Port Lincoln shark diving: Where can I do a shark dive in Australia?

Cage diving with great white sharks is available at the Neptune Islands off the coast of Port Lincoln, South Australia. That’s a seven hour drive from Adelaide, plus a three hour Neptune Islands shark diving boat trip.

You don’t forget your first encounter with a great white shark. From the southern ocean, four metres of pure ruthlessness just emerges from the murky deep, unannounced and in complete silence.

Were it not for the metal cage around the brave swimmers, the shark would be feasting on tourist. But what it really cares about are a few metres away on the hugely dangerous Neptune Islands – the only place it’s possible to do a shark dive in Australia.

The Neptune Islands are home to Australia’s biggest colony of New Zealand fur seals. To the great white shark, this is an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Port Lincoln shark diving: Getting to the Neptune Islands

Getting to the Neptune Islands for one of the best adrenalin experiences in Australia takes considerable time and money.

The shark dive boats depart from South Australian town Port Lincoln at the tip of the Eyre Peninsula. This might be near oyster capital Coffin Bay, but it’s 651km by road from South Australian capital Adelaide. Flights are much quicker – it’s 50 to 55 minutes with Qantas or Rex – but expect to pay at least $320 return from Adelaide to Port Lincoln. Car hire is available at Port Lincoln Airport.

Once in Port Lincoln, you need to go on a boat trip. Several operators offer Port Lincoln shark diving cruises, including Calypso Star Charters, who sell the day trips to the Neptune Islands sharks and seals for $534.70. That’s a lot of money. Given that it takes three hours to get out to the Neptune Islands, you have to really, really want to do a shark dive to make this worth it.

It’s an undoubtedly exhilarating experience, though. While sightings are possible from the deck of the boat, the thrill comes from going inside the cage.

Inside a shark diving cage

Wetsuits are donned; blood, guts and tuna gills are thrown into the water to attract the sharks; the cage is lowered. Weights are strapped jacket-like around the wetsuits. Then basic instruction is provided on how to use the regulators that will provide oxygen underwater. Previous diving experience is not necessary.

The cages on a Neptune Islands shark diving cruise are remarkably simple. A ladder leads down, the top part is above the water to aid anyone wishing to come up for air, and the bottom part goes down approximately swimming pool deep. Inside are bars to hold onto and tuck feet under – a far safer bet than wrapping fingers around the exterior bars for sharks to have a nibble at – and in the middle is a terrifyingly large gap. The great whites can easily stick their noses in should they wish to.

Much of the thrill, it turns out, comes from not quite knowing what’s going on. There are lulls, then spells when the cage shakes. Is it the ocean swell, or is it a shark’s tail clattering against the bars? The people on the other side probably know, but no-one gets to see everything.

On other occasions, visibility goes to pot as foam crosses the surface, or a commotion of some sort fills the water with bubbles. And it’s apparent that the sharks like this kind of cover. They will often magically appear just as things clear up. The thrill of seeing them never lessens, even after half an hour to 45 minutes in the water.

For less terrifying wildlife encounters on the Eyre Peninsula, try the koalas of Mikkira Station.

Shark cage diving in Sydney or Melbourne?

If you’re wanting to do a shark cage dive in Sydney or swim with sharks in Melbourne, then forget about it. There are very good reasons why such shark dives are restricted to remote islands in South Australia. Sharks kill people in Australia – there have been incidents off the coast of Perth, New South Wales and Queensland in recent years. Letting people swim with sharks near Australia’s major cities and population centres might encourage the sharks to come closer to the city beaches. It might also make them see humans as potential prey. There are no shark dive tours in Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Melbourne for this reason. And the only shark diving tours in South Australia take place a long way from Adelaide.

More Australian ocean wildlife encounters

Where can I go kayaking with seals in Australia?

Can I go whale-watching in Albany, Western Australia?

Where in Australia can I swim with whale sharks?

Where can I see wild stingrays in Western Australia?