The time has come to turn your back on the mundane and escape to where the unexpected looms, sometimes right over your shoulder…

A massive 3.5 metre (11 ft) bull shark has been slowly circling me for the past five minutes, and with each subsequent loop it is moving in a bit closer. Turning from side to side, I spot the shark coming in for another pass. Of course, tracking one animal through my camera’s viewfinder can be challenging when forty other equally impressive specimens are scouring the area. It is easy to get distracted and thus miss the shot.

The robust bull is almost within the desired range when I feel my Aquatica housing being tugged firmly to the right. I assume my assistant, Petero Niurou of Beqa Adventure Divers, is merely trying to show me another shark, so I ignore the gesture. I am locked in on my target and refuse to lose focus. Another more violent yank forces me to respond.

I hurriedly look over my shoulder intending to tell Petero to back-off. My frustration turns to awe when I find an even larger bull mouthing one of my Sea & Sea strobes, with brilliant white teeth gleaming.

Petero, pre-occupied by other curious sharks, eventually sees my predicament. He extends the metal rod he carries for such occasions and “politely” raps the teething behemoth on the head. The bull lets go and swims away as if nothing had happened, while Petero and I shake our respective heads in amazement.

The Republic of Fiji encompasses 1.3 million sq km of the South Pacific Ocean and includes more than 320 islands, of which only 111 are inhabited. Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, the two largest islands, account for 94% of the 945,000 population and 86% of the 18,270 sq km of land.