a must. Also bring a small gift for the village kids – crayons; coloured pencils or a t-shirt are warmly received. FINAL TIP: Try to organise the Shark Dive early in your trip to allow a back-up day should the weather blow up (unlikely – but it happened to us back in 2006!). Ian Lockwood from Allways Dive Expeditions (9885 8863) handled all our travel arrangements and as usual the trip went off without a hitch.