Would you consider some of the shark SNORKELING safe in Tahiti, look at this image I found, are there really that many sharks out there? I think these are black-tip reef sharks, but I heard there are a lot of Lemon sharks and those are quite aggressive. Are black/white tip aggressive? Edit: We might be going there, but not really sure.
My wife and I did a snorkel shark feeding when we were on Bora Bora. No problems at all. Just follow the instructions the guides give you and you'll be fine.
BurBunny
July 5th, 2005, 02:51 AM
Regarding the sharks, it's fairly unusual to see the lemons, except on the feedings. My mother (whom I took last year) was VERY shark fearful due to a diving incident in the 60s. She wasn't going to go snorkeling, which she adores. By the end of the trip, she was looking forward to seeing the sharks.
You will see black tips almost every dive. They're everywhere. But they're extremely well fed and not at all interested in you. Same with the lemons. On the black tips, after the first couple dives when I got used to them being around, I started to think of them as little puppy dogs. They just did not seem that shark-like. They were more cute and ever-present - big fish with teeth but not aggressive. The lemons were definitely sharks with shark "attitude", but they cruised around and didn't come near, except at the feedings. And then they knew what they were after. If you follow the instructions, you can have really good experiences there. HIGHLY recommended.
But no, there aren't typically that many sharks around as you'd think from that photo.
Can you tell from this thread and the other I *really* liked French Polynesia?
ShakaZulu
July 5th, 2005, 02:56 AM
Wow, that is incredible, nice pic.
SeeTheWorld
July 5th, 2005, 11:12 PM
Regarding the sharks, it's fairly unusual to see the lemons, except on the feedings. My mother (whom I took last year) was VERY shark fearful due to a diving incident in the 60s. She wasn't going to go snorkeling, which she adores. By the end of the trip, she was looking forward to seeing the sharks.
You will see black tips almost every dive. They're everywhere. But they're extremely well fed and not at all interested in you. Same with the lemons. On the black tips, after the first couple dives when I got used to them being around, I started to think of them as little puppy dogs. They just did not seem that shark-like. They were more cute and ever-present - big fish with teeth but not aggressive. The lemons were definitely sharks with shark "attitude", but they cruised around and didn't come near, except at the feedings. And then they knew what they were after. If you follow the instructions, you can have really good experiences there. HIGHLY recommended.
But no, there aren't typically that many sharks around as you'd think from that photo.
Can you tell from this thread and the other I *really* liked French Polynesia?
Yeah I can tell, it seems like an amazing place, the water clarity is amazing, I have the full image (which I copied offline by the way) and I use it as my desktop. I think the waves in French Polynesia aren't very rough either which makes it perfect for diving and swimming in.
We'll definately look into that region, we've narrowed it down to either there or Turks and Caicos. Turks is more of a price and distance thing, but I'd prefer French Polynesia over almost anywhere.
BurBunny
July 6th, 2005, 12:32 AM
Yeah I can tell, it seems like an amazing place, the water clarity is amazing, I have the full image (which I copied offline by the way) and I use it as my desktop. I think the waves in French Polynesia aren't very rough either which makes it perfect for diving and swimming in.
We'll definately look into that region, we've narrowed it down to either there or Turks and Caicos. Turks is more of a price and distance thing, but I'd prefer French Polynesia over almost anywhere.
Because much of the diving and almost all the snorkeling is done inside the lagoons (inside the reef line), waves are a very minor issue most of the time. Couple times went outside the reef and was rocking and rolling a bit, but not like I've experienced elsewhere.
Can't say anything against T&C either... going on the T&C Aggressor for a week in August ;)
jerryn
July 6th, 2005, 12:42 AM
I was in Moorea last year. We were diving outside the reef. Lots of white tip and black tip reef sharks and some lemon sharks. They are fed by the dive guides. I was not fearful of them at all.
But a caveat -- human feedings of sharks changes their natural behavior. Because the come to expect food from humans, they may behave in less predictable ways --
I have never heard of an incident in French Polynesia, but there have been some elsewhere.
Jerry
globetrotter
July 6th, 2005, 01:37 AM
Just got back Thursday and I can say most sharks (lemon sharks in particular) are actually very timid; unless you have food they will often swim away from snorklers or divers. Also, since you will mostly be inside the barrier reef when snorkling sharks are not really an issue. When people ask me how I can swim with sharks I compare them to cats: curious, will follow you around at a distance and occasionaly come in for a "quick pass" to suss the situation. Check out this one I took outside the reef on Moorea:
A General rule is to respect all sharks with that said, the top 3 dangerous sharks to watch out for are:
1) Great White (Not in Tahiti)
2) Tiger (In Tahiti)
3) Bull Shark (In Tahiti & pretty much everywhere)
The Tiger & Bull are commonly dived with, without a cage. Don't worry about sharks it's an exaggerated fear. You should fear sharks more if you are surfing or boggie boarding since you look like prey ie. turtle, seal. The Tahiti feedings are a controlled setting sharks are used to human and they want their food and it's not you.
Mike Veitch
July 8th, 2005, 10:49 AM
A General rule is to respect all sharks with that said, the top 3 dangerous sharks to watch out for are:
3) Bull Shark (In Tahiti & pretty much everywhere)
The Tiger & Bull are commonly dived with, without a cage. .
Dammit, you mean after two years and almost 1500 dives in the Tuamotus i missed a commonly dived with shark like the Bull! What was i doing wrong?!?!
Never saw a Tiger either...others i worked with did on 4 occasions though...also show up on the shark feeds in Moorea and Bora Bora once in a while.
Lemons are fairly common, Tigers show up occasionaly, Great Hammers are seasonal in many of the Tuamotu atolls but certainly not common, loads of Grey Reefs, some good size Silvertips, Silkys about every now and again, Sandbar shark if extremely lucky, Blackfin (Limbatus) in the lagoons, even a whale shark once, but never ever ever ever even the hint of a Bull! Nor any of the most experienced people i know who worked there for over 15 years saw one.
Perhaps the main island of Tahiti might have them, Bulls need a source of fresh water (breeding they believe) none of that in the Tuamotus
robbcayman
July 9th, 2005, 01:13 AM
Veitch, did I say people in Tuamotous dive with Bull & Tigers sharks without a cage commonly, ummmmm no. A lot of people throughout the world dive with tigers and bulls without a cage. An example of this is Dave Abernathy's diving or you can go to echeng.com and see pics for your self. Bull Sharks are found throughout temperate oceans. For arguements sake, say I buy your theory that bull sharks need fresh water. Did it occur to you that sharks migrate??? Hmmm, for example, several tiger sharks have been satellite tagged and are known to swim thousands of miles, yes thousands. Now I am sure you are a shark expert and considered this before your post. I never once said there are a ton of bull sharks in the area, but for you to say there are none is absurd. There was no need for you to attack me like that with such a disrespectful attitude. I am fairly new to this board and you are the only person who has been rude to me. Thanks for the welcome.
Mike Veitch
July 9th, 2005, 02:01 AM
Dude, relax. I wouldn't say that was a disrespectful attitude at all, perhaps a bit sarcastic at the beginning (its a Canadian thing)...you'll find that everywhere on this board. I do like how you started off with Veitch though, reminds me of the boys back at home, you need to use 4 e's though, like this: Veeeetch!
Now that you go a little further with your Bull shark explanation then i can admit that i guess i misunderstood your post, (had some vodkas in the system when i read it anyway) From the way i read it originally sounded to me like you meant Bulls are commonly dived with in Tahiti, not all over the world. Tigers occasionally, especially with a nicely prepared bait. I have some great video on file of one (not mine unfortunately..)
And believe me i am well aware of the bull sharks/tigers in the Bahamas and Beqa Lagoon. In fact am planning on the Abernathy/Shearwater boat myself quite soon. I am even friends with the guy instrumental in creating the marine reserve in Fiji and who organized some of those Bulls tagged last year...
Nor did i say there were none, but that no one i know of in the Tuamotus has seen one, again goes back to the fact from the way your original post reads, sounding like commonly seen in Tahiti...
So there you go Robb, an official apology and explanation from Veitch! (Another Canadian thing, a polite explanation instead of a viscious attack, :) )
robbcayman
July 9th, 2005, 02:00 PM
Hey Veeeetch, no hard feelings. It was Friday night what can I say. LOL!!! I would love to see that video if you have a link. I checked out your photo gallery and you took some awesome pics, especially the shark feeding. Do you have any recommendations for hotels around bora/bora or Tahiti? Thanks Veeeetch!!
ScubaRook
July 14th, 2005, 11:44 AM
My wife and I spent our honeymoon in FP. We went diving on Tahaa and Bora Bora. On Tahaa we dove outside the reef at about 110 feet and saw what we describe as the fish superhighway. It was a long narrow trail of fish winding around the island with thousands of fish which appeared to be making a good journey. The coolest thing I have ever seen. While on this dive we saw a large school of black tip sharks hunting the highway for laggers. We also saw a large school of baracuda hunting. Very cool but we did not get too close.
On Bora Bora we did a shark dive where the shark were feed at about 45 feet. There was a compression in the coral floor. All the divers lined up on the top outside of the compression while the DM feed the shark in the middle. I felt very safe, even though several of the shark would swim quite close to us and behind us. I got some great pictures though.
For places to stay, in Tahaa we stayed at Vahine Island and it was fantastic. Very relaxing and low key. We would definately stay there again, without question. on Bora Bora we stayed at the Lagoon Resort which was very nice. If you go to Bora Bora I would reccommend it. However, we were not to fond of Bora Bora. to expensive and too touristy, insofar as everything is geared toward the tourist. Very pretty though. We also stay on Moorea at the Beachcomber. I would never go back to FP with out staying several nights at Moorea. It was a fantastic place. Also, I highly highly reccommend the Beachcomber and all the locals we spoke with think it is the best place to stay.
Have fun:)
jbilicska
August 17th, 2005, 06:57 PM
Thanks for all the insight . My wife and I are very avid snorkelers and are planning a trip to Bora Bora and Moorea in the early Spring. Being that after all the hours we spent in the water and have never even come close to seeing a shark we too are very LEERY about seeing so many. I'll count my fingers after every dive.
Thanks
Joe B
