Day 30. Port Lincoln to Elliston

Swimming with the Tuna

Today we were leaving Port Lincoln - but before we left we had to visit the marina one last time as yesterday we decided to book a trip out to the Tuna Farms here in Boston Bay (Post Lincoln), and have a go at feeding and swimming with the Southern Blue Fin Tuna. This would be our first real test with Scarlett swimming in open water and interacting with large fish.

It was a quick caravan pack up and hook up and down to the marina we went (with caravan in tow). We were the last people to board the boat, and then we had a 15 minute ride out to the Tuna Pen. It was a very windy day, and the seas were quite choppy, so we didn't know what to expect.

We walked out onto the pontoon, and quickly rugged up as it was very 'cool'. The wind chill factor must of been around the mid teens! We were first introduced to the touch pool, where we explored star fish and an array of shellfish. There were even Rock Lobsters in the touch pools!

It was then fish feeding time, and Scarlett and I were the first in line to feed the large Blue Mowong - a friendly medium sized fish that Scarlett was able to handfeed and 'pat' as they swam past.

The fun was only just beginning! Next it was Tuna feeding time, and we all had to don kevlar lined gloves as the Tuna have been known to nibble on fingers instead of the pilchards like we were feeding them today.

Scarlett's first experience started not so good, as the first Tuna she fed grabbed her gloves and she wasn't having any bar of it after that. It scared her, and rightly so! The bugger actually grabbed her glove and had a good old chew - almost dragging Scarlett into the water - more from Scarlett losing balance and being caught off guard.

Next Bec had a go and she loved it! The Tuna were tearing through the water and literally jumping out of the water to get to the pilchards!

I went next and also had a great time feeding these torpedoes of the deep, Even I was surprised at the ferocity of the feeding frenzy, as my gloves were nibbled a few times. And we yet had to jump in the water with these guys for a swim!

We all slipped into our provided wetsuits and decided to swim with the gentler fish first - the Blue Mowong, Australian Salmon, and Trevally. There was even a Port Jackson Shark in this section and Scarlett was thrilled when he swam over to her and she got to 'pat' him.

Then moved into the Tuna pen, and Scarlett was very apprehensive at first. She started off by only riding on our backs as we swam with these fish, but soon slid off and swam with us. The experience was a little daunting, as the seas had picked up and we were all getting thrown around in the water. It made seeing the fish difficult due to the bubbles and murky water, and more than once we came face to face with a tuna only to have it turn at the last minute and swim away from us. This was something Scarlett didn't enjoy, so we soon moved back to the 'quieter pen' with the friendly fish.

Scarlett even sent a postcard to Nana and Grumpy, and sent it via the Sea Post (a post box located out on the Tuna pontoon).

Before we knew it, the fun was over and it was a sloppy ride back to the mainland.

We climbed into the pajero and headed straight for Coffin Bay to have our lunch at the local playground and then have a look around. It is a beautiful bay, but it was very windy.

We then headed north towards Venus Bay, but only made it as far as Elliston / Waterloo Bay. We were going to free camp tonight, but we still had berley and pilchards in our hair etc and Bec wanted to have a long hot shower, so we found the local Top Tourist Caravan Park and made camp for the night. We took advantage and did another load of washing - the smell from today's adventure was a little overpowering.

The wind is still blowing a gale and its cold, and we are starting to get a little over it now. Where did summer go? I know today is the 1st of March and the first day of Autumn, but I swear it feels like we missed summer altogether this year.

Posted by Shane via Bec's Blog access

no excuse really

I just stuffed up!