Adventures In Port Lincoln

The next morning we packed up our things, added some more duct tape to the plastic window, and started the trip to Port Lincoln. Compared to most days the drive was short and sweet and we were in Port Lincoln before lunchtime.

Our first stop for the day was Bridgestone Tyres (yeah that’s how they spell ‘tires’ over here, what a bunch of weirdos) to try and get our window replaced. We talked to a guy when we first walked in who looked very confused by the thought of replacing window at a shop that specializes in tires but luckily a lady overheard our conversation and asked us if we were the people from Alice Springs. This sounded promising. We tore off our fake window once again and while she and Jesse took some measurements and filled out some paper work I headed down the street to get some more duct tape. When I returned I learned that they would be able to ship the part we needed overnight from Adelaide and we would be able to get it installed the next morning. Normally I would be ecstatic at this kind of news but at this point I was smart enough to remain cautiously optimistic.

After ordering the part for the truck we headed down to the harbour to book the tour that was our main reason for stopping in this town. We were going to swim with great white sharks! I was pretty nervous about this experience and not because of the sharks but because of the whole breathing under water thing. If you’ve been following this blog for a while you know that adventures in scuba diving turned out pretty horrible for me so it was a relief when the lady in the office told me the top of the cage is above water meaning if I freaked out I could just pop my head up. I was no longer scared so we booked the tour for Wednesday morning and headed out.

With our next two days planned we found a campground and pitched our tent next to the ocean. It was quite windy so it was a bit more challenging than usual but by this point I could put that tent up in my sleep so it only took a few minutes longer than normal.

With a place to sleep for the night secured we headed out to make some arrangements to fill the rest of our time in Port Lincoln. We made our way to the tourist information office to find out what sorts of options were available to us. Most of the activities were related to fish and seafood so I wasn’t really interested but Jesse had managed to fill his time quite nicely. After getting the car fixed the next day he was going to go to a seafood tasting, and then to a tuna farm to swim with and feed some giant Bluefin tuna.

Next we headed to the YHA. We were entitled to a free nights stay with our shark dive so we wanted to make a reservation for the following night because they also offer a free shuttle to the shark boat which is definitely a plus at 6 in the morning. I'm normally not a fan of YHA hostels but this one seemed nice so I was looking forward to staying there.

To be honest I can’t remember how we spent the rest of our day so I'm going to guess that it probably wasn’t overly exciting.

The next morning we packed up our tent and headed to Bridgestone to get the window replaced. I had my fingers, toes, and anything else I could cross crossed. I let my cautious optimism grow into full-blown excitement when I saw that our part had arrived when we walked into the office. Stuff could still go wrong but I wasn’t going to think about that, the window was finally being replaced and life was going to be easy again! We walked down the street to get some breakfast and when we returned the truck was ready to go. Hooray!

Feeling happy we made our way back to the tourist information office to pick up Jesse’s ticket for his seafood tasting only to learn it had been cancelled due to lack of interest. This was the start of a downward spiral. We headed to the hostel where we were able to check in early and relaxed for a bit before Jesse left to go swim with the tuna. I made my way upstairs to the cinema room and was shocked when Jesse walked in an hour later because his tour had been cancelled due to poor conditions.

Rumours had been spreading through the hostel that the shark dive for the following day was going to be cancelled but we headed to bed early anyway. I took a seasickness tablet as recommended and hoped for the best. I woke up an hour or two later and puked my guts out then went back to bed feeling very worried about the next day.

We woke up at the crack of dawn and headed out to the lobby to find a caravan of taxis waiting for the group of us heading out on the dive. I popped another seasickness tablet along the way and started to feel like crap again. Things got worse once we were on the boat. The water was incredibly rough with 3 metre swells and once again I puked my guts out. I felt like absolute garbage but I figured it would all be worth it once I got in the shark cage. I was not impressed when we made it to Cape Catastrophe (I’m not being hyperbolic that’s a real name) and found out that the tour was being cancelled and we were heading back to shore. We had already been on the boat for three freaking hours and they were just now cancelling the tour? If I hadn’t vomited up all my energy I probably would have thrown a hissy fit but instead I sulked and tried not to toss my cookies again.

We made it back to shore around 1pm where we were given the option to rebook the tour for the following day or ask for a refund. Against my better judgement I rebooked for the following day. We made our way back to the hostel and extended our stay to accommodate our new tour and the receptionist offered me a sea sickness tablet that was supposed to be way better than the one I had been taking so I accepted it.

Since we now had the afternoon free we decided to head to a wild life park just out of town in hopes of seeing a koala and a wombat, two Australian animals I had not yet encountered. The park was set up so you had to walk through animal enclosures to get to other animals and if you know me at all you know I absolutely hated this because I am terrified of animals. I might have enjoyed trying to find the koala hidden in the tree if there weren’t 6 chickens clucking around my ankles making me think they were going to eat me. I almost shit my pants when one of them jumped up on to a fence right near my face.

The area surrounding the wombat enclosure was animal free which made me feel much better however wombats are a burrowing animal and spend most of their time underground so I never actually got to see one. I was pretty disappointed but the fact that I got to see an albino kangaroo made up for.

Back at the hostel we made some dinner and had another early night. This time I decided to skip on the night before seasickness tablet and had a much better sleep than the night before. I felt refreshed when I woke up at the crack of dawn but I also felt full of regret. What had I done booking on to another tour? I should have cancelled and gotten a refund when I had the chance!

Fortunately the tablet the receptionist gave me worked much better than the ones I had taken the day before and the ocean was much calmer but I still felt slightly nauseous. I had planned better this time around though because I grabbed a sick bag before the boat started moving and got a seat near the back deck so I was getting fresh air and it was only a short stumble to go outside if I got sick because you weren’t allowed to be sick inside (worst rule ever).

I spent most of the day asleep or trying to sleep thinking if I wasn’t awake I couldn’t get sick. This strategy seemed to work because I made it through the whole day puke free. The boat ride took forever but eventually we reached our dive location where we would be docked for several hours as the forty-odd people on the boat went into the cage six at a time for 45 minutes each.

Jesse called me out on the deck a few times to see the shark and when I started to feel crappy I would just go back inside and rest until it was time to get ready for our dive. The wetsuit I was given was soaking wet so I was cold before I even got in the water but I would soon turn into a popsicle. As I first climbed into the cage the cold water caused me pain. I told myself I would wait to see one shark then get out because the water was just too cold. As time passed my body adapted to the cold water and I managed to tough it out for the whole dive and I'm glad I did. It is really amazing how gracious and elegant such a vicious animal can seem as you watch it swim through the clear waters to attack its prey. It was an unbelievable experience that I will never be able to describe in a way that does it justice. All I can say is if you ever have a chance to cage dive with sharks do it, it is more than worth the money.

After warming up with a hot shower and changing into some dry clothes I ate some lunch and went back to sleep. I slept through most of the other groups dives and a good chunk of the drive home. I woke up about 90 minutes away from shore and the queasiness I had been feeling all day was gone. I was able to walk around the boat and get my own snacks instead of sending Jesse every time I wanted something. It was fantastic!

We returned to the hostel to learn that they were celebrating their first anniversary and had prepared a free barbecue for dinner. This was exciting news because I was starving and we couldn’t figure out what we should do for dinner.

Despite all the sleeping on the boat I was absolutely exhausted from the day’s adventures so after dinner I headed to bed and Jesse hung out with some new friends we had made on the boat. The next morning we would leave for the last leg of our trip.