Sharking around – Tourists on the menu!
19 November 2006
For someone who was scared to swim past the diving pit in Leeds International Pool (because the water turns colder and visions of sharks breaking through the drains filled his mind) Chris has certainly come a long way to conquering his fear! The fear has now grown in to a strange/stupid/senseless (delete as applicable) fascination and respect for the animals (although if one were to nibble on him I think all respect would fly out the window!).
I on the other hand do not have the same fascination as Chris but do have an extremely competitive nature which means if Chris is diving with sharks then so am I!
So that’s really how we came about diving last weekend with sharks!
We booked onto the ‘Shark Dive Xtreme’ at Manly aquarium which allowed us to dive with four different species of shark including seven big Grey Nurse Sharks in a controlled environment. Grey Nurse Sharks are not man-eaters (although they would bite a human if they felt provoked) but nevertheless they still have the typical shark-like evil grin and little beady eye! They also are big! The biggest shark we dived with was approximately 3.5m long but even more disturbing was the girth of the animal (especially the pregnant female!).
The other species of shark included Port Jackson, Wobbegongs and Stingrays! (Yes we were informed that stingrays are in fact part of the shark family). The stingrays we were swimming with were massive (approximately 3-4m) and had there barbs fully intact.
Also in the water were groupers and two big turtle hybrids as well as many other types of fish.
The sharks swam really close allowing us to get some great pictures if you can see beyond Chris’s comedy moustache (see Blog below) and at points you could easily have touched them as they swam past. Unsurprisingly sharks don’t like to be touched so we were advised not to touch (err….like I was going to?!)
We also got a great 5 minute video clip which you can see below (if you want to view it on the full screen you will need to click on Google Video or access via the link down the right hand side of the page).
On to other events of the weekend.
Not to be overshadowed by the shark dive I became an Auntie again. Amelie made her grand entrance on Friday night (Aussie time) weighing in at a healthy 8 pound 4oz! The pictures I have received are lovely and I just wish I could have been there to see her in person but unfortunately I will have to wait until she is 4 months old to meet her (I don’t think she is going to notice my absence though as I have a strong feeling those first few months will be spent doing what babies do best – eating, sleeping vomiting and well you know the rest!).
Saturday Chris and I boarded the bus for the one and half hour ride to Palm Beach which is probably better know by us Brits as Summer Bay which features in Home and Away. Sadly we did not bump into Alf Stewart (the flaming galar!) but we did see the beach and the outside of the Surf Club. We later settled down on the beach for a 2 hour nap which was much needed following a big night out with Donnie, Jen, Nathan and Emma the night before. (Nathan and Emma are the couple that have kindly invited us to spend Christmas with them and their family up in Yamba.)
Sunday we spent on Manly beach preparing ourselves mentally for the shark dive and taking in (much to Chris’s delight) the women’s beach volleyball finals which included Australia’s three time Olympian and gold medallist Kerri Pottharst.
Next weekend we have booked ourselves a trip North to Port Stephens, followed by the much anticipated Kylie concert, and a visit from Chris’s sister Nicola and husband Steve. Can’t wait!
Tags: Australia, Mo
Chris and Charl
Congratulations on the shark dive and of course to Charlotte on becoming an auntie again.
Mum and Dad were here yesterday and enjoyed watching the shark video, however we have had trouble convincing the boys that it is actually the two of you in the water with the sharks.
As I write this Nik and Steve will be about to touch down, hope you all have a great time together and that Nik delivers my hugs to you both
Love
Karen
Hi Karen!!
We met up with Nik and Steve this morning at the airport, and she delivered your hug to us both! I have sent one by return of Sister that you will get in December!
Thank you very much for our Christmas present, not sure if I was supposed to open it straight away, but blame Nik, she told me to! An ashes ticket is quite frankly a priceless gift, so it is really generous of you all, can’t wait to join up with the Barmy Army!
Take care, speak to you soon!
GalaR?
Try Galah!
Try work!