Why YOU Must Book with IslandView Hawaii for Your North Shore Adventures
My first 24 hours in Hawaii will always be my most memorable adventure. After a very long flight, I landed, and the first thing I did—besides change—was put my feet in the ocean. I was giddy with joy that I was in Hawaii for work; I still can't believe I went.
After some dinner, I couldn't return to my hotel because it was still early Hawaii time, and I didn't want to sleep yet. I wandered down to the famous Duke's Bar, named after the renowned surfer Duke Kahanamoku. While waiting for my beer to arrive, I had a random chat with this guy who made my dreams come true by telling me I could snorkel with sharks on the North Shore. I am NOT even kidding when I say he made my dreams come true because I have ALWAYS wanted to swim with sharks!
After a beer and a few searches, complete with jet lag, my ticket was bought, and I had an 8 a.m. tour the next day to hang out with my friends . . . sharks! I had no idea how unique this company would be until I showed up.
IslandView Hawai'i
IslandView Hawai'i is the only family-owned and operated pelagic shark dive tour in Haleiwa, Hawai'i. Before becoming a tour company, it was once a crabbing company that provided their family's primary source of income and food.
Their boat, Huki'—which in Hawaiian means "to pull"—started to attract all types of sharks. They would swim to the top once they heard its engine.
For a while, the family only invited friends on their boat to swim with the sharks since they were a family of divers and lifeguards, and they felt comfortable taking them. That changed in 2012 when they realized they could provide a safe and controlled environment for visitors to experience the magic of swimming cage-free with sharks.
Swimming with Galapagos Sharks!
I arrived at the North Shore an hour before I had to show up (thanks to jet lag and my excitement!). That morning, driving from Waikiki Beach, about an hour away, the weather didn't match my cheerful and bright mood. Instead, ominous black clouds covered the sky as downpouring rain broke through them. But suddenly, as I reached the beach, the sky opened up, becoming the most gorgeous blue sky with puffy white clouds. Finally, my mood and the weather matched.
Once on the boat, we had a 30-minute briefing on safety protocols, how long we would be in the water (30 minutes), and what to expect. During this briefing, I was slightly sad that you could not bring your own camera along; instead, they would take videos and pictures of you. Honestly, though, I am happy they made that a rule. I will share why below. I was the ONLY person on this boat who was awake and asking questions!
On our 20-minute boat ride, we saw wildlife (like a baby whale) in the distance. And right before we arrived at the dive spot, a rainbow transformed into the most spectacular double rainbow I have ever seen. It was still there when we dived into the water one by one. That was my sign that this dive would be magical!
We all floated at the top of the water while the captain turned on and off the motors to draw the sharks. About five minutes or so later, from the depths of the dark blue ocean, a glimmer of a brownish-gray body started to swim up. My friends were starting to show up! A few minutes later, another one appeared out of the darkness.
A few fun facts about Galapagos sharks:
They are named after the island.
They will swim in figure-eight loops if threatened by a predator or competitor by arching their backs and lowering their pectoral fins.
They can grow up to 12 feet long.
My heart stopped, not because I was scared, but because I had never in my whole life felt a surge of excitement and peacefulness in the same breath. Hands down, this was the most exhilarating moment of my life.
Imagine being in open water, with two sharks below, swimming gracefully around and checking out the boat. Not for one second did I feel unsafe; weirdly enough, I felt safer in those 30 minutes than I felt throughout most of my life.
You are thinking, "Bel, how can you be safe with sharks?! You are nuts!"
My response will be that it’s because of how safe IslandView Hawai'i made everything; they watch the sharks' behaviors the whole time to ensure there are no issues. There are at least 3 IslandView representatives in the water. All three watch the behaviors, but two hang out with the snorkels while one takes the videos and pictures. This was smart because it allowed you to witness the sharks' magic, be in the moment, and remain safe, too! They will not allow you to dive without the snorkel until the end of the tour, and only if the environment allows it.
Also, you could just feel how the human presence didn’t matter to the sharks. Galapagos sharks are considered potentially dangerous, but they rarely attack humans. They just wanted to swim around, not caring about hanging out with us.
After 30 minutes, we boarded the boat and returned to the mainland.
Mahalo IslandView Hawai'i
I keep looking back at the videos and pictures because I still can’t comprehend how I could snorkel with sharks without a cage and how truly life-changing this tour was for me. I actually cried when I came back to land, which isn’t something I normally do. I even texted a friend who is also a lover of sharks, and she told me it was okay to cry because she has done it in the past, too.
Most people don't know, but I was on track to be a Marine Biologist before I fell in love with Government and Politics. Because of IslandView Hawai'i, I lived out my dream. These people are top-notch and consider these waters and the sharks to be home and family. I can't ever thank them enough for this tour. Mahalo, mahalo, mahalo!
I highly recommend you take a tour with them, even if you aren't a shark person; I promise it will be life-changing. They also have another tour of the O'ahu North Shore Coast Tour, which allows you to cruise along the coast. They will take you to various snorkel spots and teach you about the unique history and culture.