Trip Report
Rodney Fox Expediiton
Port Lincoln, South Australia
Dates: 20-25 April 2024
Summary
I went on a special expedition with Rodney Fox with an Italian shark scientist (Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena) and nine other guests plus crew to see Great White Sharks.
Due to factors out of our control, no Great White Sharks were seen on this trip. The only shark I saw was a gummy shark (Australia Smooth Hound or Mustelus Antarcticus). The rest of the time I had underwater I was playing with the many Silver Trevally and Leatherjacket fish in our shark cage.
Travel
In my case, I had it easy only a one hour plane trip from Adelaide to Port Lincoln.
Some passenger came as far as Sweden, Belgium, France and South Africa where they experienced flight cancellations due to the floods in Dubai (during April 2024).
Meet up point was at the Hotel Marina at Port Lincoln at 18:30. I arrived six hours early and hired an electric mountain bike to explore more of the town.
Boat
The MV Rodney Fox was a comfortable boat comprising of three decks. The top deck contains the Master Ensuite Cabin and the Upper deck Cabins as well as the ship’s bridge and viewing platform.
On the dive equipment deck, the divers get ready and enter the shark cage towards the aft of the boat. There are showers (so nice, great running hot water!) and toilets next to the dive gear area. Towards the front is the lounge and kitchen where meals are served and presentations are held.
On the bottom deck there are additional crew and passenger cabins. Also I think this is where the machinery room is located (I did not visit here).
My Upper Deck Cabin had two bunk beds (the bottom was a double bed) and a cabin reverse-cycle air conditioner (very useful for those chilly evenings – I had it set to 20 or 21C which was perfect).
Passengers
This was my first time onboard a Rodney Fox trip and booked a place mainly to experience a liveaboard in my home state of South Australia and to learn more about Great Whites. I was basically a diving tourist.
The other passengers were super keen and some have travelled around the world (Guadalupe in Mexico and Cape Town in South Africa) just to view Great Whites in their natural habitat. They recounted and showed photos of their experiences from their previous expeditions and gave me the impression that people on my trip were really experienced shark enthusiasts.
Weather and Diving Conditions
Wind conditions were fairly mild 6-8 knots winds, blowing to 11 knots on the second day of the journey.
Water temperature was 16C (61F) on the surface and 14C (57F) at 24m depth (the deepest I went).
I highly recommend bringing a drysuit (or electric thermal vest under a wetsuit).
Food
We had a new Rodney Fox-staff liveaboard staff cook onboard who was attentive and created solid meals. I would of preferred a slightly more diverse menu as the food was standard Australian fare - Spaghetti bolognaise, roasted lamb and potatoes (my favourite), a very Australian-ised chicken soft shell taco, a very Australian-ised Thai red chicken curry etc.
With the international guests onboard I would of prefer a more diverse cuisine menu, but no complaints of me I got a balanced diet and had enough calories for those cold water dives.
Amenities and Internet
Soft drinks and alcohol can be purchased from the bar fridge in the saloon/lounge. There was a big library of DVDs (check that your cabin’s DVD player works – mine did not). Snacks were freely available.
Past Hopkins Island there was nill mobile phone reception. Fortunately the boat had SpaceX StarLink service ($40 for the entire trip), which I found to perform very well (the WiFi router is located on the bridge).
No oxygen-enriched nitrox is available. For the type of diving this was OK, was typical diving depth was 20 meters at around 25 minutes.
What happened
Night before – 20 April
Pick up at the Marina Hotel. Took a shuttle bus and boarded the MV Rodney Fox. Bags and passengers were loaded. A safety briefing was held for the location of the life raft and safety vest located in our cabins.
Dinner was served that evening (Spaghetti Bolognaise and salad).
Day 1 – 21 April
The boat anchored near Hopkins Island and we snorkelled with a colony of Sea Lions.
After the snorkel, got out of the wetsuit and changed. Steamed to Thistle Island where Australia Wallabies were encountered during our walk around the shore line.
In the afternoon we picked up the three remaining passengers (due to their flight cancellations at Dubai), and we made way to the South Neptune Islands.
Day 2 – 22 April
In the morning, our enthusiasm was high as we were on the top deck looking for signs of the sharks. A safety briefing was held for the divers.
Conducted three dives on this day at the South Neptune Islands.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the first 90 min lecture on shark biology at 17:00.
Day 3 – 23 April
Due to the water temperature, and lack of shark sightings there was less interest in the surface cage.
Conducted three dives on this day at the South Neptune Islands.
No Great White shark sightings.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the second 90 min lecture on sharks at 17:00.
Steamed to North Neptune Islands at some point during the evening (or early morning).
Day 4 – 24 April
Conducted three dives on this day at the North Neptune Islands.
No Great White shark sightings.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the third 90 min lecture on sharks at 17:00.
Day 5 – 25 April
Conducted two dives on this day at the North Neptune Islands and one dive at Hopkins Island with the Sea Lions.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the final lecture on sharks at 16:30 on shark to human interactions. Quite interesting this one as a Scuba diver!
Arrived back at Port Lincoln where we said our farewells and took a shuttle bus to our hotels.
Conclusion
As a merely a typical diving tourist, I got a better appreciation of Great White sharks from the lecture content presented and speaking with the other fellow passengers. Imagine it would have been great to of seen them in the wild!
Already starting making plans to take the trip again in 2025 for another chance to see them.
Tips for anybody looking at doing this trip:
The guests and crew onboard the trip.
Rodney Fox Expediiton
Port Lincoln, South Australia
Dates: 20-25 April 2024
Summary
I went on a special expedition with Rodney Fox with an Italian shark scientist (Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena) and nine other guests plus crew to see Great White Sharks.
Due to factors out of our control, no Great White Sharks were seen on this trip. The only shark I saw was a gummy shark (Australia Smooth Hound or Mustelus Antarcticus). The rest of the time I had underwater I was playing with the many Silver Trevally and Leatherjacket fish in our shark cage.
Travel
In my case, I had it easy only a one hour plane trip from Adelaide to Port Lincoln.
Some passenger came as far as Sweden, Belgium, France and South Africa where they experienced flight cancellations due to the floods in Dubai (during April 2024).
Meet up point was at the Hotel Marina at Port Lincoln at 18:30. I arrived six hours early and hired an electric mountain bike to explore more of the town.
Boat
The MV Rodney Fox was a comfortable boat comprising of three decks. The top deck contains the Master Ensuite Cabin and the Upper deck Cabins as well as the ship’s bridge and viewing platform.
On the dive equipment deck, the divers get ready and enter the shark cage towards the aft of the boat. There are showers (so nice, great running hot water!) and toilets next to the dive gear area. Towards the front is the lounge and kitchen where meals are served and presentations are held.
On the bottom deck there are additional crew and passenger cabins. Also I think this is where the machinery room is located (I did not visit here).
My Upper Deck Cabin had two bunk beds (the bottom was a double bed) and a cabin reverse-cycle air conditioner (very useful for those chilly evenings – I had it set to 20 or 21C which was perfect).
Passengers
This was my first time onboard a Rodney Fox trip and booked a place mainly to experience a liveaboard in my home state of South Australia and to learn more about Great Whites. I was basically a diving tourist.
The other passengers were super keen and some have travelled around the world (Guadalupe in Mexico and Cape Town in South Africa) just to view Great Whites in their natural habitat. They recounted and showed photos of their experiences from their previous expeditions and gave me the impression that people on my trip were really experienced shark enthusiasts.
Weather and Diving Conditions
Wind conditions were fairly mild 6-8 knots winds, blowing to 11 knots on the second day of the journey.
Water temperature was 16C (61F) on the surface and 14C (57F) at 24m depth (the deepest I went).
I highly recommend bringing a drysuit (or electric thermal vest under a wetsuit).
Food
We had a new Rodney Fox-staff liveaboard staff cook onboard who was attentive and created solid meals. I would of preferred a slightly more diverse menu as the food was standard Australian fare - Spaghetti bolognaise, roasted lamb and potatoes (my favourite), a very Australian-ised chicken soft shell taco, a very Australian-ised Thai red chicken curry etc.
With the international guests onboard I would of prefer a more diverse cuisine menu, but no complaints of me I got a balanced diet and had enough calories for those cold water dives.
Amenities and Internet
Soft drinks and alcohol can be purchased from the bar fridge in the saloon/lounge. There was a big library of DVDs (check that your cabin’s DVD player works – mine did not). Snacks were freely available.
Past Hopkins Island there was nill mobile phone reception. Fortunately the boat had SpaceX StarLink service ($40 for the entire trip), which I found to perform very well (the WiFi router is located on the bridge).
No oxygen-enriched nitrox is available. For the type of diving this was OK, was typical diving depth was 20 meters at around 25 minutes.
What happened
Night before – 20 April
Pick up at the Marina Hotel. Took a shuttle bus and boarded the MV Rodney Fox. Bags and passengers were loaded. A safety briefing was held for the location of the life raft and safety vest located in our cabins.
Dinner was served that evening (Spaghetti Bolognaise and salad).
Day 1 – 21 April
The boat anchored near Hopkins Island and we snorkelled with a colony of Sea Lions.
After the snorkel, got out of the wetsuit and changed. Steamed to Thistle Island where Australia Wallabies were encountered during our walk around the shore line.
In the afternoon we picked up the three remaining passengers (due to their flight cancellations at Dubai), and we made way to the South Neptune Islands.
Day 2 – 22 April
In the morning, our enthusiasm was high as we were on the top deck looking for signs of the sharks. A safety briefing was held for the divers.
Conducted three dives on this day at the South Neptune Islands.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the first 90 min lecture on shark biology at 17:00.
Day 3 – 23 April
Due to the water temperature, and lack of shark sightings there was less interest in the surface cage.
Conducted three dives on this day at the South Neptune Islands.
No Great White shark sightings.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the second 90 min lecture on sharks at 17:00.
Steamed to North Neptune Islands at some point during the evening (or early morning).
Day 4 – 24 April
Conducted three dives on this day at the North Neptune Islands.
No Great White shark sightings.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the third 90 min lecture on sharks at 17:00.
Day 5 – 25 April
Conducted two dives on this day at the North Neptune Islands and one dive at Hopkins Island with the Sea Lions.
Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena gave the final lecture on sharks at 16:30 on shark to human interactions. Quite interesting this one as a Scuba diver!
Arrived back at Port Lincoln where we said our farewells and took a shuttle bus to our hotels.
Conclusion
As a merely a typical diving tourist, I got a better appreciation of Great White sharks from the lecture content presented and speaking with the other fellow passengers. Imagine it would have been great to of seen them in the wild!
Already starting making plans to take the trip again in 2025 for another chance to see them.
Tips for anybody looking at doing this trip:
- Bring a drysuit (or at least an electric heating vest). A wetsuit will not be sufficient if you are doing consecutive cold water dives throughout the day.
- Sea sickness can be an issue, so take medication before the ship steams to the next journey.
- The sea lions were super friendly and were particularly active for snorkellers (versus scuba divers). Perhaps bring a whistle to attract sea lion attention. Crew will suggest snorkelling for the best experience, but this will likely mean being in a wetsuit in the water.
The guests and crew onboard the trip.
