I went to Rakiura Stewart Island to cage dive with great white sharks! We made the trek down to Bluff and jumped on the boat with Shark Experience. Then the boat motored down to Motunui Edwards Island, just off Stewart Island.

We were even visited by some Mollymawks, a species of Albatross, on our way out.

Mollymawk

As soon as we got there we got ready to get in the water as soon as there was the first great white shark sighting.

Dive Prep

It didn't take long. As a "site see-er" my partner was on the lookout for the telltale fin out of the water and she pointed it out to the crew as soon as she saw one. Five of us got into the cage right away and got our first look at a great white.

Great White Shark

People rotated in and out of the cage during the morning to get a look at the sharks. We were visited by 3, maybe 4 sharks throughout the day.

Great White Shark

The one great white that kept coming back again and again was Jonah. He's the one with the tracker attached to his back. He stuck with us right until the early afternoon before we headed back to shore.

Jonah, the Great White Shark

Before we left, another shark cage diving boat showed up. This one was full of people filming for Shark Week 2026. We didn't see anything special or anything but, apparently, that crew did stick around for hours after we left for more great white encounters.

Filming Shark Week 2026

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