Surrounded by eight sharks in Fiji: The dive that tested my nerves

Sunday, 26 July 2026

Chief travel correspondent Emma Stanford goes snorkelling with the reef sharks in Fiji.

Chief travel correspondent Emma Stanford goes snorkelling with reef sharks in Fiji.

White-tip and black-tip reef sharks at Moia Reef grow up to 1.5 metres long and appear larger underwater due to light refraction.

The shark swimming experience typically involves encounters with six to 12 reef sharks during a single swim.

“What am I doing?” I whisper to myself as I sit on the edge of a small metal boat bobbing on the South Pacific Ocean.

I’m about to jump into shark-infested waters.

I could have been bike riding or doing a cooking class right now. Instead, I picked the more adventurous option for this trip to Fiji and now my flipper-wearing feet are dangling over the side of a boat as I stare nervously into the blue.

Visitors to the Barefoot Kuata resort, which sits at the gateway to the archipelago, can get up close and personal with the nearby reef sharks.

Before the trip, I had been reassuringly told the local reef sharks were “vegetarian”.

Still, as everyone else tips themselves backwards into the ocean and disappears with a splash, I decide there is absolutely no way I’m doing that. If a predator is waiting for me, I at least want to see it coming.

I pull my mask over my eyes and nose, take a deep breath and push off feet-first.

A few hours earlier, I had arrived at Barefoot Kuata Island Resort after a two-hour ferry ride from Port Denarau into Fiji’s Yasawa Islands.

Barefoot Kuata is the jetting-off point to snorkel with the reef sharks.

After stepping off the ferry and into a small dinghy, we pull up on a white sand beach, lined with palm trees, to a singing cohort of staff welcoming us ashore.

Their song ends with a giant “Bula!” and I can’t help the huge grin spreading across my face as we are handed welcome drinks. It seems fitting that I have arrived on the International Day of Happiness.

Barefoot Kuata sits within a marine conservation area established in partnership with traditional landowners, and one of its biggest drawcards lies beneath the water at nearby Moia Reef — sharks.

During our safety briefing, the duty manager’s eyes light up as he talks about the reef’s resident shiver of white-tip and black-tip reef sharks.

White-tip and black-tip reef sharks glide through the water around us.

“To me, they are like puppies. I would like to cuddle them, but I can’t,” he says with a smile.

I laugh. Even if they aren’t planning to eat me, I have absolutely no desire to hug one.

Before we set off, he tells us we would “leave with a memory worth keeping”.

Now, perched on the side of the boat and preparing to lower myself into an ocean containing an unknown number of sharks, I think he is probably right.

Whichever way this goes, I’m going to remember it.

The black-tip reef sharks have a healthy appetite for fish, crabs, lobsters, and octopuses.

Once underwater, colourful tropical fish dart around us as our experienced guides lead us over the vivid reef.

White-tip and black-tip reef sharks glide through the water nearby. It’s common to see anywhere from six to 12 on a single swim. I count about eight today.

Growing up to 1.5m long, they look even bigger underwater.

Thankfully, the sharks have zero interest in us. They sweep through the current as though the strange group of humans splashing around above them isn't there.

I start to feel remarkably calm until, every so often, I glance over my shoulder to find a shark’s sleek silhouette cruising so close it almost skims my skin.

Before long, I realise I’m no longer trying to keep my distance from the sharks. I’m swimming towards them, camera in hand, trying to get a better photo.

By afternoon, we are back on the island’s warm sands, eating lunch before the beachside choir gathers once more to bid us farewell with warm handshakes and traditional songs as we board our dinghy with memories we’ll never forget.

It isn't until I’m recapping the trip in the office on Monday, sitting safely back at my desk, that my colleague Googles the truth: 'vegetarian sharks' do not exist.

White-tip and black-tip reef sharks are active carnivores with a healthy appetite for fish, crabs, lobsters, and octopuses.

Perhaps some travel research is best done after the trip.

Fact file

Getting there

Fiji Airways and Air New Zealand fly to Nadi. From there, take the South Seas Cruises sailing from Port Denarau to Barefoot Kuata.

Staying there

There are three accommodation levels on Barefoot Kuata: dorm-style tents with bunk beds and shared bathrooms, mid-range tents and the top-tier beachfront Rai Ki Waya Bures with outdoor bath and shower. See: barefootkuatafiji.com

The writer travelled courtesy of Tourism Fiji.