The other main reason for coming to Port Lincoln was the opportunity to cage dive with Great White Sharks! I boarded the boat at 6:30 am and we headed south 3 hours to the North Neptune Islands, where a colony of New Zealand seals breed and Great White sharks hunt them.
When we got there, the skipper gave a safety briefing and explained what would happen:
The cage would be put in the water and then they would put food into the water to entice the sharks to come around.
After waiting for about 30 minutes the first of five sharks for the day appeared. Then it was time to get suited up in a wetsuit and climb into the cage. The water was freezing cold and this was my first time breathing through a ventilator. I kept getting scared that the ventilator wouldn't work, so I was sucking in large amounts of air and then having too much air and having to breathe out a bunch of air. Every time that I breathed in on the ventilator there was plenty of air but my brain kept thinking that there wasn't going to be anymore. The ocean was moving around and the cage was banging against the boat. In my mind, I kept imagining the cage becoming dislodged and not noticing until I was at the bottom of the ocean. I found both of these things more frighting than the sharks themselves.
I was in the cage for about an hour and during that time 3 different sharks came around for 10-5 minutes each, with two sharks there at the same time at one point. It's amazing how quickly they can move and how they can change direction so quickly. There were a couple of times that the sharks came close enough to the cage that I could have touched them (instead I pulled myself further back into the cage, just in case).
Overall I really enjoyed the experience, I am glad that I came all the way South to Port Lincoln and that I got to swim with Tuna, Sea lions and Sharks. Tomorrow I head North into the outback and Red Centre (Center)
To see the rest of the pictures please click HERE
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