After starting here on Monday, I have already had a very busy week booking in new trips and playing with the new iMac and today was no exception! This morning I jumped aboard the Coffin Bay Explorer for their 3 hour round trip of Coffin Bay.

Departing the Coffin Bay boat ramp at 9.30am, our guide Darian took us past some of the most pristine parts of the Coffin Bay National Park- some beaches that are only accessible by boat! The running commentary about the earliest visitors to the bay made for easy listening, as we all soaked up a bit of sun.

Our adventure around the bay continued on past two tiny islands known as ‘The Brothers’. The story behind them is truly fascinating, but I won’t spoil the tale before you get a chance to see them yourself.

Living on the Brothers are a wide variety of birds- including Cormorants, Silver Gulls, Crested Terns and Antarctic Skua’s- large, brown birds that journey here to nest on the islands. Also residing on the island are a pair of male Australian Sea Lions, as well as a spattering of smaller New Zealand Fur Seals.

Darian also has an Oyster lease, so part of the tour included a stop at the racks for a brief history about the oyster industry in Coffin Bay- and for those so inclined- a taste test of the freshest oysters you will ever taste! Delicious!!

Now as if the tour couldn’t get any better- a pod of almost 20 Bottlenose Dolphins made an appearance. As we slowly cruised by, they swam all around and under the boat in the crystal clear water- almost as though they were inviting us to come and play with them. Unfortunately Darian is not running swims with the dolphins this year due to the late breeding season of these magnificent animals last year. So instead we admired them from the boat.

We left the dolphins (reluctantly) and began the journey back home. In 3 hours we learnt amazing things about the history of the bay, tasted some of the freshest seafood you can get and saw a huge variety of land based and marine animals! And that’s all in a day’s work for the Coffin Bay Explorer!

This is only one of the many options we offer as part of our amazing tour packages around the Eyre Peninsula. For more information see our website

The Glitz & Hammer Ball is an annual gala ball organised by an external committee, supporting Cancer Council SA’s work within the community, with all funds raised going directly to Cancer Council SA to support cancer treatment, research, prevention, early detection, education and information.

We are all affected somehow by this disease, so we put together a 4 day/ 4 night package on the magnificent Eyre Peninsula, to be auctioned off on the evening, in the hope of raising several thousand’s of dollars to go to this cause. With the Port Lincoln Hotel, Adventure Bay Charters, Flinders Keepers Accommodation, Coffin Bay Explorer, Rex Airlines, GT Fishing Charters, Port Lincoln Limos, Cafe DelGiornio and us at Goin’ Off Safaris all donating their services, the package came out at just under a $11,000 auction item!

For 4 persons, this is now the major auction item which consists of;

• 2 nights accommodation at the Port Lincoln Hotel
• Great White shark cage diving
• swim with Australian sealions and Southern Bluefin Tuna
• 3 hours cruising  the tranquil waterways of Coffin Bay & eating fresh Coffin Bay oysters
• Full day off shore fishing charter
• Full day of sight seeing, beach fishing,sand boarding, snorkeling and swimming
• 2 nights waterfront in beautiful Coffin Bay
• Seafood dinner platter for 4
• 4 course dinner prepared by our  in house chef
• Airport pickup & return in style by limousine

I’m sure you would agree that this sounds like a lot of fun! The ball is on this Saturday, the 4th of June at the Adelaide Convention Centre and hosted by Troy Gray, with entertainment by stars such as Lisa Edwards and the Motown Connection! Its going to be a great show and there are still  plenty of tickets available and for more information, click here.

Of late, big Snapper, Nannagai and  prized table fish, the King George Whiting,  have been getting muscled in by the boat load. Massive  Trevally (for our region anyway), up to 50-60cm, have been providing a heap of fun in the shallows and as always, big Australian Salmon continue to enthrall on our private and secluded beach.

Kingfish are around for the dedicated and patient and once again expecting another big hit on Southern Bluefin Tuna from Jan-May.

Below is a few images from a boating trip aboard our favoured companions at GT Fishing Charters recently with some mates getting hold of some good “lump headed” snapper before the state wide ban throughout November.

We have had a lot of interest all ready in our fishing trips for the coming summer and these can be fully customised to what you and your group want. For more ideas and information for a  package to suit you, visit our fishing page on our webpage.

Tight lines and smokin’ reels!

Check out her blog here on some of her adventures whilst with Goin’ Off Safaris!

The surf rods were unpacked, hooks loaded up, lines fired out & within minutes we were muscling in some big salmon. Check out this video to see Bec’s first fish caught off the beach. I like the way it was released as well!!

Available for the water is a 3 person jet ski, ideal for your own exploring of the bays & inlets & can tow a sea biscuit for amazing fun! We also have tinny for fishing, kayaks, multi purpose ocean boards which can be used for surfing,windsurfing & stand up paddling. Great fun for all ages & more options again for you & your family when you get down here to the Eyre Peninsula! The Great White Shark cage diving off Pt.Lincoln is still very popular with good numbers of sharks still around, so get on down here! Cheers.

This  Sunday, August the 2nd, at the Arkaba Hotel in Adelaide, Eyre Peninsula is coming to you! As part of  the new award winning Port Lincoln Hotel marketing ploy, we are showing off the Eyre Peninsula & bringing you  full on taste of what the region has to offer & a first hand glimpse of what we do & where we take you once on board with Goin Off Safaris.

Fine foods, award winning wines, Coffin Bay oysters & all the other operators that we use in conjunction with our safaris will be there for you to check out for your next holiday & I promise that you will be impressed. It will be a great day out. The Expo goes from 11am to 5pm with a few well known celebs floating around including  Adelaide Crows captain & superstar, Simon Goodwin plus cooking demonstrations by celebrity chef  Michael Angelakis & local chefs Tony Ford from Boston Bay Wines & David Pedro from the Pt.Lincoln Hotel.

There are fantastic prizes to be won & some great specials available with our packages discounted for the event.

Come & say G’day, this Sunday the 2nd August at Hurleys Arkaba Hotel, Glen Osmond Rd, Fullarton from 11am- 5pm & have a fresh oyster & wine if nothing else!

Special thanks to the Pt.Lincoln Times for the photo of Bill Ford(right)

The Great White is the new addition added to the Ford families assorted collection of Riesling, Chardonnay, Spatlese Riesling, Riesling Mistrille, Cab Sav, Shiraz ( my favourite) & Merlot. The family describes the Great White as ” elegant, crunchy sauvignon that packed with appetising tropical fruits , goosberry & all manner of naturally refreshing flavours & aromas that marry particularly well with just about any kind of seafood..”

The winery itself is seated perfectly overlooking the enormity of Port Lincolns Boston Bay( hence the name). A beautiful location especially when one can sit back with the home grown product whilst been served up something equally special by live in acclaimed master chef & family member Tony Ford. The winery caters for those special functions as well during the year & is open for cellar door sales. Goin Off Safaris is more than happy to provide clients with a selection of the local drop!

Whilst on Great Whites, out in the water, numbers of the sharks are great at the minute & have been for some time, with some of the big ones up to 18 ft been frequently seen. So now is the time to see the Great Whites in the water & back on land, sample of few glasses of the new label with some fresh oysters so you can see what we’re on about over here!

I’m gonnna crack another!!

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.