Fancy coming face to face with a great white while still enjoying a beer or glass of champagne? Now you can.
Probably not since the release of Steven Spielberg's Jaws has the Great White Shark been so much in the news for all the wrong reasons. Even some of Australia's wiliest surfers have confessed to looking over their shoulder for fins since Mick Fanning's legendary encounter.
Nonetheless, the ocean's arguably toughest predator remains fascinating and last year an estimated 9000 tourists headed to Port Lincoln in South Australia to see the awesome creatures in their natural habitat. That's the Neptune Islands at the mouth of the Spencer Gulf, the only place in the country where you can cage-dive with them.
But estimating that only one in five of visitors take to the water where the best view is, Matt Waller, the owner of Adventure Bay Charters, has come up with an ingenious way for the rest to encounter the great whites eye-to-eye and still stay dry. "I could see there was an angle of people getting in there without getting wet, scared, too cold or impatient, all which can contribute to not having a good time," he says.
So he invented his Aqua Sub, a world first boat with a submersible glass viewing area that encases the scaredy-cats in steel and reinforced glass and is strong enough to plunge them into the depths where the sharks move about.
Better still, he serves drinks and nibbles on board – that's the "bored" bit taken care of, should the sharks not turn up. "It's amazing how people can be entertained with wine, food and good stories," says Waller, whose stories include the fact that "All the action stuff in Jaws, was actually shot at this site".
A self-confessed "dreamer", Waller, who does not use bait and berley to attract the animals and is committed to "preservation and understanding", took more than five years to develop his idea at a cost of about $1 million.
Since launching it earlier this year, he says the response has been good and growing steadily. He's confident as the message gets out, that will increase.
As an eco-operator, he warns however: "This is a wildlife experience. We provide access to sharks - we don't promise sharks."
Oh well, there's always the bar.
The full day experience costs $395 for adults and $285 for children five-15. Food and drink is extra. See www.adventurebaycharters.com.au.
