9.12.05

Here Sharky Sharky!

DUMdum DUMdum DUMdum DUMdum DUMdum DUMdum... Yep, the shark season has well and truly started. On Wednesday people were, apparently, "screaming like monkeys" off Bondi and yesterday there was one just off Tamarama. I must be the only person in Sydney who enjoys shark season - I love swimming at the beach and think sharks are absolutely amazing. If you respect the environment you're in (you are on their manor, after all) and keep your wits about you (this means you, pissed English backpackers!), you'll have no problems with sharks. Plus, the piercing shrill of the shark alarm sends agreeable shudders down your spine while you get the fuck out of the water. It is the eternal conundrum that humans feel most alive shortly before they might die. And make no mistake: Sydney sharks, while generally not as frightfully massive as the ones they get off South and Western Australia, are no wusses. We get tiger sharks, bronze whalers, the occasional bull shark and hammerheads. They would have you if they're feeling a bit peckish, no messing. Having said that, there's been no shark attack on Sydney beaches since the 1930s or summat but still...

Sharks are great animals and the key is respect, not fear. I'm almost blasé about (potentially) swimming with sharks these days, though I have to say not quite as cool as this guy (my favourite Sydney shark story!). I reckon I've Aussified quite nicely. Think I might go for a dip tonight after work.