Neptune Islands Australia, one of the top five places for great white shark diving Australia
If you’re a fan of scuba diving with sharks, then you’ll love cage diving with great white sharks. Australia is home to one of the largest populations of great white sharks.
To dive with great white sharks, you may want to consider Mexico’s Guadalupe Island and dive this on a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Mexico liveaboards using the following window:
Cage dive great white sharks Australia liveaboard – what attracts the great white sharks?
Where there are pinnipeds, there are great white sharks. Pinnipeds are seals and seals make up the main diet for great whites.
Great white sharks have one of the highest metabolisms of all sharks. This is because they are one of the only fish in the ocean to keep their bodies at a higher temperature than the surrounding water.
It is because of this high body temperature that they burn lots of calories. Great white sharks therefore need plenty of food energy. This is found in the blubber of seals, which is why great whites love to eat them.
Neptune Islands are 27.8 kilometers (17.3 miles) south south-east from mainland Australia off from Cape Catastrophe. The Islands are in Spence Gulf and there are two groups of islands there.
These two groups are the North Neptune Islands and the South Neptune Islands. These groups of islands are well known for great white shark tourism.
Great white shark cage diving Australia Neptune Islands – how to get there
The liveaboard boat that goes to Neptune Island leaves from Port Lincoln. Port Lincoln, Australia is a city on the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia. Port Lincoln’s nearest biggest city is Adelaide, which is nearly a seven hour drive away.
However, there is an airport in Port Lincoln, which is a short 50 minute flight from Adelaide International Airport.
Of course, if you live in Australia you can take a flight from your nearest airport to Adelaide and then hop across to Port Lincoln from there.
But if you’re travelling to Australia from say the UK or from the US, you’ll need to fly into one of Australia’s international airports, before flying to Port Lincoln.
If you are travelling from the UK, you can get flights to Adelaide, which will usually stop on-route via Singapore or Hong Kong depending on the airline you choose.
If you are coming from America, then you’ll probably have to go via one of the other major international airports closer to the East Coast of Australia, like Sydney or Melbourne. You will then get a connecting flight to Adelaide International Airport and then jump on the short 50 minute flight to Port Lincoln.
Princess II has the luxury of all ensuite bathroom bedrooms.
As there’s a small number of people on the boat, it’s a bit more exclusive than some of the crowded day boats that leave from Port Lincoln.
This liveaboard boat is operated by The Rodney Fox Team, which have been operating great white shark tours for 40 years. With the Rodney Fox Team you are in very safe hands for an incredible experience of a lifetime.
Cage dive great white sharks Australia liveaboard – What to expect
The Princess II is geared up for both divers and non-divers. This liveaboard boat is probably the only cage diving liveaboard that has two cage diving options.
Neptune Island Cage diving option #1 – surface cages for non-divers
If you’ve always wanted to experience great white sharks up close and personal, the only true way to do this is in a cage.
With the Princess II liveaboard you’re in luck. If you are a non-diver you can use the surface cage to see the magnificent creatures
Neptune Island Cage diving option #2 – submerged cages for scuba divers
Like nowhere else in the world, if you’re a scuba diver you can get in a cage and submerge to the seabed! This is probably one of the most exciting of all cage dives, as there’s no way out and you’re slowly sent down to around 18 metres (60 feet).
From there you’ll experience great white sharks up close and personal. But to go down in this submerged cage, you have to be a certified scuba diver first.
Great White Shark Cage Diving – Neptune Islands, Australia Compilation of great white shark videos from inside the cage while diving the Neptune islands off the coast of port Lincoln Australia.
For both divers and non-divers there’s a chance to snorkel or swim with seals at Hopkins Island. But also there’s a chance to walk on Neptune Island to where you’ll experience a variety of colourful birds.
Birds on the island include white-fronted chats, masked plovers, rock parrots, welcome swallows, silvereyes and stubble quails.
How long are the liveaboard trips to Neptune Island?
The great white shark cage diving liveaboard trips to Neptune Island range from two days to five days. On a two day liveaboard trip to Neptune Islands you’ll get to dive up to four times.
Whereas on a three-day liveaboard trip you get to dive up to eight times, four-day trip ten times and on a five day trip up to 12 times.
By choosing a liveaboard trip of two days or more you stand a much better chance of seeing great white sharks and of getting some quality photos and videos of these predatory animals.
Best time to visit the Neptune Island Australia for great white shark diving
The great white shark viewing opportunities for Neptune Island is good all year. But the main season for cage diving there is from May to October.
During this time the average water temperature is 16° Celsius (60° Fahrenheit). So you may be better off scuba diving in a drysuit to keep warm. Dry suits are the best option when you’re diving in colder waters more than once on the same day.
The best month for scuba diving with great white sharks in the Neptune Island Marine Park is in April. This is a time when the weather, the water temperature and the size and reliability of seeing sharks is at its best.
But let’s take a look at the variables that make a great cage diving experience at Neptune Islands, Australia.
Best months for great white shark viewings
The best time to have the best probability of seeing great white sharks is between September to late January each year. This is when there are the most great white sharks in the region.
The other period when most shark sightings occur is from April to late June each year.
Best month for seeing the most sharks at Neptune Island
If you are looking to see the most great white sharks when you dive Neptune Island, your best bet is to visit between September and January.
Best month for spotting the largest great white sharks at Neptune Islands
If with great white shark spotting, size does matter to you, then the best months to visit Neptune Islands is between April to August. This is the time when the largest of the mature females enter the region, which can grow to over 5 metres (16 feet) in length.
Although if you are looking to see the biggest of all the great white sharks, your best bet is to visit between April to June.
The adult males, which are generally smaller than the adult females measure up to 4 metres (13 feet) in length. However, it’s the males that are more photogenic and more bold around the cages than the more cautious female great white sharks.
Best months for the best weather to visit Neptune Islands for white shark diving
The best weather around Port Lincoln and the Neptune Islands is between October and April. This is Australia’s spring through summer period and is when you’ll have the most sunshine and warmth for your trip.
Best months for water temperature at Neptune Island
The warmest water temperatures around Neptune Islands is between December and May. During these months the water temperatures rise to as much as 18-20° C (64-68° F).
You may be okay in these water temperatures with a thick wetsuit instead of a drysuit. But because of the offshore currents, water temperatures stay around 15-20° C (59-68° F) throughout the year. So my recommendation would that if you have a drysuit, take it.
Best month for good water visibility around Neptune Island
The water visibility around the Neptune Islands is pretty goo for most of the year. In fact water visibility of up to 30 metres (100 feet) is what you’ll experience for most of the year.
But to almost guarantee great water visibility, your best bet is to visit between August to October when the water is at its coolest. This is definitely drysuit diving temperature of around 15-16° C (59-61° F).
How to book your cage dive great white sharks Australia liveaboard
I hope you enjoyed this article about cage dive great white sharks Australia liveaboard
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkeling, in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkeling or types of scuba diving (or specifically about cage dive great white sharks Australia liveaboard), please comment below with your questions.
Cage Dive Great White Sharks Australia Liveaboard (Seabed Cage Diving)
Related Posts:
Why Do The Great White Sharks Congregate Around… Neptune Island shark diving is one of the 4 top spots in the world for great white sharks The Neptune Islands are off the coast of South Australia, not too…
Can You Go Great White Shark Diving In Western… Great white shark diving in Western Australia isn't allowed & shark tourism is been banned by fisheries minister is worried it'll change shark behaviour.
Are There Great White Sharks In The Great Barrier Reef? Great white sharks have been spotted on the southern most coral cay of the Great Barrier Reef off Lady Elliot Island. The most recent great white shark encounter was a…
Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
