Aussie diving - May 2012

[alcina]

I can't believe it but I got out for two more great dives on the Ningaloo Reef today. Viz was even better than yesterday so 20m+ consistently, water was pretty nice at 26/27C and the marine life was awesome. Big shovelnose ray, lots of white tip reef sharks, tons of turtles, baitballs are building just off the main sites, some more predator fish are moving - including some small ones who are just so cute trying to chase the glassfish, and too much else to mention. Again, didn't shoot a lot, just not in the mood, but did enjoy myself immensely!

 

[alcina]

Crazy awesome dives on the 2nd here on the Ningaloo Reef! Dolphins, grey reef sharks, tawny nurse shark, potato cod, two kinds of turtles, gazillions of fish, feeding action, swarming schools...everything. First dive has to rank in my top ten - it was just action action action for the first 40 minutes! Absolutely stunning!! Water still 27C, viz was 10ish on dive one but with lots of floatie stuff and 15+m on dive two.

My buddy with a hawksbill turtle - this turtle stayed with me for ages and turned around to follow us when we tried to leave him! He also tried to stay so close to me that I couldn't take many photos of him LOL

Please pop over to my blog as there's more photos and a little video of the first dive, too

Hope there's many more diving days like the last few!!

 

[alcina]

Oh no! Am I the only diving in Australia so far this month?! I hope everyone else is out enjoying underwater time and just too busy to share

Two more awesome dives yesterday. Visibility wasn't as great as it has been but still had 10m on most of each site. Lots of food around - which has brought in the manta rays a bit further to the south from the sites we dived. And the whale sharks have been amazing lately - I really should get out there and do it again this season, but I can't seem to resist going diving instead LOL

I haven't gone through all my photos or organized the video of the very cool nurse shark that was circling and pretty much swimming right through me but I will get it done eventually. Had even more turtles that we have been seeing, lots of sea snakes of all sizes, everything was feeding and there are a couple really nice sized balls of bait & glassfish around. Quite a few sharks, too.

Went snorkeling the day before, just from shore, and not only saw 8 turtles and a bunch of painted crays but a small grey reefie came to check us out and some big 7' guy of indeterminate type swam right to and under us. Pretty exciting since we were way way out from shore!

Two porcelain crabs feeding from yesterday

 

[Mantra]

Hey Alcina!

So this is the place to do trip reports, right?

We just did two dives at Julian Rocks with sundive. Nice excuse to get down to Byron bay for the day. Their good reputation is well deserved. A really smooth running operator with good facilities. They gave me a 15 litre steelie on request, had lots of hot water for all showers in the day, and had laid back and genuinely friendly staff. Top marks. The DMs were professional and attentive, but not nursemaids or one-size-fits-all tour guides. Special props to Phil, who knew so much about local animals and sent the whole dive keenly pointing stuff out and then pointing at the underwater book he has made with the names of hundreds of animals in it. What a gem of a guide!

Water temp was 23 up top and down to 18.9 at depth (22m). Very mild swell and minimal surge. Viz was 15m average.

First dive (10:45) was in the cod hole. A lovely little swim through with a number of lion fish. Some big cod! Buzzed in a leisurely, curious way by a 6ft shovel nosed ray. Eel, sweet lip, huge snapper, schooling yellow tailed kingfish, etc etc etc. just bursting with different critters - I can't remember a tenth of them.

Second dive (1:00pm) was to Hugo's trench. I was really taken with the geography here. Lovely steep valleys and trenches. Pineapple fish. The biggest wobbegong I've seen yet. A ghost pipe fish. Spotted ray. A number of different schools of fish coming the other way in the trench - lovely to be surrounded by them. And nudis galore. So many different species.

Great, easy, comfortable, diving.

They do a pack of six dives (valid over a year) for $315

Too late in the year for leopard shakes, and too early for the grey nurses at the moment.

 

[bryce1993]

Im am so insanely jealous!!! I haven't been this weekend, too busy. Last weekend was a crap dive, didn't see anything, but of course I just enjoyed getting away from everything into that meditative mode... I wish I lived near the Ningaloo Reef ((( Keep up the photography / videpgraphy Alcina - really appreciate it!

 

[ferris213]

Fantastic photos of the Porcelain Crabs Alcina, I don't know why but the small crustaceans are my favourite thing to spot.

Glad the diving was good at Julian Rocks for you mantra. It's hard to have a bad dive down there, and with 15m vis you can't go wrong! I know what you mean about hugo's. It can be a good place to get up close to the grey Nurse when they're around. I'm guessing the new regs worked out in the end?

I only managed one dive in the Tweed river last weekend. Mainly did it to help out my cousin in setting up his brand new BP/W. A great opportunity to practice the things you never get time to do on a boat dive.Vis was about 3m and there didn't seem to be a whole lot of life around on the day. (of course there probably was, I just didn't see it) We did see a long finned cod ( fish identification ), which I haven't encountered before.

 

[alcina]

@Mantra - thanks for the update and it sounds like a great day out diving!!
@bryce -sorry to hear the dive wasn't awesome Thanks for the kind words -I'm hoping to keep getting out for the rest of the month before I head out on holidays in June.
@ferris - thanks, I normally don't stop for them but they have been so cute lately!

Did get out on Friday & Saturday for another four fantastic dives. Viz was about 20m but again a bit cloudy & tons of particles in the water; temp was 26-27C and I'm still feeling the cold. I am such a wuss LOL The viz top to bottom was so good on Saturday that you could not only see the bottom at 15m but identify the fish (and one nudibranch!) from the boat. It was crazy beautiful.

I still can't get over how crazy awesome the turtles are this year - they are just thick at one site. I saw 6 before I was even to the bottom and most of them just look at you for a second then go back to sleep. Also lots of white tip reef sharks, anthias, baitballs, walls of glassfish, huge batfish, the cleaning action is starting to pick up, a few more nudibranchs are about..aw, heck, there's just masses of stuff to see! Friday I had a nurse shark swimming around looking for something for over 8 minutes...really cool! I'll put that video up on my blog later today (probably, I've been sucking at getting stuff up there).

And even the oh so many it's boring to see them fish can pose prettily for you and make you stop for a minute

 

[Mantra]

Glad the diving was good at Julian Rocks for you mantra. It's hard to have a bad dive down there, and with 15m vis you can't go wrong! I know what you mean about hugo's. It can be a good place to get up close to the grey Nurse when they're around. I'm guessing the new regs worked out in the end?

I only managed one dive in the Tweed river last weekend. Mainly did it to help out my cousin in setting up his brand new BP/W. A great opportunity to practice the things you never get time to do on a boat dive.Vis was about 3m and there didn't seem to be a whole lot of life around on the day. (of course there probably was, I just didn't see it) We did see a long finned cod ( fish identification ), which I haven't encountered before.

Thanks mate. Yeah, the diving was great. The HOG reg breathes beautifully, but flooded when I was heads-down checking out some pineapple fish. That combined with the above-water honking definately points to an issue with the exhaust valve. Getting to practice skills is never a bad thing!

 

[ferris213]

The viz top to bottom was so good on Saturday that you could not only see the bottom at 15m but identify the fish (and one nudibranch!) from the boat. It was crazy beautiful.

I'm hoping to keep getting out for the rest of the month before I head out on holidays in June.

Where could you possibly go for your holidays!!?! Or do you go spend two weeks in some faceless cubical in an office somewhere just for a change? Seriously jealous Alcina... It all sounds fantastic.

 

[alcina]

@ferris - LOL! I'm off to the US to see family and shop and eat!! And I might be heading to Bonaire for a week of diving while I'm in the neighborhood - trying to decide...