Neptune Islands

In the cage

This isn’t a regular scuba dive. You watch the sharks from inside a cage, and there are two kinds:

• Surface cage: anyone can go in, with no diving experience. On the day trip, groups of up to 8 take turns in a spacious cage, and you get a 7 mm wetsuit, hood, boots, gloves and mask.
• Ocean floor cage: on the liveaboard expeditions only, for certified scuba divers with at least Open Water certification.

To bring the sharks close to the boat and cage, the crew uses natural fish berley, which is permitted at the Neptune Islands.

The sharks

The great whites are wild and come and go as they please, so sightings can’t be guaranteed and time in the cage varies with shark activity. There’s plenty to see from the deck while you wait your turn, so bring polarised sunglasses. On the expeditions you also visit the fur seal colonies by tender and walk on the islands. The Great White Winter Safari runs in winter, when the largest mature great whites have traditionally been seen.

Getting there

The trip out runs through lower Spencer Gulf and the islands of Thorny Passage, often with dolphins and, in season, whales. It’s about 3 hours each way on the day trip, so seasickness medication is strongly recommended. Choose a day trip or a 3 to 6 day liveaboard, or combine the sharks with a sea lion swim on the shark and sea lion day trip.