We got up early and got the Manly ferry over to the oceanarium. Oli and the kids were going to drive over a little later as there was a training session for us and we could not get every one into the car.
We arrived a little early and decided to go for a little walk around and see the sharks.... BAD BAD IDEA!!!. we were even more scared. Our diver arrived about 15mins later and took us for a quick tour and introduced us to all the sharks. He knew them all by name. You should have seen the look on Leigh's face when he told us they were 25% bigger than they look, as the glass makes everything smaller. After some more scary facts about how the sharks are 3.5m long and about 1m wide!!! Everything is huge.. the 2 turtles are about 5 feet long.
We were then shown back into the aquarium and we had to sign all the documents to say what we are doing is dangerous and stupid and do it at our own risk. We also had to sign a form to basically say if we panic and grab a shark and die then its all our fault.
The next part of the scary build up was watching the introduction film.. which started with the Jaws music and had lots of close ups of the teeth! Honestly, I think if we could have backed out then and not lost face we probably would have. Then came the slightly calmer part about sign language under water and the basic tasks that we are going to need to do like clearing the mask, taking the respirator out and in, etc etc.
We were then taken down into the bowels of the building and given wet suits and weight belts to change into. After suiting up we were given our breathing equipment and we got into the training pool which was connected to the main aquarium. The first shock was as we looked through the connecting passage we could see the large dorsel fin swimming past. We then all performed our basic tasks including a press up on the floor of the pool to make sure we had enough weight attached.
One by one we dropped into the main pool and saw the main attractions.
Suddenly all our worries about the diving were gone and were much more concerned about the muckle great sharks with very very pointy teeth.
We then walked along the bottom of the pool past rays, smaller sharks and turtles, one of which bumped into Leigh. The turtles are a bit dim. The same turtle bumped into a poll three times!
Oli and the kids were watching us from the observation walkway and they had lots of fun shouting and laughing at us.
We were underwater for 30 minutes, but it passed so quickly. It was an incredible experience and it was very tempting to touch them as they brushed passed you at less than a couple of feet. We were then led back the way we came and taken back into the training pool and then out for a nice hot shower. It was starting to get a little chilly towards the end.
The diver also took a short video clip that I have uploaded too
We were all a bit stunned and the adrenalin was still pumping as we left to go and meet up with Oli and kids.
