Shark Feed Dives in Australia

[MJ98]

Hi All,

I will be travelling to Australia for the whole of 2015 and one of the things i would really like to do is swim with sharks without a cage. I currently have no diving certifications and am planning to do my Open Water PADI and Advanced Open Water PADI when in Australia.

I am looking into shark feed dives as this way i am guaranteed to see a large amount of sharks, and as i say, this is one of the main reasons i will be diving. The one problem i have though, is my budget. I really can't afford a luxury liveaboard and would like the bare minimum in terms of comfort, as the dives are my priority.

Does anyone know of anywhere that could do this, say under 1000AUD? The only places i have really found are Taka, Mike Ball and Spirit of Freedom (doing the North Horn feed), and the Rum Runner doing Holmes Reef. It seems some others are no longer sailing and therefore choices seem limited, and priced between 1200 and 3000AUD.

If anyone has any suggestions or experience, all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Martyn

 

[WetPup]

Could try diving South West Rocks in NSW. Not a shark feed dive as such, but it's a shark dive without a cage.

Other than that, there's always reef sharks on the Great Barrier Reef, even just on the day trips. But you won't see huge congregations of them like you would on the shark feed at North Horn.

Another option might be to head to Fiji for a short break and do the shark dive at Beqa?

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

You have pretty much found your own answer. If you want to dive te Barrier Reef then Mike Ball , Spirit and Taka are it. Taka is the only one under $1,000 that you are likely to get the trip, but they do not offer shark feed dives as such as they don't do the Coral Sea any more. Only SOF and MB do this. These trips are more expensive because you are flying one leg of the trip but its so worth it

I would take WetPups advice and look to do some of the NSW coastal dives if budget is tight.

 

[MA]

Diving with the grey nurse sharks at south west rocks or byron bay is awesome!! Loads of sharks. They are huge. Look scary. But are safe to dive with. Depending on time of year stradbroke island might be a good budget option too.

 

[MJ98]

Thanks for all your replies.

WetPup - South West Rocks actually looks like quite a nice dive so i will definitely look into it. If my partner and i get a substantial amount of tax back on leaving Australia then we are considering doing some more travelling. In this instance, Fiji would be a top choice due to the Beqa dive. Do you have any idea how much this dive costs? They seem to want me to contact for a quote to get a price but i don't want to email as i will be wasting their time. I have seen on lonely planet a Beqa shark dive is $245, but this seems too cheap for such an experience!

Aquapro - I can't believe how expensive it is to fly to Lizard Island for 60 mins! Seems to be around $600, so i see why the prices are so high. I'm guessing it is due it being a national park and resort? It's a shame there are no budget options for this as you would think someone would have found a way to offer a cheaper flight that landed on the water or maybe a faster boat that could link up with the diving boat?

Anyway, i guess i'll either have to save like mad or wait for Beqa, doing the grey nurse sharks/ coastal dives you all mentioned.

On a side note, has anyone been to Holmes Reef to dive or see the shark feed with the Rum Runner? I'm just curious how this one compares to the North Horn ones as i could maybe get that under $1000 but there aren't many videos online, so i'm not sure how good this area is comparitively.

Thanks,

Martyn

 

[WetPup]

Thanks for all your replies.

WetPup - South West Rocks actually looks like quite a nice dive so i will definitely look into it. If my partner and i get a substantial amount of tax back on leaving Australia then we are considering doing some more travelling. In this instance, Fiji would be a top choice due to the Beqa dive. Do you have any idea how much this dive costs? They seem to want me to contact for a quote to get a price but i don't want to email as i will be wasting their time. I have seen on lonely planet a Beqa shark dive is $245, but this seems too cheap for such an experience!

Aquapro - I can't believe how expensive it is to fly to Lizard Island for 60 mins! Seems to be around $600, so i see why the prices are so high. I'm guessing it is due it being a national park and resort? It's a shame there are no budget options for this as you would think someone would have found a way to offer a cheaper flight that landed on the water or maybe a faster boat that could link up with the diving boat?

Anyway, i guess i'll either have to save like mad or wait for Beqa, doing the grey nurse sharks/ coastal dives you all mentioned.

On a side note, has anyone been to Holmes Reef to dive or see the shark feed with the Rum Runner? I'm just curious how this one compares to the North Horn ones as i could maybe get that under $1000 but there aren't many videos online, so i'm not sure how good this area is comparitively.

Thanks,

Martyn

I stayed at Beqa Lagoon Resort, and the diving is included in the cost of the stay. I do remember that if you wanted to do the shark dive you had to pay an extra $50 though. Considering you'll be a new diver, and are unlikely to have your own gear, you should be prepared to pay $150-200 for a 2 tank boat dive pretty much anywhere in Australia or the Pacific. It's cheaper if you're shore diving, but not by much, because you'll have to be renting gear.

And for the record, Lizard Island is a top rated (some might say pretentious) luxury resort in the marine park. It's expensive full stop. They have no desire to provide budget options, because they want to keep it exclusive. It's also too far offshore for a "fast boat" to be a practical option. Any boats would have to leave from Cairns/Cooktown, and they'd have to have enough fuel to make the return trip, as there's nowhere to refuel on the island. Which rules out the faster boats because they're too small. Diving the GBR isn't cheap, but it is a mindblowing experience

 

[MA]

And further to wet pups comment regarding lizard island. It's is nowhere near osprey reef where the shark feed is. There's still about 8-12 hour steam in the liveaboard to get there . Lizard island is just a convenient point fir pass ever pickup and drop off. Even before the liveaboards started the one way flights the trips were pricey! Osprey is very remote. You pay for it. And it's magic .

 

[WetPup]

In addition to MA's post, access to Osprey/North Horn is very weather dependent. The boats won't make the crossing out there if it's too windy. So even if your liveaboard is scheduled to go out there, it might not happen. This tends to be more of an issue in the Australian cyclone season.

Keep an eye on Aquapro's posts though. You may not find anything quite as cheap as $1000, but SoF and Mike Ball do offer discounted trips occasionally in order to fill spaces on board.

 

[divingkiwi]

Spirit of Freedom has one 'quad share cabin' that offers a more budget friendly option, and yes, they do offer last minute discounts if your schedule is flexible.
You could spend some time in Cairns and do one of the 3 day/ 2 night trips with Prodive live aboard, where you will get the opportunity to do night dives on the GBR, which usually feature a few sharks, and I found quite fun. But, like as mentioned above, nothing beats the thrill of the shark feed at North Horn!
You did mention that you are looking to learn to dive on your trip to Aus. If you do decide to choose SOF or Mike Ball, bear in mind that the diving at Osprey Reef is for Advanced divers and conditions can sometimes be challenging, so make sure you get up a few dives in your log book before heading out there. Both offer Padi Advanced courses if you want to train on the boat, but this would be an expensive option if you're on a budget. Better to train on land and find a good deal. Prodive are IMO the best choice for dive training in Cairns. You could do your Advanced with them before heading out on SOF or MB...
The steam out to Osprey does take around 10-12 hours, as it is around 80NM off shore, half way to PNG! So take seasickness into account if you are not experienced. This is a long steam through open ocean, overnight, and yes, sometimes the weather is bad and the trip doesn't make it. Luck of the draw weather wise. Ps, I used to work for SOF ;-)
As for the shark feed in Beqa, I did this a couple of years ago, and was sadly disappointed. No Tiger Shark turned up on the two days I tried the feed, and apparently she is quite rare to see. What did turn up was a steady stream of the fattest, most ridiculous bull sharks, lining up like trained dogs for their share of the Tuna heads. Maybe my time at Osprey has desensitised me to the thrill of a shark feed? But there was something about the experience that seemed tame and zoo like, even though, yes they are still wild sharks. At North Horn the sharks turn up and circle, then go crazy for the feed, which is far more heart pounding to witness, even though they may not be enormous bull sharks. Sometimes, if you're lucky a Silver Tip will turn up to really liven up the feed.
As for Rum Runner, yes they do run trips further out past the GBR, but these are few and far between, so best contacting them direct to see if they have any trips running out to Holmes etc. I've yet to go on this trip, due to the rarity of the schedule, and it also seems fairly expensive considering the quality of the rooms, boat, etc. They do not run a regular weekly trip like MB and SOF.