SA blogger Q splashes around with giant tunas – the ‘must-do’ activity in South Australia.
So what do you think about when someone says tuna? Tiny little cans stacked high in the supermarket? Succulent sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce? Seared steaks with Kipfler potatoes? Can’t wait to hook one? I’m probably in all of the above, but what if you could swim with them? Well, you can and I did, and it was fantastic! Put it on your list of things to do and get out there and do it!
The tuna farm that we visited (only a 15 minute cruise into the bay) is used solely for the tours, so if you do develop an affinity for these wonderful fish during the tour, they are not going to become anyone’s dinner!
The decking and viewing platform is safe and comfortable and large enough for the entire tour party to wander around without being too crowded. The underwater viewing deck offers an amazing spy point and you can turn off your flash to try (they are really speedy!) to get some good photos of beasts whooshing passed. Watching the blue fin, (who have yellow fins as juveniles) swimming passed the windows made my excitement level climb quite quickly and I could not wait to get into my wetsuit and snorkel and dive into the water.
Being in the water with these ‘fishies’ makes you feel totally awestruck. You could be forgiven for just floating there gawking the entire time. As the tour participants feed the tuna with sardines dangled at the end of large barbecue tongs, they hurry passed you and circle around the platform making you feel part of the rush.
Eventually I climbed back on to the platform and also had a go at feeding the beautiful fish. We were instructed on how to use the tongs or our hands if we were feeling a bit brave, and that tuna only have really tiny teeth. Unfortunately my hand looked a bit like part of the sardine and I got to experience those tiny teeth first hand. I can barely see the marks from those superficial scratches now, but they still put a smile on my face thinking back to my most awesome adventure swimming with tuna!
Adventure Bay Charters also offers tours which allow you to interact with sea lions as well as eco certified shark cage diving where no burley is used to attract sharks, but their favourite music is played instead. I highly recommend getting out to Port Lincoln and taking on one (or all!) of the tours that Adventure Bay Charters has to offer.
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