Visit Date: May 2011

Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions run 4 night trips to the Neptune Islands in South Australia. They are the only boat that offers a "bottom Cage" . This is great for all photographers as it gives you the best viewing. The crew, food and accommodation are all excellent and the sharks and cage diving - the best you will ever get.

Visit Date: August 2011

Let me start by saying that like most kids born in the 70's I grew up fearing sharks. After all Jaws was huge for us 70's kids. This has grown over the years to a passion for sharks and shark photography. This passion has led me to travel around the world photographing sharks. I've been lucky to travel pretty extensively and can say to date this has been the ultimate shark diving experience i've had the pleasure of doing. Having dived hundreds if not thousands of times with sharks I can say this with some level of experience.

My particular trip was the 4 day trip to the Neptune islands and although the boat comfortably sleeps 12 we only had 5 patrons on my trip. On the first night all the travelers meet at the Marina hotel where Andrew Fox (son of the infamous Rodney Fox) and his fellow crew member Ian 'Patto' Paterson met us before heading off to the boat at around 9.00pm. Overnight on the boat and around 5am we head off to the Neptune Islands. The rooms are two to a cabin with a double bed and single bunk. Each room as an 'en-suite' shower & toilet. the feel on the boat is very relaxed (unlike most dive boats) and it really seems to be run as a passion rather than a money making exercise.

The crew really did things beyond the call which is what impressed me most. For example one of the customers, a female middle aged doctor from Spain, struggled a little with the cold. So they loaned her a dry suit. I had a loose solder joint on my camera sync cable meaning I could only use one strobe (a real trip wrecker), so they took off one of their own strobes and let me use it for the entire trip no charge. The diving consists of both surface cage diving and the unique bottom cage diving (for certified scuba divers). You can pretty much jump into the cages when you like and on our trip 5 different GW's turned up over the three days. Aside from the awesome cage dives there is plenty of action to see by watching the GW's trying to get the bait lines at the back of the boat.

The food on the boat was really great. We had everything from Lamb Roast to warm home made pumpkin soup. Free soft drinks and munchies and even magnum ice creams at night!. Andrew and Patto have to have the best collection of GW photos in the world with 30 and 15 years on the boat respectively. At night there's games, a fully stocked bar (nice red wines) and of course loads of shark talk and videos. I really struggle to find negatives. I guess the water could be warmer, as it was only 16 degrees (Aug 2011). I took a drysuit but you can rent wetsuits on board. So in closing this trip is a must do 'Bucket List' entry. Even if you don't have a dive certification the surface cages provide amazingly close encounters with these amazing creatures.

Visit Date: January 2011

Andrew (son of Rodney) runs the Princess II out of Port Lincoln. He is probably the foremost expert on Great White Sharks and is a large, humble and genuinely nice man. He is supported by the multi talented Jennifer who is divemaster, videographer, waitress and miss fixit. The boat is clean and comfortable but not luxurious. Ian "Pato" cooks great food and you never go hungry. This is a serious operation supported by a scientific research trust, they were measuring Great Whites with lasers when we were there. They also have tagged a number of sharks and track them. They journey to the Neptune islands and use both a floating surface cage and a bottom cage - this is unique as the max depth is around 40m, so you can have sharks over you.

We were lucky enough to see three Great Whites and one Bronze Whaler; we also snorkelled with Australian Sea Lions. You have plenty of time in both cages and they pretty much ensure you get maximum viewing time. They are all passionate about Great Whites and safety is paramount. Andrew is a great photographer and you will get plenty of incredible photo opportunities.

We have seen a lot of Pelagic and Reef sharks but this takes the biscuit. We were awestruck by the power and beauty of these poorly understood fish.

The downside is only the journey, first get to Australia then fly from Adelaide to Port Lincoln. They cater for non divers as well and have a good stock of Aussie wine.

If you like sharks, a little comfortable adventure and the excitement of seeing this apex predator then you have to do this trip. It was the best thing we have done diving and we are planning a return.