An Idiot I suppose

We left Raglan and headed to Auckland as the springboard for the next part of the journey. I realized it has been almost a month since I've been in a big, major city and I definitely prefer the smaller towns. Auckland is central to any options of heading to the East Coast, the Cormandel or up North which is what we're leaning towards.

While I'm not the biggest fan of the city, I have to admit that Auckland has its merits. Its fairly clean for a city of its size, has a nice waterfront area and although there is a large amount of traffic it is nothing compared to something like Toronto. But that is not all.

Auckland is a city of balance.

I went for a walk through the CBD last night and a few minutes into the walk was approached by a guy about my age who was wearing a vest that said "Don't forget Jesus" and was trying to hand me a pamphlet while urging me to repent. I declined the pamphlet and the repentance but briefly considered asking him where he shops for vests.

Further down the street the balance of the night was restored when I was offered not to repent but to retire to a building filled with women who would ensure that I have a splendid night. For a price. Balance.

Apparently, although it is not as well advertised as Amsterdam, prostitution is perfectly legal in New Zealand. And while not as advertised as in Rome, religion is also considered a completely legal enterprise in this country. So these touts had joined in the ones hawking pizza and accommodation. Balancing each other out.

This morning I got to do somethign I have always wanted to. I swam with sharks.

I got to the aquarium which is underground and under sea level and pulls its water as well as its attractions from the water around Auckland. I was the only person signed up to do the shark swim so at 10am this morning I was met by Jess, my guide slash shark body guard for the morning. Jess came into the lobby in a wetsuit, hair dripping and said "You must be Mike! Follow me" and took me to the restricted behind the scenes area. I noted that Jess was much smaller then I was and as her job was feeding and swimming with sharks I assumed she was a better swimmer. Slower and meatier, I'd be the ideal snack.

She outfitted me with a wet suit and brought me to the area above the tank where we climbed into the cage. It was not a metal cage but one that floated on top of the water so you could surface. The bottom of the cage, about 5 feet below the surface was made of plexiglass to see through an dthe sides of the cage were made of netting with holes big enough to stick your hand through...which Jess told me in no uncertain terms would be a bad idea.

We floated the cage out into the middle and I got to spend an hour in the cage with a mask and snorkel looking at the fish, the 200lbs sting ray and the four species of shark swimming around and underneath. The highlight came when I was holding myself under the water on the handles on the plexiglass and two sharks approached the side of the netting. One was slightly shorter then I was and the other was clearly larger and both decided to not slow down upon reaching the side. The netting of the cage has some give so I came about 3cm away from giving a very large broad nosed shark an eskimo kiss. It was incredible.

The rest of the time in the cage the sharks became a little more curious but not as adventurous and would circle the cage keeping there eyes on me as I was the only one underwater with them.

Swimming with sharks in cold water is a good way to get the blood going and wake up in the morning. Not sure whats on tap next but it probably has less teeth.