Great White Shark Expedition January 2023
Just prior to world shutdowns due that pesky virus, I embarked on my first Great White Shark Expedition with the Rodney Fox team. It was a 5 day special with Rodney aboard, celebrating 50 years since his involvement with the movie "Blue Water - White Death". The first couple of days were unsuccessful, but on days 3 and 4 we had sharks visit the cages. What a thrill…and the start of an addiction to capture better images of these magnificent creatures.
During the covid lockdowns, there were occasional gaps in the border restrictions and I was able to sneak in 3 more expeditions. There was mixed results on these outings, but sharks were present on every trip.
A 5 day trip appeared on the Summer Schedule for 2022/2023, and lured by recent increased shark activity, I just had to go again.
Cairns to Port Lincoln can be achieved in a day, and despite recent bad press the airlines have received, all went well, arriving in Port Lincoln before scheduled time, with all my baggage intact.
Evening departure from Port Lincoln…..
Port Lincoln Grain Wharf, sunset departure
Embarkation is early evening, and the trusty vessel Rodney Fox makes it’s way to Memory cove for a good night’s sleep in protected waters. This is just a head start to make best use of daylight hours tomorrow.
Day 1
Memory Cove is the perfect launch point for an early start to visit some Australian Sealions enroute to sharky waters. On previous trips Hopkins Island was the sealion destination of choice, but this time Skipper Bill took us to Grindal Island. This worked out perfectly. The water was calm, cloudless skies and the water quality excellent. The Sealions were playful and curious, and the sun was in the perfect position to capture those rays penetrating the water. Fantastic !
Grindal Island Sealion
Then after our sealion adventure, it was full steam ahead down to the Neptune Islands to commence the shark activities.
Shark Food (AKA fur seals) on the rocky shores of the South Neptune Islands
The weather plays a huge role in site selection and in this case, the South Neptunes provided the most protected waters. It didn’t take long for sharks to appear. At first the Surface cage was employed and straight away those who jumped in early were having their first close up experiences.
Surface cage thrill seeker enjoys a close passing of a Great White
Soon after the first ocean floor cage was heading down. Bingo ! Straight up the sharks are curious to the silver box with bubble blowing creatures inside.
Great White Shark close inspection
Surface cage enthusiasts enjoyed the view as the sharks mixed up their curiousity between top and bottom cages.
The water temperature was a pleasant 20 degrees ! And so the activities continued…. plenty of shark activity for every occupant in every cage that hit the water.
Great White Shark overhead
After we all had a couple of trips down in the bottom cage, it was time to relax with a fantastic meal prepared by chef Alicia, and share tales of our sharky experiences.
Day 2
The weather and good shark activity on the previous day had us remain at the South Neptune Islands.
The view from inside the surface cage
Once again, the sharks were friendly and both morning and afternoon sessions provided plenty of shark photo opportunities for everyone. The Surface and Sea Floor cages doing good business.
Rodney Fox Surface Cage
Day 3
A weather change prompted a move back up to the North Neptune Islands. It was a bit rough in the morning, so the sea floor cage activities were put on hold. The sea state improved by mid afternoon and surface and sea floor cage folk all had another dunking. Not as many sharks at the North Neptunes, but no body missed out on an encounter.
Great White Shark comes up to the cage
Day 4
The wind and swell direction swing, which means a location change back down to the South Neptunes.
Here the shark action was hot again, with plenty of opportunities for everybody in the surface and sea floor cages.
Shark in the Seagrass
The crew worked had that day, making sure we made best use of our time.
Cage Crew
Day 5
The Southern Ocean is good at throwing up changes in the weather, so It was back to the North Neptunes to find the best sheltered waters for our last morning of shark activity.
North Neptune Islands Shark Smorgasbord !
This time the water was quite deep, down to 24 metres. The non-deco times started becoming short so we had to shallow up. Still, lengthy cage times were enjoyed by all. The sharks were around, but not as curious as previous days.
Great White Shark and Trevally
After lunch we started the journey back north to Thistle island for an explore. Wetsuits were out hanging in the breeze trying to dry off before being stuffed back into their travel bags. A quick walk on the north side of Thistle Island to check out the wallabies provided some extra variety.
Then it was the late afternoon steam back to Port Lincoln to sadly disembark and say our goodbyes.
Many Thanks to Skipper Bill, Engineer/DiveMaster Shep, Trip Director Gloria, Dive Masters Kris and Siobhan and the fantastic hardest working chef Alicia for making this trip my best yet.
Folks, if you haven’t experienced Great White Sharks before (or those amazing Sea Lions), all I can say is do it. The one person on our expedition who did not have a scuba certification, clocked up the most hours in the surface cage and walked off the vessel with the biggest smile.
You will never forget the first time you see a Great White Shark !