Close Encounters of the Shark Kind

We crossed a major to-do off our Hawaii list on Sunday when we took a shark cage tour with North Shore Shark Adventures.

 

We got to see dozens of Galapagos sharks. I was crossing my fingers that we'd hit the jackpot and see a really cool shark like a hammerhead or a really dangerous one like a blacktip but I wasn't even disappointed that we didn't, because being surrounded by a multitude of any kind of shark is pretty darn awesome!

 

I thought for sure they'd put chum in the water to lure the sharks over to the cage, but I was pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case at all. Apparently crab fishing began booming off the North Shore in the '70s and the sharks quickly learned they could score tasty treats, like old bait, if they hung around the boats. The shark tour boat uses a diesel motor exactly like the crab fishing boats have, and the sharks swarm around in hopes of getting a snack.

 

 

 

Here's a look at the floating cage we were in. It was such an amazing experience to see an 8-foot shark swim just a few inches away from my face. Sure they weren't great whites, but I certainly wouldn't want to fall in the water with these guys nearby!