Shortly after arrival in stunning Coffin Bay, we laid on a seafood extravaganza for our guests while they sipped local wines, overlooking the sunset from their private balcony. After a feast of natural and Kilpatrick oysters and fresh caught green-lip abalone, it was time to turn in in preparation for a big day of fishing and exploring on day two.

The morning began with Gary at GT Charters, where our avid fishermen tried their luck fishing for the tasty table fish, King George Whiting. Catching enough for a decent feed for all aboard, it was a fresh seafood dinner for the second night in a row.

After such a jam-packed morning, we picked up our fabulous four and ventured out for a relaxing afternoon cruising the Coffin Bay National Park. With superb weather conditions at Avoid Bay and Almonta Beach we stretched our legs with a walk along the beach, followed by a beer stop at calm and tranquil Yangi Bay on the other side of the peninsula.

After a sleep-in on day two, we picked up our group of adventurers and made our way into Port Lincoln for another day of exploration. After almost being blown off Winter’s Hill lookout, a quick coffee in the sun on the foreshore and witnessing the unloading of thousands upon thousands of pilchards down at the wharf, we ventured to the historic Axel Stenross Maritime Museum.

The afternoon was highlighted by a trip out to a farmed tuna cage with Adventure Bay. The chance to swim with and hand feed these amazingly fast fish was a spectacle for the group, with 3 of the 4 braving the chilly water!

The final action packed day involved a trip out to our front yard, showing off some of the most pristine beaches and cliff tops along the coast. We even threw a line in off the beach, reeling in a tasty Flathead (Congratulations Carol!)

Unfortunately at the end of 4 days of spectacular weather and adventures, our lovely guests had to leave us and continue their journey across the country towards Esperance.

For more details on this Hunt & Gather package and other tailored packages, click here to see our website.

After about 1.5 hours and thorough commentary of Port Lincoln’s history, we arrived at Hopkin’s Island- home to around 50-60 Australian Sea Lions. It seemed as though our sudden appearance had injected life into the colony as they made their way off the beach and out into the water.

As we raced to don our wetsuits, dozens of sea lions swam around the back of the boat, waiting for us to join them! Swimming, splashing and somersaulting clumsily through the water, we were no competition. Their speed and agility in the water was amazing!

We were having so much fun, in the end our guides almost had to drag us out of the water- no one wanted to leave!

Our journey back towards Port Lincoln included a short stop in Memory Cove, the site where Matthew Flinders laid a plaque in memory of his crewmen lost exploring the cove. As we stood staring in awe at the stunning beach, a pair of dolphins cruised lazily by- posing an opportunity for the budding photographers aboard!

Further along our voyage we were lucky enough to see a White-bellied Sea Eagle perched up on a cliff in bordering the Port Lincoln National Park. These birds are the second largest bird of prey, only the Wedge tailed Eagle is larger.

Some of us were lucky enough to be participating in the ‘Swim with the Tuna’ tour in the arvo, so shortly after docking we raced off the pontoon for a quick bite to eat at the Marina Hotel- where we were treated with amazing food complemented by an amazing view!

At 1.30pm we jumped back on board the Adventure Lady and made the short trip out to the tuna farm. Our guide gave us a full run-down of the Tuna industry in Port Lincoln, while we got kitted up in our wetsuits.

You really won’t believe how big these fish are until you see them yourself. Throwing a handful of pilchards into the seemingly calm water created a frenzy of movement as the tuna raced each other to be the first to get to the easy feed.

The highlight was definitely once we hit the water and another handful of pilchards were thrown in- huge fish (some up to 70kg!!) were coming at us from every direction. The skill and precision these fish have was evident, as they diverted their path only centimetres from our faces!! Truly an exhilarating experience!

Hand feeding and swimming with these astonishing fish is a world first experience and I highly recommend it be added to everyone’s Bucket List!!

Now as if the day couldn’t get any better, on our journey back into Port Lincoln we were treated to a taste of some fresh sashimi! Generally, I’m not a fan of raw fish- but this was delicious. Dipped in soy sauce and lightly coated in wasabi, the flavours were amazing, and I couldn’t believe how the fish just melts in your mouth!

Such an amazing day, which you can experience for yourself here at Goin’ Off Safaris! Whether it’s a day trip or part of a package, we can tailor the adventure to suit you.

Check out the pics and for more info see our website!!

25 fish up to 30kg were caught yesterday, 22 the day before in perfect conditions from Coffin Bay aboard GT Fishing Charters as well as a few prized Kingfish as an added bonus to the day. As the boat limit is set to 6 tuna, of course the remainder were released back to the waters of the Southern Ocean to see another day!

Whilst many think that fishing is a mans ideas of a great day out ( and correct on the subject), but there are plenty of women who also love the challenge to get out and also muscle a few of these blue rockets on board. One of these keen fisher- women, Calalou, starred yesterday after jumping on at late notice and showed the boat what she can do & did it very well indeed! Calalou is shown in the images below with a sample of her catch.

It seems most speacies are on song in the local waters with large snapper, nannagai and strangely enough we got onto a few nice gummy sharks to get the day going just last week.

So fishing action a plenty here in Coffins Bay and there’s no time like the present to get on down here to sample some of the best sports-fishing going around. For $310 per person gets you a great day on the tuna, $250pp will have you bottom bouncing for Snapper, Nannagai, Blue Morwong, big Trevally and KG Whiting, Salmon and hopefully a few more of those sharks with in shore fishing for your popular table fish priced at $220 or $160pp for half a day.

For more details, fishing options and availabilities whilst on the Eyre Peninsula, contact us at Goin’ Off Safaris.

Tight lines guys and girls!

As with the weather, day trips and charters are warming up with plenty of bookings, but lots of availabilities as well, so please contact us for more information! Below are some images from a recent trip.

Everyone has heard of Africa’s ” Big Five” attractions on wilderness safaris where you are superbly guided through villages and grasslands of game parks and private reserves to catch a glimpse of Africa’s greatest wild animals – lions, leopard, elephant, buffalo & rhino.
Here in South Australia and to be more precise Pt.Lincoln, on the southern tip of beautiful Eyre Peninsula, is another experience like no other where you have the chance to get up close, personal & interact with our famous five of the ocean – Southern Bluefin Tuna, Australian sea-lions, Great White Sharks, Dolphins, Humpback and Southern Right Whales ( in season).

We kicked this world class adventure off on the weekend & armed with underwater camera man Mark Thomas, photographer Kingsley Griffin, freelance journalist Raffael Veldhuyzen, operator Matt Waller of Adventure Bay Charters, our chef Cookie and some local talent, we boarded the superb 78ft Strictly Business for our 2 days of adrenaline pumping action! Oh and,we did have one of UK’s hottest celebrity couples, Charlie Brooker from the Guardian and his TV presenter wife, Konnie Huq jump on for the ride.

The first box ticked was out to Matt’s Tuna Farm, for some immediate action and this is the fastest growing adrenaline attraction on Eyre Peninsula as you have guaranteed interaction by feeding the fish & then donning a wetsuit on to swim with, under & around this amazing pelagic species. On the way to our next stop was in Seal Cove on Hopkins Island, Cookie gave us a small insight of his master chef talents whilst checking out some of the countries best coastal landscapes of the Pt.Lincoln National Park and the beautiful white sandy beach of Memory Cove.
The sea lions were in a very playful mood as these ” ocean puppies” right on cue, put on a show for all! This is incredible entertainment in a pristine environment with beautiful clear shallow water and this interaction from these wild mammals would be hard to beat anywhere in the world.

With 2 boxes all ready ticked, it was off for the short steam to the anchorage at Neptune Island, home of Australia’s largest Great White Shark population. Excitement was amongst all on onboard as again, we donned wetsuits as the cage was lowered into the deep blue,but crystal clear water. Being eco friendly, there is no blood or burley here but the sharks are very successfully attracted to the cage by using audio sound vibrations of loud music,underwater! Unfortunately, the sharks decided that they wernt going to play the game on this occasion and we were left to play some serious air guitar in the cage to the tunes of ACDC’s Back In Black album!
Not all was lost though as the sun was setting which meant beers and wine started flowing and Coffin Bay oysters were opened and attacked. This was a warm up for Cookie and as you could expect by being at the seafood capital of Australia, dinner consisted of the local product- prawns, tuna, kingfish, more oysters, more wine, more talk, more laughs and so it went on!

Day 2 saw a bit of chop around in the sea and still no sharks but a momentous moment occurred when our UK personalities Charlie and Konnie, both caught their first ever fish from the ocean! We island hopped after this magnificent fishing performance around the beautiful Sir Joseph Banks Group of islands watching the dozens of dolphins surfing on the bow before anchoring again at Blythe Island to again swim with more sea lions, have a walk on the island and snorkel around the rock pools as it does offer top shelf snorkeling.
With a very successful debut trip, disembarkment was made easy as we had a team brief back on land at the Marina Hotel with a couple of cold refreshments.

Bookings have now started for this amazing opportunity to interact with the “Big 5″ of our Southern Ocean and more information, departure dates and itinerary can be found on our website.

Hooroo!

True story, as the below article indicates!. This is a great coup for our coastline to have something like this on the big Imax 3D screens to be shown to audiences around the world. As most would know, Goin Off Safaris takes you to the real stage underwater to dive with the Great White Sharks, swimming with Bluefin Tuna, Sealions & Dolphins plus everything in between !

I like whats said in Michele Hall’s  producers notes where ” this is some of the most exotic & isolated undersea  locations on Earth” . 

I would love to see some of Jim Carrey’s funny faces whilst underwater amongst some of these beauties!!

Whilst Gustavo was a little jett lagged & tired, the 3 other amigos were ready to go! Shark diving was first on the agenda, but lucked out with the big boys.Smaller Bronze Whaler were prominent though & a good day out was had by all. It was a full deck onbaord the Adventure Lady as we all got into the tuna cage on Day 2. Once again, this is a treat  to do & if you dont feel like swimming with ( mad if you don’t ) the tuna, you can observe them downstairs via the underwater viewing platform. Matt has also added some Snapper & Trevally to the farm to mix in with salmon that entered the pen very small & with all those free lunches, have grown too big to get out !!

With the boys seemingly keen divers, we decided to keep with the theme. Hunting & gathering abolone was the afternoons task & the boys were very good learners. At a secret destination, we had plenty of  big Greenlip Abolone ready for the pan in no time. Prepared properly, this is a delicacy & with fresh oysters,steak & a couple of cold beers around a big hot fire on a beach, it doesn’t get any better!

A few yarns were spent around the fire, some tall, others true & then bedtime, ready for another big day on the water. Whilst Pods, Sheep & Millsy were all seasoned campainers of the famous Aussie swag, it was a first for Gustavo. The swag is like a small canvas horizontal “ tent” if you like, with a nice thick mattress, sleeping bag & pillow inside of it & it just “rolls out” as your bed for the night ! You are covered & protected from wind & rain & any other little crawlies that could stop you from a perfect nights sleep. You know when one is sleeping well by the snoring from that general direction & Gustavo was sleeping very well indeed & good on him, as he had put in another top effort during the day !

After eggs,tomato & bacon on the beach,we packed up & went north/west to greet another crew of ours at the wonderful Baird Bay. The boat was full again & the action a plenty as the dolphins continued to impress & hang around everyone in the water & the sealions were as playful as ever. Along the way, we did the usual stop offs & camera poses at the Cummings Monument & Talia Caves which always go well in the holiday album.

From here, it was departure time for everyone. Sheep ventured back to Ceduna for no doubt another hero’s welcome, Millsy & Pods continued on their own ” Thelma & Louise ” adventures & our favourite Argentinean, Gustavo jumped on a plane to explore other exciting parts of our great country. Great to have you on board boys!

Through some research, Bleechy found us & we put together for the group a trip to remember with a few other extra activities to fill the week & make sure the boys went home happy punters. On day 1, the fellas headed out with a full boat load to go diving with the Great White Sharks. A great day was had but unfortunately no big whites were spotted which is a rarity as there is a 85% success rate of seeing the sharks during this time of the year. The weather was looking rough for later in the week & we had a call from Sceale Bay Bluewater Charters fishing guru, Matt Guidera who suggested that we get up to Sceale Bay to make sure of the next days weather to muscle in some tuna.

That was a  much appreciated call from Matt, so we had a change in itineries & much to Zac’s dissapointment, we had a very early start to the 2nd days play ! It was worth the 5am wakeup, as we arrived at Sceales & boarded Matts 7m Markham Dominator right on 8am. The boys had rubbed the sleep out of the eyes & after a brief scenic viewings of the massive limestone cliff faces of the peninsula with ospery nests & beautiful tranquil waters, we headed out for the mighty blue rockets or better known as Southern bluefin tuna.

Sea birds were active on the surface, which meant they were chasing live bait & something else was chasing them.It did’nt take long as we trolled through the area when we had 2 hookups.Snowy & Haydos both hooked up first & the sweat had yet to dry off Snows brow before Bleechy & cannon arm Zaccontinued the frenzy. With high fives all round, back slaps & some side splitting laughter from the Bleechmore commentry team, it was a great start to the day. Yours truly got in the action as well & after another hook up soon after, Matt announced that we had caught the legal boat limit of 6 perfect tuna! We did manage a few more & got to the boat, but luck was with them & they soon sped to the depths below. With that mission completed, we headed into shore & cleaned the tuna up ready for the nights meal.  There is nothing better than fresh sushimi followed by hearty tuna steaks & a fresh salad washed down with a few coldies after a days work.Welcome aboard!

After a well deserved rest the boys were pretty keen to tackle some big sand dunes & go sandboarding. Haydos & Zac put in some quality performances & were taking the sport to higher levels & were proving to be naturals in the field. A couple of busters here & there made an interesting spectacle for all.Snowy & Bleechy wer’nt going to be outclassed as they to put in some good displays as well, though I’m tipping that they were enjoying things better on top of the dune, rather than climbing back up these monsters!

The best way to get some unwanted sand off oneself is to go swimming & just not anywhere. Just around the corner was Bairds Bay & once again the dolphins & sealions put on a show for everyone. The dolphins in particular have been in good numbers & are as happy as the humans as they glide in between the group, chattering to each other & seemingly smiling as they interact. It really is amazing & this continues with the sealions. They actually appear clumsy on land but once these play full creatures get into the water, its all go for them & they put on a real performance . With the sand now washed out, we got cleaned up & headed into the Streaky Bay pub for dinner & showed off the full scaled 5m , 1.5 tonne model of a Great White Shark caught off local waters by 15 yr old Dion Gilmore. Its more than impressive !

Day 4 saw us back on deck Sceale Bay Blue Water charters. With the winds howling, it wasn’t possible to go too far & protection was sought against the magnificent limestone cliffs of Cape Blanche. We got some huge King George Whiting,( some others that were a bit short one end), tommy ruff, plenty of silver whiting & also some unwanted reef fish of rock cod. The sheltered waters were very calm & clear so we jumped in for a bit of snorkelling & found ourselves some very nice sized greenlip abolone, just a perfect addition  for tonights dinner, which capped off another good mornings fishing. With the unwanted wind around, an afternoons drive was in order so we headed to Talia Caves. The ocean was near at its best, pounding in with some huge waves crashing against the rocks & loudly bellowing through the empty tunnels & the caves itself , showing us all how these caves were originally formed through many years of erosion. With Snowy being a self acclaimed lover of rocks, we couldn’t go past the opportunity to show him the ancient windworn granite inselbergs called Murphys Haystacks. They are a very impressive  outcrop of granite boulders purported to be more than 1500 million years old ! After a few days of hunting & gathering, we had our last supper at Sceales; more oysters & sashimi, freshly caught crumbed whiting & vindaloo abolone .

We deaprted Sceales & we made our way back to Pt.Lincoln for our last days play. We had to have 2 stops on the way with the first at the worlds smallest bakery at Colton. ( Colton is inbetween Ellsiton & Venus Bay). An honesty system is used to pay for your purchases & the wood oven bread rolls & fruit buns that we got were something else. And very cheap as well ! We had a quick bite at the Cummings Monument, which gave the boys a vantage point to see miles & miles of uninterrupted clifftops & with the water being so clear, you could nearly see the crayfish crawling around the reefs below.

Our last activity saw us onboard Matt Waller’s Adventure Lady, as we went swimming & feeding the 60 tuna in Matts tuna cage. This is a great experience, especially as we had all caught tuna earlier, so it now gives us a spectacular insight on how the fish attack the bait, how they move & the fight to get to the pilchard before the other tuna. All this without crashing into another companion! It’s amazing. As was Zac & Haydos throwing out handfulls of pilchards virtually on top of their Dads & to see the frenzy of tuna going for the bait & so skillfully manouvering away with the catch was another great highlight. Wouldve looked great from underwater as well ! It was a great way to finish a great trip with some great people. Thanks again for coming on board & we’ll talk during the footy season ! Cheers.

G’day again! We had another great day out again recently when Matt Waller of Adventure Bay Charters took a group of us out to his tuna farm. Another corker day was had swimming with & feeding the farmed Southern Bluefin Tuna & watching them in a feeding frenzy is a sight to behold. Fresh pilchards are thrown out to the blue rockets & nothing is wasted as the 65 tuna, compete for the food. On the feeding platform you can also handfeed as well by holding onto the pilchards by the tail & with the bait slightly submerged, the tuna will take the pilchard right outof your hand. Its great stuff!

Whats even better though is actually donning mask & snorkel & jumping in the play pen itself. As the tuna feed from just below the surface, diving down deeper underwater is a great place to view the spectacle. They are lightening quick, super strong & incredibly graceful & in the crystal clear waters of Port Lincolns Boston Bay waters, its a great way to spend a morning. The attraction is a worlds first & for those that arn’t as keen to get into the water, Matt is now putting in a underwater viewing tunnel, so you can see exactly whats happening down there & study this powerful species & staying dry !

There are also a mass of Australian Salmon in the farm as well. These enter the net which is the enclosure of the tuna farm & feed of any small remains of the pilchards. They then grow that big that they cannot go back out of the net, so they end up being playmates with the tuna. As a little party trick for the kids, Matt produces a fishing rod & gives the kids a chance to haul in a salmon which makes a great morning for all.