Bora Bora: Swimming with Sharks in the Lagoonarium

Sharks are one of my biggest fears.  That’s why I go down the swim ladder when I go swimming, just so I can check under the boat for sharks before I get in.  Of an evening, I used to enjoy hanging my feet in the water off the back of the boat, wine in hand, watching the sun go down, until a shark swam out from under the boat only a couple of metres from my dangling toes.

You may, therefore, be surprised to hear that swimming with sharks is on my bucket list. Jumping in with an unexpected shark off the boat didn’t fit the bill.  I was after a more planned experience.

I missed out on the opportunity to swim with the hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos, not having a diving certificate and being told they couldn’t be seen by snorkelers from the surface.  Our friend Diana off Dreams Float, however, had told me that she had swum with sharks in Bora Bora.  So my sights shifted from the Galapagos to Bora Bora to fulfil my dream of swimming with sharks.

On a private island off the north-eastern side of Bora Bora, sits the Lagoonarium, a fenced off area of the lagoon filled with sharks and stingrays. 

We arrive mid morning, just before a group of tourists and the daily shark feeding.  We are given free reign of the shark pond before the tourists arrive. 

Tentatively dipping our feet in, we make our way past the black tip reef sharks that don’t seem to have a problem with swimming in the shallows.  I strategically place myself behind Gary as we venture further into the lagoon.  The sharks are unafraid, swimming close enough to touch.  A large shark swims past at an uncomfortable distance and I decide it might be a good idea to wait until the “professional” shark handlers arrive.  I try to exit the lagoon, only to find that we have been surrounded.  I wait until there is a gap in the shark traffic and run to the safety of the shore.  Unfortunately, I have caught the attention of one of the shark handlers who has just arrived with the tourist group.  

We join the pack of tourists for the tour of the Lagoonarium and the shark feeding.  They ease us into the experience, beginning in the stingray enclosure.  As soon as one of the handlers enters the lagoon, the stingrays smother him, swimming up his sides as he feeds them.  We are all encouraged to jump in with the stingrays that are unfazed and swim against us all while we squeal with delight.

Unbeknown to us, there is a 7ft nurse shark lurking in the depths of this enclosure.  After being identified as an easy target, the handler calls me over, points out this giant and asks if I want a ride. I decide to send my crash test dummy (aka Gary) to try it out first.

When he comes back with all limbs intact, I can’t avoid it any longer, particularly with the amount of peer pressure being applied by Gary and the shark handler.  The handler positions me in the path of the increasingly agitated shark and gives me the count down.  I swim down and catch the dorsal fin, which feels like a thick leather hide.  Seeing the weaving body and head of the shark in front of me was surreal. 

Feeling much more confident, we are taken to the main shark enclosure.  We are told not to touch these sharks at all costs.  The enclosure that keeps these sharks in actually has a gate at both ends and the sharks come and go as they please.  My confidence plummets at this point; perhaps a man-eating shark has entered the enclosure!  Stingrays, large lemon sharks and black tips are circling at the entrance to the lagoon.  They obviously know it’s lunchtime.  Getting into the water is difficult, with stingrays covering the sand and getting in the way of every footfall.  Even when we get into sufficient depth to float on the surface, the stingrays sweep along our sides hoping for a snack.  Every time this happens I have a little heart attack thinking it’s a shark.  The handler throws food to the sharks just in front of us as we drift with the current through the lagoon.  There must be 30 or more sharks ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 metres, all fighting for the food and attacking each other right in front of us.  The water becomes murky with all the sand being kicked up by the frenzied sharks.  More and more sharks seem to come out of nowhere right at us.  The drift to the shallows and safety of other end of the lagoon seems to take forever.  I begin to have confidence that the sharks won’t attack me and start to enjoy looking at the sharks in all their might, albeit from the safety of Gary’s back.  Finally, we reach the end and I’m quite grateful to be getting out. 

The tourist group leaves and we enjoy lunch at the Lagoonarium with Gary’s sister, her husband and their baby. 

We again have free reign of the place.  We do the drift through the enclosure a few more times, this time without the sharks being fed, which feels much more safe and the sharks keep a comfortable distance.  

Although by the end I felt quite comfortable and relaxed in the sharks’ presence, I still think I’m going to take the swim ladder and keep checking under the boat when I go for a swim.