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Swimming With Sharks In Hawaii

Swimming With Sharks In Hawaii

We asked our readers to challenge us to step outside our comfort zone when we announced we were starting our round-the-world trip in Hawaii. One of the responses came from Amanda of A Dangerous Business who challenged the two of us to go shark cage diving on the North Shore.

Well, we’re not going to say no to a challenge, are we? Especially when our Hawaiian visit coincided with National Geographic’s Shark Week!

Hawaii Shark Encounters

Hawaii Shark Encounters.

So we organized with Hawaii Shark Encounters to take their Hawaii Shark Tour and hopefully have an experience of a lifetime! We set off from our accommodation before 5am and began the drive to Haleiwa on the North Shore for their 6:30am departure. The two of us definitely aren’t morning people, but the opportunity to swim with sharks convinced us to get out of bed before sunrise.

After arriving at Haleiwa Boat Harbor, we checked-in on the boat and met the friendly crew and 9 fellow passengers. Shortly after, we set off into international waters to Hawaii Shark Encounters’ shark cage which is located 3 miles off-shore.

Our Shark Boat - "Kainani".

Our Shark Boat - "Kainani".

The boat pulled up to the shark cage and within minutes, we had our first shark sighting as we spotted a fin of a Galapagos Shark darting through the water. Soon there were several more sharks circling the boat and our moment of truth had arrived – we were in the first group of 6 to get in the water and our guide told us that it was time to put our masks and snorkels on and jump into the ocean.

A Galapagos Shark

What we spotted after arriving at the shark cage!

Putting all fear aside, we plunged into the water and bravely put our heads under water to see what was going on around us.

We were surrounded by sharks!

Everywhere we looked, there seemed to be at least one shark, if not more! And these sharks were getting so close to the cage that we could have easily reached through the steel bars and touched them!

The two of us in the shark cage.

The two of us in the shark cage. See the shark on the right?!

Twenty minutes later, our guide informed us that our time in the water was over and it was time for the second group to enter the cage. We reluctantly climbed out of the cage, disappointed that our time with the Galapagos Sharks was finished – this was easily one of the coolest things we’ve ever done and we never wanted it to end.

Want to know what we saw in the shark cage? Check out our video below…

The two of us had hoped for the experience of a lifetime and our adventure with Hawaii Shark Encounters exceeded all expectations! If you ever have the opportunity to go swimming with sharks, don’t pass it up.

Have you gone swimming with sharks before? Or is it on your bucket list? Tell us in the comments!

Disclaimer: We received a complimentary tour from Hawaii Shark Encounters. A huge thanks to Rich, Cole and the rest of the team who made our day a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As always, all thoughts and opinions are our own.

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