I am writing this because I don't want anyone to experience what we did aboard 'Advance' in Norfolk Island with Darren Bates.
His brochure says half a day charter from 7.30 to 12. We left the Jetty at 9am stopped after 5 minutes and were back at the Jetty at 11am with a few sweetlip, six of us tourists on board and we were charged $900 for the 2 hours fishing
We were handed budget old gear that had no brake we couldn't play or slow the fish - I got skin sheared off from the sharks ripping out line.
We asked solely for a kingi trip & Darren changed his attitude towards that when we were all committed to the trip leaving the Jetty. On the morning of the trip I spoke to him on the phone and he confirmed we would target Kingis but we had better get down to the Jetty quick while the conditions were still ideal. We had waited five days for the weather to clear so we could go fishing, as you can imagine we were all just so keen to get out fishing.
I said I wasn't happy at all with the trip, his response was (Well you cant make everyone happy) and he walked off. I should have spoken to the locals before I booked the charter because the next day I went out and spent some time talking around town and it's clear Darren has a name for being the rip off charter on the Island. Darren has a glossy brochure and a safe looking boat but don't be fooled.
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !!