Australia Diving

Great White Sharks In Australia Magazine

My great white shark encounter with Rodney Fox in southern Australia was featured in the UK’s Australia & New Zealand magazine recently

Just remembered this was published a few months ago – a syndication of my Rodney Fox and the Great White Sharks story originally written for Asian Diver magazine. The story appeared in the UK’s Australia & New Zealand magazine, a title aimed at British people thinking of emigrating Down Under. Not sure if the thought of encountering great whites is going to help persuade them to make the move, but still…

Australia & New Zealand Magazine, Issue 44

Great White Sharks article, Australia & New Zealand magazine

Geri Murphy kindly provided the images again, as she did with the original story. I think the Art Editor at Australia mag did a fantastic job of laying out the story – it looks great, especially over so many pages. You can read the full text of the Great White Sharks and Rodney Fox article here on Divehappy, with some of my shark videos from the trip.

Watching A Great White Shark Attack

One of the most awe-inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed is watching a great white shark attack a tuna bait – the sheer power and force of a great white in motion is stunning

I took the sequence of photos below while cage diving with great white sharks with Rodney Fox in Australia. (The link goes to my previous articles and videos about that brilliant experience).

These photos are technically pretty awful – but as a sequence, I think they capture something of the staggering power of the great white as it comes in to attack. I took the photos in no more than 2 or 3 seconds. Usually great whites tend to circle and investigate tuna baits, very slowly and indifferently. They make no attempt to bite or contact with it, they simply move near to it and then head off. Often the great white completely disappears from view from the divers in the surface cage. When you can’t see a great white shark anymore, that’s usually the cue to be worried.

Here the great white has come out of nowhere and seized the tuna bait which is attached to a rope and buoy. Great whites tend to come at their prey from below, rocketing up to the surface with far more force than is required to utterly overwhelm their victim. This time the shark has rocketed in from the side of the bait… and it’s heading straight for us in the cage without slowing down.

This is where the great white slammed into the cage, all one tonne of it

That’s Julian Cohen in the foreground trying to take a photo while all of us in the cage are being thrown around.

The shark keeps on with the bait, slamming it around to wrest it off the rope.

This is where I was literally knocked off my feet by the force of the shark – the great white is so intent on its prey it smashes its full weight against the cage as it wrestles with the bait.

Having gained the bait, the great white plunges back down away to take its meal to the depths. That left four somewhat dazed divers in the cage, stunned by the speed and ferocity of what we’d just witnessed inches away from us.

If ever you need a demonstration of the power of Mother Nature, this would be a pretty good contender.

Read my complete account of cage diving with great white sharks with Rodney Fox in Australia.

Neville Coleman – A Life Less Ordinary

50 years ago no one took Neville Coleman seriously when he set out to dive the entire Australian coast and document the incredible marine life he discovered. Now he’s regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities on Asia-Pacific’s underwater world.

This article was first published in Scuba Diver AustralAsia magazine, Issue 3, 2008. It appears here in its unabridged form.

If you’ve ever wondered exactly what exotic species of underwater creature you’re looking at during a dive, chances are Neville Coleman can tell you. This 67 year old Australian has spent much of his life scuba diving and documenting marine life across AustralAsia, identifying 450 new species and classifying over 11,500 more.

Completely self-educated, Coleman’s self-financed, four year Australian Coastal Marine Expedition between 1969 and 1973 saw him literally diving his way around the coast of Australia in order to assess the continent’s largely unknown marine life. In doing so, Coleman established the first visual identification system of Australian aquatic flora and fauna and has continued to expand it in the years since, taking in much of the Indo Pacific as well.

To share his knowledge with a wider audience, Neville has authored over 60 reference books – the latest, Nudibranch Encyclopedia, is his most comprehensive identification volume yet, which has also been published digitally for viewing on both iPods and Pocket PCs. He is also working on an account of the Marine Expedition and a series of television documentaries on his subsequent Indo-Pacific explorations which explain his conviction that “scuba diving is the greatest adventure activity on the planet”.

In 2007 Neville Coleman was inducted into the Scuba Hall Of Fame in recognition of outstanding achievements to the understanding and classification of marine life. Coleman’s enthusiasm for the ocean and his thirst to share new discoveries remains boundless.

Your induction into the Scuba Hall of Fame is a deserved recognition of your discovery of your work. As you’re a wholly self-taught and self-motivated scientist, do such plaudits have much value for you?

Certainly they do. Especially as it is an overseas award which is recognized the world over and therefore on the highest level obtainable. Advancing knowledge of the aquatic world in Australia appears to be of small consequence as there is little encouragement from government bodies as the government is also in the education business. Those who are employed by the government are not about to bestow any recognition on any individual, especially if they and the government and its entire resources can’t match that individual’s achievements.

Did you have any mentors when you were younger – either in person or simply from books?

When I was about 10 years old I cut out all sorts of animals from magazines and from stamps and breakfast cereal box cards and stuck them into the albums. I had a mammal album, a bird album, an insect album, a flower album, and a fish album, with critters from all over the world. I also had an old natural history encyclopedia ( which I still have) which told of amazing creatures, though the drawings were a bit exaggerated, and the natural history details, as we know them today, somewhat of a giggle. However, these creatures inspired me, especially the strange fish ( which I saw in the “SOLVOL SOAP” fish book of 1950). I was very keen on nature but there was no nature study at school.

Fifteen years later, I met Mr. Jack Ramsay who as a boy had built his own camera in the 1920s and took the first bird pictures in Australia. His father had been the Director of the Australian Museum and he was born in the basement. He helped our family along the road of life and showed me his shell collections and natural history collections and through seeing these I realized that perhaps the impossible dreams of a ten year old boy becoming a natural history explorer might not be that impossible.

Unfortunately I had no qualifications, not even a school certificate as I had left school early to get a job and help with paying the rent as my Dad was a violent alcoholic and drank most of the money he earned.

I was already scuba diving by the time and took all my new discoveries to the Australian Museum. It seemed so extraordinary to me that marine life was not common knowledge alive, only those found at low tide had been recorded. I could not understand that one had to have a dead preserved specimen before identification could be made and that there were only one or two people in the whole of Australia that could tell one specific creature from the other in any given group because they were the only experts. There was no visual identification system for aquatic creatures in the whole of Australia.

The Australian Coastal Marine Expedition lasted for 4 years. Would you say it was the defining event in your life from which everything else has flowed?

The decision to go ahead with the Australian Coastal Marine Expedition (even after the two underwater photographers who had also been going pulled out at the last minute) and left my dreams in tatters, was the second most important decision of my life. The first was to become a scuba diver after I had been badly scared by a shark in the shallows on the Great Barrier Reef when searching for shells.

My idea to complete a underwater photographic fauna survey of the Australian continent as a one man and one girl expedition without any previous experience, credentials, photographic experience, knowledge of Australia, insurance, institutional or business backing was to all the experts (who knew it was impossible) a joke. I couldn’t understand why nobody had the vision to see how important aquatic visual identification would be to the future.

I guess on paper it didn’t shape up to much. How can a boy’s dream of being an explorer compete with the common sense of those who knew better? It seemed that everybody knew I would not get back alive, so there was not much point in them supporting the expedition. That is what gave every discovery so much value. Every day I put my life on the line, you don’t get to be much closer to your spirit than that. I think some scientists became aware of what I was doing and today I have some of the most truly appreciated references any lay person could wish for from the Australian scientific community.

I worked in a printing factory, working as much overtime as I could to save for expedition over two years and sold my sports car to buy the 1952 land rover and 4 metre boat and 9 hp outboard. The Australian Rope Manufacturers donated some rope. The Australian Commonwealth grant system donated $250.00 as 4 new tires and Smith’s Crisps donated 10 bags of chips and 20 tins of dried vegetables. The expedition cost over $48,000.00 (1969/73.)

Have you seen radical changes occurring at the dive destinations to which you’ve returned over the years? What do you think is the Big Picture view ?

Yes, I have seen lots of changes but as we have no base line studies available, everybody is only guessing. We really have no idea of what we have, so who can make any judgment on what used to be? Nature is very resilient and every thing changes every minute, with the seasons, the weather, the time, nothing is ever the same, from one minute to another.

Very few humans have any understanding whatsoever of the sea and its inhabitants. We are but children in the wilderness of ignorance making assumptions based on 40 years of human knowledge on a marine environment millions of years in the making. Of course humans change things, mostly because of greed, ignorance or survival. Because we have the technology to take everything we DO!

Is it fair to say that despite the huge amount of species that you’ve discovered and others that have been catalogued, there is still a huge backlog of work to be done in understanding these creatures? Do we need more marine biologists?

There is a gigantic backlog of marine life awaiting descriptions in museums. There are no longer even taxonomists in the various departments of Australian Museums as there are no jobs because there is no funding from the government just for the advancement of knowledge. Today’s museums have to pay their own way, they are no longer fully supported by the government. Very few marine taxonomists have been trained in Australia over the last 40 years because there have not been jobs for them.

We are very much behind the eight ball. That is why my original AustralAsian Marine Photographic Index will prove so beneficial to the future of the Diving Industry because in reality…….divers are the only ones now who can successfully explore the oceans and record the marine life. Divers are now the only hope the World of water has. Unless we all work together to establish base line studies of our dive sites, it will never happen.

Marine science does not have the business interest, the skills, the motivation, or the opportunity to go photograph the entire marine fauna of the Asia/Indo- Pacific this because they must have funds to perform any duties and there are no funds. We, as the diving industry must wake up and see that we need to look after our own backyards and establish real programs of discovery for the new age of scuba divers to participate in, because everybody is an explorer and “learning is the greatest adventure” there is.

[Update: sadly Neville Coleman passed away on 5th May 2012 – his work will continue to be an inspiration and education for generations to come about the underwater world.]

Cage Diving With Great White Sharks And Rodney Fox In Australia: Shark And Awe

South Australia’s Rodney Fox Expeditions is the only operator in the world where you can scuba dive with great white sharks. Chris Mitchell comes face to face with the ocean’s most fearsome predator.

Great White Shark, Neptune Islands, Australia

It comes out of nowhere. One moment I’m intently scanning the blue that’s empty all around, the next moment there is the massive, deadly bulk of a great white shark silently gliding only inches from me. It’s at least four metres long, nearly a ton in weight and fully capable of biting me clean in half. I can see the ghastly smile of its razor sharp teeth, the roughness of its grey and white skin and the big, black, blank eye that’s staring right at me, and the only thing between me and the great white are the bars of the aluminium cage I’m in, 10 metres down on the ocean floor. If I was feeling particularly stupid, I could reach out and touch it. My throat suddenly feels dry and I realise I’m taking several shallow, rapid breaths through my regulator as the adrenalin surges through my system. The coldness of the South Australian water is suddenly forgotten. I’m face to face with the stuff of most people’s nightmares.

This article was first published in Asian Diver magazine, Issue 98, 2008.

It appears here in its unabridged form.

Photos were provided by Geri Murphy for the magazine. Below are my own videos from the trip, along with the close up photo above

The original Asian Diver magazine Great White Shark "The Ultimate Predator" article — The original Asian Diver magazine article layout

But besides the reflex sensation of fear, I’m also feeling an unmistakable euphoria at being so close to this savage yet undeniably beautiful creature. I follow the great white as it slowly circles around us, curious about these new arrivals to its reef. It casually inspects the cage and its occupants for another couple of seconds, its eye implacable and unblinking, and then imperiously arcs away back out into the blue with a single flick of its massive tail, its shadow fading away across the sand. Each of us look at each other and cracks a huge grin. Welcome to cage diving with great white sharks, Rodney Fox style.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpk1sLso2GU

Rodney Fox Expeditions is the only operator in the world that lets scuba divers descend to see great whites on the reef itself, as well as providing the more traditional shark cage tethered to the boat just under the ocean’s surface. Winched down by a hydraulic crane onto the sand of the reef below, the scuba cage provides a unique perspective on these fearsome predators in South Australia’s winter waters and lets divers get right in amongst the sharks’ own reef environment as well as being able to see them at the surface. The 10 – 15 metre visibility at the Neptune Islands means that it’s easy to become preoccupied with the big rays and napoleon wrasse that inhabit the reef, and to forget you’re doing the dive to see great whites – until one of them makes an appearance.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YL3-wFikOk

It’s no surprise that Fox Expeditions pioneered the scuba cage dive – Rodney Fox is a living legend in shark circles, having miraculously survived a Great White attack in 1963 despite requiring 412 stitches. After making a full recovery, Fox faced his fears and became a recognized world authority on the great white shark. Fox has been running great white expeditions off the coast of Southern Australia from Port Lincoln for over 40 years. He has been involved in virtually every film ever made about great whites, including Jaws. He also set up Adelaide’s Rodney Fox Shark Museum and The Fox Shark Foundation to tag, name and monitor the great whites that are seen on expeditions. It’s a remarkable series of achievements for a man who nearly died after being attacked by the very creature that he’s worked so hard ever since to protect. (You can read my interview with Rodney Fox by following the link).

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRXRpCHv6Aw

Today Rodney’s son Andrew runs the expedition trips and Rodney, now 66 years old, attends as a guest of honour on several trips a year. The wealth of knowledge and fascination that the Foxes have about great white sharks makes a big difference to the enjoyment of the trip. But Rodney is remarkably modest and without a hint of machismo. As a shore party left to go and see the seal colonies on the northern Neptune Island, Rodney could be heard on the radio telling the tour leader to “make sure you pick some of those pretty flowers” to the great amusement of everyone else.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igWo9PzGsy0

The shark trips run from three to five days to ensure the best chances of shark sightings. Of the 12 guests on our trip, 4 had come back to do it again, so amazed were they by their first encounter with the whites. Why do great whites exert such a fascination on the human imagination? Perhaps it’s because we have a primal fear of being eaten alive. When a diver comes face to face with a great white, they’re not just seeing the looming, sinister presence of the real shark itself – they’re seeing a living, breathing symbol of death with the Jaws theme tune playing in the background for good measure. But seeing the whites also makes you realize they are not the crazed killing machines of popular myth – they move with a fearless mix of grace and guile, perpetually unpredictable and so continually fascinating. The jangle of adrenalin caused by fear never goes away even over four days of great white watching, but it’s certainly becomes easier to control once you realize that the great whites won’t be malevolently battering the cage in order to gain access to its fleshy occupants.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-_4zMYkz48

That said, my very first entry into the surface cage couldn’t have been more dramatic. After sliding into the icy 14 degrees C water encased in a 7 mil wetsuit, hood, gloves and a bulky weightbelt, I clutched onto the cage’s handrail to steady myself. My dive hood and the viewing slot of the cage narrowed my vision to looking out into the blue straight ahead. There was no sound but my own breathing through the surface pumped hookah and the muffled rumble of steel on steel as the cage gently moved in the surface swell. The tuna bait attached to a rope floated on the surface just above us, the sun streaming through the water, but not making the ocean feel any warmer.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAwp-YMp1sw

Without warning, the great white appeared right beside me, its size dwarfing the width of the cage. The atmosphere in the cage was electric as the four of us craned to see where it would go as it looped around and behind us. Then, just as it seemed the white had disappeared, the whole cage suddenly shook violently as the great white slammed into it with the full one ton sideways force of its body. My two dive buddies nearest to the white were nearly knocked over by the force of the impact, and the four of us in the cage could only watch in amazement as the white twisted and rolled in a frenzy to rip the tuna bait from its rope, having lunged at it from below with fantastic speed that was wholly at odds with its seemingly indifferent inspection of the bait only moments before. The great white’s jaws fully opened so that for a split second I was staring into a razor-edged abyss into which my whole body could fit, before it engulfed the bait and hurtled away from the surface, leaving a nothing but a swirl of bubbles, a frayed rope and 4 slightly shaken but totally exhilarated cage divers. To be separated from a great white shark ripping its prey to pieces by only the thin bars of an aluminium cage is something I will not forget easily.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1uWlJXvB0

Witnessing this same mode of attack from the dry comfort of the boat deck is equally impressive. The sharks that come in to take the bait often breach the water in spectacular fashion as they attack their prey. The great white will launch itself nearly half way out of the water as they seize the bait, having come in for the attack directly below and accelerating to 30 miles an hour in an unstoppable onslaught that has so much power they explode out of the water. The shark breaches for a couple of seconds at most, and it has the same wholly unpredictable ferocity and speed as underwater. It was here that Rodney Fox lived up to his reputation. On our final afternoon, a couple of hours from departure, everything had gone quiet. Rodney took over holding the bait rope. There were a few of us standing behind him, getting a bit bored scanning the empty water, so we started teasing Rodney. “Go on Rodney!” we said. “Show us your magic!” He gave a flick of the bait rope, saying “It’s all in the wrist”. Within 5 seconds of Rodney picking up the rope, a great white breached almost wholly out of the water only 10 feet away from the boat and took the entire bait in one huge thunder of water and shrieks of disbelief and amazement from the rest of us.

Rodney took a bow.

It’s hyperbole to say that cage diving with great white sharks is life changing, but it’s not far from it when you’re blessed with conditions and shark activity like those of the Neptune Islands. A great white up close is truly fearsome, but it’s also truly beautiful, and it’s that combination of power, danger and grace that makes seeing them not only unique but genuinely moving. It’s easy to see why Rodney Fox dedicated his life to discovering more about great whites and protecting them, and why his son Andrew has become equally fascinated too. I hope they both long continue to introduce the rest of us to the realm of Australia’s great white sharks.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S42pJbPRuzc

South Australia: Getting There
Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions depart from Port Lincoln in South Australia. The nearest international airport is Adelaide. Connecting flights from Adelaide to Port Lincoln can be booked with RegionalExpress, usually called Rex. You can compare flight prices on , and .

Entry Requirements
Australia requires all foreign visitors to apply in advance for a visa or ETA (Electronic Travel Authority). Apply online at the Australian Government Immigration website www.eta.immi.gov.au/

Climate
Winter runs from May to October, with water temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius. Lots of warm clothing is required on the boat – hats, gloves and good shoes are a must. November to April is the warmer half of the year with water temperature up to 20 degrees and summer weather

Best Time To Dive
The winter months of June to September are the best for maximum shark sightings
January has a good record of sightings combined with warmer weather
Trips run from May to October (winter season) and November to February (summer season)

Language
Australian English

Currency
Australian Dollar. US$1 = Aus $1.23

Electricity
240 volt , Type I – 3 pin plug

Additional Information
South Australia Tourism Commission
http://www.southaustralia.com/

Dive operators
Rodney Fox Expeditions
www.rodneyfox.com.au

Richie Kohler, USS Lagarto and Great White Sharks

My articles about the discovery of the USS Lagarto and diving with great white sharks have just been published by Fah Thai and Tiger Tales inflight magazines

I’ve been writing recently for a couple of inflight magazines. For Tiger Airways’ Tiger Tales I wrote Shark And Awe, an account of going cage diving with great white sharks with Rodney Fox. You can read the full story online. For Fah Thai, the inflight magazine of Bangkok Airways, I interviewed Richie Kohler of Shadow Divers and Deep Sea Detectives fame about his involvement with the USS Lagarto, a US submarine that was discovered in the Gulf of Thailand a couple of years ago. You can read the full article online at the Fah Thai site

Great White Sharks In Australia Magazine

Watching A Great White Shark Attack

Neville Coleman – A Life Less Ordinary

Cage Diving With Great White Sharks And Rodney Fox In Australia: Shark And Awe

Richie Kohler, USS Lagarto and Great White Sharks

My Recent Dive Trips

My Less Recent Dive Trips

Back In The Day Bragging Rights Dive Trips