Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters - Anna Bay, New South Wales

Rita H.

Firstly, the venue itself is quite spacious, which is great for a leisurely day out. However, I found that the activities offered were somewhat limited. The kids had a fantastic time feeding the stingrays and sharks, which was definitely the highlight of our visit.

That said, I was a bit disappointed with the visibility of the sharks in the tropical lagoons. They seemed to be quite stable and not very active, which made it hard to fully appreciate their beauty. The videos we had seen prior to our visit set our expectations high, but the reality was a bit different.

One piece of advice: definitely make a booking before you go. We encountered some frustration when we were told to come back on another day despite having made an online reservation. This was quite inconvenient and dampened our enthusiasm for the visit.

In terms of value for money, I felt that the price paid didn't quite match the experience, especially considering the limited activities and the visibility of the species.

Emma M.

My partner and myself visited this beautiful centre yesterday and absolutely loved every minute of it. We pre booked a little ray cuddle for midday but decided to come up earlier so we could explore the park before our booking time. When we arrived we were greeted by a super friendly staff member who explained the different processes that we could be involved in throughout the day.

It’s really important to remember when booking that this place isn’t sea world, it is a peaceful rehabilitation centre where you can interact with some beautiful creatures and learn about their species and conservation. We were not disappointed at all. All the staff that we encountered throughout the day were beyond friendly and extremely knowledgeable.

Due to the fact that we had booked an experience, we were given wetsuits to put on when we first arrived. We were a bit sceptical at first because it was a very hot day and we were worried about wearing them for the next couple of hours but it was completely worth it. We were able to sit in the water with both the sharks and the stingrays and interact with them further than other patrons who were not in wetsuits. So highly recommend upgrading to wetsuits for a more personal experience with the animals.

All the animals loved coming over for a gentle pat and even spent a lot of time in the shallows so other patrons without wetsuits were also able to feed and pat them. All in all we had an amazing time at this centre and enjoyed learning about the conservation and protection of the animals whilst being able to interact with them one on one as well. Definitely recommend visiting outside of school holidays as it is far less crowded, at times we were the only people interacting with the animals which made the whole experience so much more one on one and personal. Thank you so much team!

Virginia M. (.

Totally loved this experience. So good to be up close touching and feeding small sharks and stingrays. Good fun for all ages, though it could work out expensive for a family. The staff who give the talks are very knowledgeable and make it all the more interesting. I learnt a lot.

Christopher Y.

A highlight of Port Stephens and the team do phenomenal work in rescue and rehabilitation of the local marine life injured. The new facility is slowly coming along, but even at this stage the experience with the marine animals is wonderful. The team of marine biologists are more than happy to share their knowledge and educate you. I have been here three times already and will come back for many more, happily supporting the facility.

Sylvia

Extremely Disappointing Experience!!!

I recently visited Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters, and while the customer service was okay with helpful staff, my overall experience was thoroughly disappointing.

The pools were very small, and there were only a few rays to view. After feeding the rays, we eagerly anticipated the shark show, but to our disbelief, there was nothing to see. We wasted 20 minutes listening to irrelevant information when all we wanted was to see something exciting for our children. Unfortunately, we got nothing.

I’m relieved I didn’t pay extra to wear a wetsuit just to sit in a pool where no one could actually enter the water. It felt like an absolute waste of money.

Overall, my visit was far from enjoyable, and I left feeling like my time and money were wasted. I would not recommend Irukandji Shark & Ray Encounters to anyone seeking a quality experience.

Tracy K. D.

Wow!!
My family and I had an amazing few hours at the centre where we listened to passionate staff give informative talks and demos on the all the residents. I recommend minimum day pass plus discovery with wet suit to get the most out of your visit. We also did the reef shark snorkel which was unreal! Absolutely loved it. This is a great experience for anyone looking for a different interactive experience with marine life. I cannot believe why you would leave a negative review unless your expectations are some big aquarium with unsupervised animal petting ( not what is advertised) If so then this experience is not for you. This is such a special place for marine /animal conservation enthusiasts to get involved with the work done by a fantastic team at a manmade lagoon caring for rescued sharks , rays, and turtles. We will remember our time here as a one in a million experience. Thank you to all the staff. It was a pleasure to be part of what you do. T

Jessica H.

Very cool place to see and feed animals. If your not a fan of going to the wild to encounter marine animals, this place allows you interact with them in a safe environment. You can feed and pet the animals, even the shark if your fortunate enough. Best to go during non peak hours as the animals are more hungry and likely to approach

Sunni W.

A must do tourist activity.
The staff are soo friendly and nice. There are many options - you can wear wet suit and go deeper and closer to the stingrays and sharks.
But if you don't want to, you can just go knee deep and you can pat and feed the sharks and stingrays!

There's also a shark informative show (on at certain times of the day) and there's also eels and a huge turtle by the name of Patty. Definitely worth going to and putting on your bucket list.