but it is his famous Great White sauvignon
blanc that kept a big smile on my face. It has
discernible salt-air sharpness, with a hint of
oyster. Fordy claims the Boston Bay vineyard
to be the closest to the ocean of any Australian
winery. “It’s that close we have to prune the
grape vines at low tide,” laughed the colourful
character as he poured another glass.SHARK TERRITORY
Let me tell you, that swimming with the great
whites is the thrill of a lifetime. Coming face-to-
face with these massive, ancient monsters in
their own uncontrolled environment will leave
you awestruck, and feeling rather insignificant.
They glide through their underwater
domain with an air of primal supremacy.
In a split second, these beasts can
unleash unfettered savagery; a terrifyingA breaching Great White propels itself out of the waterBoston Bay Winery sits snug beside the coastline
Human-to-shark ratiodisplay of monstrous strength and power that
will leave you gobsmacked as you watch them
devour a tuna frame, cast out on a rope from
behind the boat.
The remote Neptune Islands are some
70-odd kilometres from Port Lincoln. Shark
Bay on the Northern Neptune’s, is the only
registered place in Australia with permits to
run shark diving. It isn’t unusual for three-to-
five great whites to join the fray, which can
include other species like bronze whalers,
threshers, yellowtail kingfish and a huge
variety of 'bread and butter' fish such as
salmon and trevally, that are also attracted
to the shark berley. (That, is fish offal — not
human!)
The Neptune’s are home to massive
numbers of New Zealand fur seals and
Australian sea lions which naturally attract the
monster predators. It doesn’t generally take
long to chum a shark or two to the boat after
the cage has been lowered into position. You
don’t need any certification or experience
to dive, but I do think some familiarity with
snorkeling or SCUBA diving helps, as it is quite
a change of environment as you slip into the
cage with five others. You climb in through
an entry point in the top of the cage which
extends around 300mm out of the water and
your pulse races as you breathe deeply from
the hookah manifold. It is quite easy for most
age groups, but it can be a bit overwhelming
for some, hence you are free to climb out at
any time to regain your momentum. ThereDinner time for these monstrous creaturesADVENTUREShrnanture