Sundivers Meet the South Australian Great Whites

Written & Photographed by John Natoli

13 months had slipped by since Jim Dodd and Christine Hamilton had been awarded a 4 night/3 day Rodney Fox Great White Shark cage dive trip as winners of the 2010 Sundive Photo Shoot-Out. It was June 2011 and the time had arrived to head to Port Lincoln, Sth Australia with their respective partners and together with 8 other regular Sundive divers who had joined along to be a part of a Sundive group charter.

Our meeting point was the Marina Hotel, Port Lincoln at 6.00pm where we would have dinner prior to boarding the Princess II. During our dinner, Andrew Fox arrived to meet us with somewhat bad news. He explained the weather forecast for the next 24 hrs was for wind speeds of 25-30 knots and 6–7 mtr swells making it impossible to travel out in open water to Neptune Islands the next day. However the forecast was that conditions would improve and it was likely that we would have a reasonably comfortable trip across open seas the following day. We just had to ‘kill’ the next 24 hours. 

Rather than stay in port all day, Andrew provided us with a back-up plan. He suggested we could travel within the sheltered waters of the Spencer Gulf and head 40kms north-east up to Tumby Bay in search of Leafy Sea Dragons. Of the 12 divers, 9 of us had never seen a Leafy Sea Dragon so we quickly all agreed that plan ‘B’ was a great alternative. We finished dinner, consumed a few more drinks, had coffee and finally ventured across to the boat. We were given a safety briefing of the boat and its facilities and then went off to bed, ready for an early departure the following morning.

With breakfast out of the way, it was time to depart Port Lincoln. Skipper Steve, undertook a last minute check of the sea conditions outside the Spencer Gulf to determine the possibility of getting out to the Neptunes, but the conditions were as predicted – so plan ‘B’ it was. After a very comfortable 2 hour trip across a smooth sea we finally arrived at Tumby Bay where we anchored a few metres off the pier. With no current and water temperature of 13 degrees, we enjoyed several dives in approx 15 – 20 mtrs viz.

We spotted a number of Leafy Sea Dragons during 2 dives. Leafy Sea Dragon, Phycodurus eques, is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which also includes the seahorses. They are found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the long leaf-like protrusions coming from all over the body which serve as camouflage. Small specimens of approx 5 inches were found on the pier pylons and 2 large specimens of approx 9–10 inches long were found just off the end of the pier in amongst the seabed grass. Spotting and photographing these delicate creatures was certainly an exciting unplanned bonus to our trip.

Late afternoon we pulled up anchor and set a southerly compass bearing to Thistle Island. The plan was to seek overnight shelter on the east side of Thistle Island, away from the westerly winds and swell and then make a run to the Neptune Islands first thing in the morning – weather permitting of course.

Day 2 and after a very comfortable night’s sleep, it was time to check weather conditions to determine the suitability of our passage to the Neptunes. The news was good with the seas abating over night. Approx 3 hours later, we arrived at North Neptune West Island. We arrived at a time when lunch is normally served on the boat, but nobody was interested in eating. The skipper, Steve, positioned the boat in a sheltered little bay known as Main Bay. From here we could see the New Zealand fur seals lying on the rocks - this is Great White Shark territory.

Immediately the anchor was set, the crew wasted no time in getting around to the stern to untie the 3 shark cages, getting them into position and then started chumming the water to attract the first sharks. Within 5 minutes the first of the Great White sharks appeared at the back of the boat. Andrew Fox called up the passengers on the back deck for a dive brief on cage diving and cage etiquette when the second shark arrived. This very early shark activity was quite exciting for us and distracted out attention from the dive brief. Safety is of the utmost importance and taken very seriously by the Rodney Fox organisation, so Andrew had no alternative but to summons us inside the saloon out of sight of any distraction.

A briefing was provided on both the surface cage and the submersible bottom cage. Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions is the only great white shark cage diving operation in the world that caters specifically for qualified divers. If you have your open water diver cert or above then you can experience the great white shark like very few have, down on the ocean floor and face to face in the shark’s domain.

The special cage is slowly lowered to the ocean floor where a host of Southern Ocean sealife also awaits. Giant smooth rays (the world's largest stingrays), eagle rays, wrasse, leatherjackets and the beautiful South Australian blue groper are never too far away.

With the briefing over, the cage diving commenced. Over the next day and a half we rotated between the 3 cages consisting of the submersible bottom cage and 2 surface cages – 1 x 4-person cage and 1 single person cage. The single person cage was set approx 1 mtr away from the 4-person cage. This provided me with a great opportunity to photograph a 4 mtr great white shark as it approached the large cage giving some perspective of the size of the shark by comparison to the divers.

The water temperature at Neptune Islands was 16-17 degrees with visibility around 20 mtrs. It is quite exhilarating being in the cage waiting to sight your first shark. Then, finally, out of the blue a huge shape appears; you take a sudden breath as a great white shark emerges from nowhere and majestically and effortlessly swims by. You can’t help but be spellbound by the sharks grace and power. The image of your first great white shark sighting underwater is then ingrained in your memory and will last a lifetime.

Even more exhilarating is the moment when the shark comes so, so close. You see the shark’s black eye and you immediately sense the connection between you and it, knowing the shark is specifically checking you out as much as you are checking it out. At this point, some divers might be tempted to reach out and touch the shark knowing they are close enough to do so, but you remember that during the dive brief it was explained that touching sharks is strictly against the code of cage dive ethics.

Over the 2 day period we had non-stop shark action from arrival to the moment of departure. Sundivers sighted 14 different Great White sharks ranging from a 2.5 mtr juvenile to a near 5.5mtr female that left you with your mouth gaping in awe of her size and perceived prowess.

Despite a shaky start, the trip turned out to be a sensational success. 12 very satisfied divers gathered together on the bow of Princess II on the morning of our departure to have a photo taken with Andrew Fox and crew member Paddo. It was difficult having to step off the boat. We could have easily turned around and gone back out to sea again.