bettie

Has anyone done the shark cage adventure on the north shore? We are thinking about it, but would like some feedback. Other things we are thinking about are the atv rides at Kualoa ranch, duck tours (amphibious cars), the submarine tour and the Magic of Polynesia show, in one of the hotels. Any information on these tours would be appreciated.

bashfulLV

I, personally, have not done the shark cage immersion, but my boyfriend's daughter and her husband did it this past September. My boyfriend accompanied them on the boat that took them out, but stayed up on the boat. His daughter said it was pretty scary to have the sharks so close. After the boat crew threw the meat out into the ocean to attract the sharks, there were about 20 sharks - some of them about 6 feet long - "investigating" the cages when they were submerged. I guess it was pretty bizarre to have them bumping into the cages and having them so very close. And they paid good money for this .... no thanks, not for me. My boyfriend thought they were nuts too.

Patrick

Hmmm, when I bungee jumped in New Zealand all my friends said I was crazy -- but this one is a step too far for me. No thanks!!

Diana

So I guess you would say the shark dives I did in the Bahamas with NO cage is probably a little nutty too?

Patrick

Well, yes, Diana, except I'd strike the word "little" from that last statement of yours. LOL

kimamom

Patrick, I have to agree with you here. This sounds very frightening to me. I can't believe they offer something like this to attract tourists.

Wouldn't you rather go on the dolphin excursion? LOL ***kim***

Diana

Different things are scary or nutty to different people.

For example, I can think of few things more frightening than traveling with a toddler, but people do it every day, and other than a little spit-up on their clothing, are none the worse for wear.

People also do the shark diving every day, and come up to the surface with all of their appendages intact.

Getting in my car and driving to the store is a much more dangerous practice than diving with sharks.

And to the person who suggested the dolphin "excursion"? That one horrifies me most of all. Quite a few people have been seriously injured - even killed - by dolphins that were being harassed by people or during those stupid forced captive dolphin encounters.

It's all a matter of opinion...

pspercy

Diana, perhaps the difference is the "baiting" by throwing meat into the water, I bet you don't do that

Ranger

Hey Diana...You go out with Stuart Cove on Nassau? Pretty awesome huh?
Afte that dive, being in a cage is for wusses LOL...

kimamom

Diana, how about a fourteen hour car ride with three under five? We did this for many years. But even more scary to you would our most recent fourteen hour trip with FOUR teens in tow!!! You do the shark thing and I'll stick to my traveling with lots of babies and teens!! BTW, when my sons went to Hawaii to stay with their grandparents they loved the dolphin-petting at the Hyatt.

Have fun and report back on your adventure!! ***kim***

Diana

Hi pspercy,

They do feed the sharks on the shark dives. The difference is that it is frozen fish in a PVC pipe that is portioned out to the sharks as they swim in to us.

This keeps there from being blood in the water or a large amount of food available at once that would trigger a feeding frenzy.

Additionally, the sharks are Caribbean reef sharks which - although large - are not known to be aggressive or territorial.

Ranger, we've been with Unexso and Xanadu as we were on Grand Bahama, but when I do it again, I'd like to go with Stuart Cove. I think they do the program where you can get certified to feed the fish to the sharks yourself - cool!

kimamom, in my head, I heard the music from "Psycho" when I read about your "Tots N Teens" car trips, but I must hand it to you for patience. That's wonderful that you love to do that and I'm sure you are building lifetime memories for your kids.

BUT, although your kids enjoyed their time with captive dolphins, I can promise you the dolphins did not enjoy it. Most people don't realize how horrible it is for the dolphins or that 50% die within 60 to 90 days of capture.

If you have an interest, you can read more at:

http://dolphinproject.org/

http://www.hsus.org/ace/11727

(The second site is the Humane Society of the United States' position on SWTD programs.)

travleis

The cages aren't going to break down and they're impervious to shark teeth and headbutting. So I'm not sure why people think that's a risky activity.

The open water shark dives cited above are potentially much more hazardous but rarely does anyone get injured.

kimamom

ROFL, Diane! The trips have been great with all the kids. When I read about all the stranded motorists on I-5 in Northern CA and the Ashland area, I was just so thankful we weren't in that mess. (We had just driven that route a day before that happened.) Then I think I may have heard that song you were talking about. I'll check out the dolphin info. Did you see Free Willy about the whale? We were fortunate enough to see Keiko at the Oregon Coast Aquarium right before they set him free.

The movie was also filmed where we vacation and were able to watch some of that which was interesting. I hope you have a nice adventure with the sharks. Stay safe and have fun!! ***kim***

Ranger

Your right Diana, you can take a special class and then put on the chain maul. A gal did it in our group.
Pretty exciting.
However, even more exciting, was the first dive, before the "feeding" dive.
They take you to a reef and let you free dive with the sharks. Thirty or so 8 footers cruising along the reef with you. I was about 50 feet behind the rest of our group, pretty much by myself, turned to look behind, and see a 6 footer coming up on my left. Could of reached out and touched him as he swam by, but thought better of it.

Diana

Wow Ranger, I hope you mean chain "mail!" I don't want to see the word maul involved in something I'm thinking of doing.

Your shark dive sounds much better than the two we've done. Ours were much more structured and commercialized.

But, I must say both times we were close enough to touch the sharks as they swam by, and it was amazing for me as I have pretty much had a live-long love for them. (But like you, we kept our hands to ourselves.)

Amusingly enough, the diver next to me on one of the dives kept crowding onto me as we kneeled in the sand to watch the "show." He pointed out to me what he was trying to get away from - a 10' moray eel that lived in the sunken hyperbaric chamber we had our backs up against. She was enjoying the show also and no doubt hoping to get some tidbits. In the meantime, she poked her head out from behind and between this guy's legs and nearly scared him to death! (We've got the whole thing on video.)

Kimamom, unfortunately, Keiko died a week or two ago. It's nice that you got to see him just before he was freed.

You and the kids enjoy your road trips. I've seen every state but Hawaii as a kid camping with my parents, and I have many fond memories of our travels together.

Ranger

LOL..oops. yup, it is chain "mail" isn't it...
ahhhhh, those darn morays!! Reminded me of a night manta dive off Kona. Diver in front of me was so busy watching the mantas he didnt notice one swimming around his legs until the diver next to him pointed it out. Didn't think you could move so fast under water..hehe

gyppielou

Leave the sharks alone! OK, if you must, then swim with them on their own turf, while leaving them alone. I think Diana'a dive sounds like a logical choice compared to chumming and sending people down in a cage and taunting the sharks into aggressive behavior. It's just wrong, and promotes bad relations. I don't want to be swimming in the ocean with sharks that are pissed of at the cage people. Swim with your wife, it's funner!