Editor tests water with shark swim

,b> natalie gauld
As I climbed into the shark tank, I wondered if my hands looked like two small, whitish squid.
Having declined the offer of gloves to go with my full-body wetsuit, I started to question my decision.
Would the sharks at the Napier oceanarium think calamari was being served after they had already enjoyed an afternoon feed?
That was one of many thoughts that crossed my mind after agreeing to Swim with the Sharks at the National Aquarium of New Zealand on Marine Parade.
The shark swim or snorkel is a new attraction, which is why I was invited along to test the waters, so to speak.
It would be fair to say I was anxious about the experience.
I admit people had laughed at me for living in tropical northern Australia and not entering the ocean for about nine years.
In my defence, I had good reason. Why would someone want to tangle with lethal box jellyfish, rogue saltwater crocodiles or man-eating sharks?
So why would I accept an offer to knowingly swim with sharks - 15 of them? Well, one of the many reasons for moving to another country was to experience new things - swimming with sharks would be one of them.
My guide was Matt, a true animal lover, who assured me the sharks had a) been fed earlier, and b) wouldn't find me in the least bit appetising.
I did accept his kind offers to: a) accompany me, and b) hold my hand - especially as I feared they looked squid-like.
I still did feel apprehensive after having seen the size of Big Girl (more than 2.5m) and Little Girl (just on 2.5m), two large female sevengills, while walking through the aquarium.
I felt more than a bit nervous when one of the girls swam right under us after first hopping in.
Sharks are indeed curious creatures and they seemed more interested in me than all the other fish, some of which fled to the roped-off safety zone, where they go when they feel a bit stressed. I was wondering where I could go when I felt a bit stressed, but my solution was to pull on Matt's arm and make sure he couldn't get away.
Maybe psychologically I wanted the sharks to know that together we were bigger than them.
Matt's patience was endless and, after a lap around the pool, I began to relax.
I showed much bravado waving to my family, the photographer and young tourists in the tunnel below.
The bravado tended to fade at the glimpse of a large, dark shadow out of the corner of my eye.
But with Matt pulled into my side, I would wait until Big Girl or Little Girl passed.
As I began to relax, many of the fish and stingrays returned to "my" side of the pool.
I felt very privileged to have such a unique view of this underwater world.
At one stage, we tailed one of the larger sharks and it was peaceful to watch its long shadow sweep over the coral.
Then out of nowhere, Big Girl would appear, slowing our progress.
I found bending my knees and pushing my flippers out of the water helped slow me down.
In fact, I would stop altogether and let the queens of the aquarium have right of way.
Their presence was a reminder that we were in another world, their world.
At times it was so peaceful I forgot about the sharks, the outside world and didn't notice the water temperature (18C - cool for Queenslander!).
As we headed to the exit point, I received one last visit from one of the sharks as she loitered around the exit - maybe hoping for a late feed - preferably not of squid!