Up close and personal

Baird Bay Ocean Eco Experience supply you with a wetsuit and snorkel, then takes you by boat to meet the dolphins. Within moments, these graceful grey mammals are beside the boat, which means it’s time for you to jump into the clear blue water for a very special experience…

After your encounter, you’re taken a little further into the bay to visit the sea lions. On your arrival, these curious creatures will come darting over to see who you are and what you look like!

You can swim with dolphins closer to Port Lincoln (the peninsula’s main town), joining pods of bottlenose dolphins in stunning Coffin Bay. The operation is run by Coffin Bay Explorer.

Port Lincoln is also your starting point for the world’s only tuna swim. If you’ve never seen a tuna, these fish are fast and furious swimmers, not to mention extremely valuable and very good to eat. One of two local operations will take you by boat to one of the off-shore tuna ponds, each containing around 2000 fish. After learning about the tuna industry, you’re ready to jump into the pond. Don’t be surprised if you get a huge adrenalin rush!

Feeling brave? Then how about going face to face with the same great white sharks that Steven Spielberg used in his movie Jaws? (The director filmed his live action footage here in the 1970s).

On a day tour out of Port Lincoln, you’ll sail 27 kilometres (40 miles) to the Neptune Islands where the big sharks live, some of them measure up to 5.5 metres (16 feet). Once the sharks have been found, you’re given wetsuit and air supply, then submerged into a steel cage. It’s time to face your fears!

There are three shark dive operations working out of Port Lincoln, but if you want something extra-different, try Adventure Bay Charters. They attract the sharks by playing heavy rock directly into the water. Apparently, the sharks especially like the vibrations caused by AC/DC!