Raggy Charters Crew Visit Australia
By Jake Keeton

1. News

Our knowledge and interest in White Sharks and Shark conservation has grown immensely since we received our permit to conduct Shark Cage Diving at Bird Island in Algoa Bay. We knew we had to make the long trip to attend when we heard that the White Sharks Global Conference was going to take place in Port Lincoln Australia from 12 to 17 November 2023.

White Sharks Global is an international scientific conference that provides an opportunity for people working on projects related to white sharks to meet, share ideas, report on recent studies, and plan for the future. With the last conference that focused specifically on white sharks having taken place back in 2010, we knew it would be important for us to attend this one as so many new studies have been undertaken over the last 13 years.

This conference exceeded our expectations on all fronts. The organizational team did a flawless job, and the buy-in from stakeholders from all around the world was something to behold. It was amazing to see how many young students and professionals are focusing projects on white sharks. The conference consisted of workshops, keynote speakers and lightning talks spread over four days, with a rest day in the middle to allow the conference attendees an opportunity to enjoy some local tours. We were overwhelmed by the amount of information about white sharks being thrown at us. Thankfully there was plenty of networking time to meet with the speakers and ask for copies of presentations to re-look at later on.

When the rest day arrived, we jumped at the opportunity to join a local tour operator on a Shark Cage Diving tour to the Neptune Islands. Neptune’s is made up of two islands, namely North and South Neptune’s, and is located close to the entrance of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia. With the excitement on board, the three-hour boat ride to Neptune’s flew by. It was a great experience for us to see how another tour operator halfway around the world runs their shark cage diving operation.

The conference ended with an extravagant dinner and closing ceremony held at a beautiful wine farm that overlooks Port Lincoln. White Sharks Global 2023 has to be one of the best conferences that we have attended. We would like to once again thank the organizers for making it possible for us to attend. It would not have been possible for us without the travel allowance that we received from the conference. This allowance was granted to attendees coming from afar or from developing countries.

We made sure that we made the most of our trip by spending some time exploring Southern and Western Australia before and after the conference. After many walks, nights camping, and thousands of kilometers behind the wheel of our rental van, we concluded that Australia has many similarities to back home in SA. An interesting variety of wildlife, a beautiful far-stretching coastline, and a friendly charismatic population. Two things stood out to us coming from South Africa. The first is the amazing condition of the major highways and even gravel roads making you feel safe behind the wheel. The second is the sheer number of Bush Flies (Musca vetustissima). This species is iconic in Australia. With the environment in rural areas often being rather harsh and dry, these winged pests quench their thirst on the sweat and tears of animals and unsuspecting campers. These flies are so relentless that they have been credited with inspiring the "Aussie Salute" - a gesture of waving bush flies away from one's face.

The infamous Bush Flies (Musca vetustissima)