Southern New Zealand.
It's like the land of the lost.
It's the very bottom of the world.
The water is freezing, the wind howls, which makes the ocean like a washing machine.
So trying to film white sharks and elements like that, it becomes a challenge.
But that never matters to Jimmy.
He was telling me on the flight, he was gung ho for this.
Jake Boom.
Let's do this, guys.
Let's do this.
Are you ready?
Let's do it. It's good.
And Dickie Chivell was also on the trip to not only bait the sharks, but also to watch
our backs because the sharks in New Zealand, they're not only some of the biggest, but
they're also the most unpredictable sharks in the world.
So after a year stuck at home, a 13 hour flight, a two week quarantine in Auckland,
two more flights and a two hour ferry ride.
Jimmy was now finally getting his chance to dive with great whites again.
Oh, nice that I grabbed it.
Right, Right. What were you doing?
Just breathe. Look at the shark, though.
It's gonna turn on the bait.
Come check this out.
Get. Okay, Jens, get.
Ready. What an amazing start here at Edwards Island.
Dicky's been wrangling a hell of a shark on the bait line coming up from the bottom.
Oh, wow, guys.
You're getting your work cut.
Out for you there, mate. This is the first time I've encountered a great white shark
since I was almost killed by one.
Let me tell you, it's an emotional experience for me.
How do you feel about getting ready to go in the first time?
Yeah, mate. It's my first time out here at Edwards Island, and already we've got half a
dozen big male sharks around the boat.
I know I have to do.
I have to get back in the saddle.
I've got to get close to these animals again and reaffirm in my own mind that they're not
malicious and that they're not out to get me.
Yeah. Good luck in there, Jimbo.
Have fun.
I have to do this if I ever hope to work with great whites again.
We were anchored in about 22ft of water.
And the dive plan was for Jimmy to go down about ten feet, get acclimated to the sharks
and to the cage. And then when he was ready, he'd go down to the bottom.
Hey, Jimmy, is your valve closed?
All right, cool.
Jimi. Jimi. Jimi.
Topside. Do you read me?
Over.
Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, it's topside.
Do you read.
Me? Over. All right, guys, just stand by one moment.
Stand by. Stand by.
This is really the most nerve wracking part.
I mean.
This topside. Can you hear me?
Over.
We all got pretty nervous at this stage.
I think Jimmy just needed a moment to gather himself.
We were just about to pull him back up.
It stops, right? Can you hear me?
Over.
And then he finally spoke.
Thanks, Nikki. Thanks for checking in on me, mate.
I don't know where you can see, but down here, the size of these animals, I'd say
they're slightly bigger in this deeper water column.
But all is good.
Everything is safe.
There's some mega sharks down here.
Maybe ones going to come up.
See you, mate. Shots down here just out of this world.
Unbelievable. You want a location?
Everything looks okay.
We're good.
Okay. Copy that.
We kind of all breathe a sigh of relief at that point.
But then we all just kind of sat back and let him do his thing.
It's like a conveyor belt of endless sharks.
It was a really special moment for Jimmy.
Not just Jimmy, but for all of us, really, because I think we all had a little bit of
PTSD. In that moment, it was gone.
The visibility is just absolutely spectacular.
I could see us.
Anywhere up to ten sharks at.
One point. Pass right over my head.
It's just giving me the most insane passes.
This is an animal that.
This is a fully mature male shark that could be over 30 years of age.
Unbelievable.
Jimmy. How's it going down there.
Bro? Do you need to go down a bit deeper?
Yeah, I'm starting to go down.
From what I could hear in the comms, it sounded like Jimmy was having a great dive.
Probably a lot colder than what he was used to normally diving in Mexico, but he was
really in his element.
Okay, I've reached the bottom.
I can see the whole landscape.
Under the boat.
We had like at least 12 sharks, and he sounded very relaxed, very comfortable in the
water. Their water was clear.
It's a completely different scene down here.
Being surrounded by sharks is Jimmy's thing, and he was having an incredible day.
Oh, it looks really familiar.
Some real characters.
Real individuals.
One shark in particular really was interested in Jimmy, and it was this shark that had a
collection of copepods or these little parasitic animals on its back, so we could
easily identify it.
But it kept coming around and coming around and getting closer and closer to Jimmy.
The Sharks sort of followed him around all day long.
This is a magnificent shark.
I. I'm okay.
This is incredible.
Whoa. Oh.
Okay, guys, it's been a hell of a dive.
I've survived.
Is looking a little bit low down to around 50 bar.
So it's going to be time to come up, I think.