Sea creatures a thrill
South Australia offers marine wildlife tours bound to impress
SOUTH Australia you can swim with lions, with dragons, with giants. You can surf with dolphins, snorkel with tuna, eyeball great white sharks and you may even find yourself in the water with whales.
Here are my seven best encounters with marine wildlife while swimming in the refreshing waters of South Australia.
1. GIANT CUTTLEFISH
They rise mysteriously from the depths each winter, an army of weird giant cephalopods filled with lust as they engage in one of the greatest natural shows on Earth.
Tens of thousands of giant cuttlefish converge on the rocky shallows near Whyalla in their annual mating ritual triggered by cold water.
It is the greatest mass gathering of the creatures on the planet and you can witness it by scuba diving or just snorkelling. It is secret world of macho posers and drag queens, bizarre light shows and weightless dancing, all to do with a frenzied mating game with four boys for every girl.
2. SEA LIONS
I rank several swims with sea lions at remote Baird Bay on the Eyre Peninsula as the best eco-encounters I have had. Alan and Trish Payne run tours to meet sea lions who have a colony on a nearby island. You never go to the actual island, which would be like going to someone’s bedroom.
You don’t pursue the mammals, feed them, or even wear sunscreen. But these inquisitive wild animals appear to enIN joy encounters. Once in shallows protected from open seas – and sharks – by encircling reefs, sea lions come over to play. They will somersault underwater and wait expectantly for snorkellers to do the same.
3. DOLPHINS
As well as Baird Bay and Whyalla, you can encounter dolphins in Adelaide. Operators take guests for encounters off Glenelg, or by kayak or stand-up paddleboard on the Port River to meet resident dolphins, claimed to be the only city river where you can have such encounters. I prefer to go surfing at the bottom of Yorke Peninsula, where resident pods patrol empty sand beaches.
4. TUNA
At a large floating pen moored off Victor Harbor just south of Adelaide, guests can hand-feed tuna from a boardwalk or can see them along with about 40 other species from an underwater viewing room.
Better still, you can jump in and swim with them. It is like swimming with a pack of wild dogs as these large, streamlined torpedoes zero in on you at speed then veer away at the last second. These fish are the sports cars of the ocean – southern bluefin tuna have been clocked at up to 76km/h.
5. LEAFY SEA DRAGONS
Found only in southern Australian waters, this delicate, dreamy wisp of watery rainbow is South Australia’s marine emblem.
A little larger than seahorses, they can grow to 24cm and with their camouflage can be mistaken for seaweed — they can even change colour.
Divers spot them at places such as Victor Harbor, Kangaroo Island and Edithburgh, and local diving shops can arrange dives to see this curious protected species, but snorkellers might also luck into one floating in the water by various jetties including the one at Rapid Bay.