"They're everywhere. Above, below, slicing through the blue"

Grey reef sharks in French Polynesia

- ALEXANDRA GILLESPIE

FAKARAVA’S SOUTH PASS IS MORE than a name on a map. Divers speak of it like a rite of passage. In this remote corridor, the current runs wild and the sharks run the show. Welcome to French Polynesia’s Wall of Sharks, where hundreds of grey reef sharks glide through the blue like they own it. Which, of course, they do.

I’ve encountered plenty of sharks across more than 170 dives: scores of reef sharks in Belize, a few hulking tigers in the Bahamas, a dozen hammerheads 35m down in Sudan’s Red Sea. I think I’m ready for a predator-dominated reef, for the kind of drama that comes with countless teeth. Apex predators are rare, toothy and large enough to spike your heart rate.