Andrew del and I snuck off for an early Friday morning dive at Cape Solander. A freezing 10 degrees in the light breeze on a shore, but a very pleasant 19 degrees in the water. The water was calm and clean, but there wasn't really a lot of fish life about.

We came across a very accomodating baby giant cuttlefish. He didn't mind posing for a few photographs at all, just the occasional bright colour change to indicate he knew we were there.

There are a few whales passing Botany Bay already - they seem early this year.

Fri 02 Jun 2006 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Kurnell, The Steps, Botany Bay National Park

A lovely day for it - overcast, but warm. Its been a while since I was diving with the Abyss crew, and low and behold I met Racheal, whom I last dived with in Little Bay about 2 years ago - (which was a very horrible dive, involving a huge snorkle back because of nasty current). So, we buddied up again. Racheal is now an excellent diver and buddy.

Because the tide was going out, the water visability wasn't tremendous (all that dioxin in the harbour probably) but there were pockets of clear water, and I had the macro lens on anyway, so getting close to things was required.

It was weedy sea-dragon day. We must have spotted about 10 altogether, and none were very shy, dispite the 50 divers or so that had already visited them. After thoroughly blinding a couple with flashes (poor things - I try to keep it to 3 max, or it stresses them out) we headed on to the swim-throughs towards monument and enjoyed nudibranchs and spongue life.

The second dive people were going to repeat the first dive (boring !?!?!) so Racheal and I tried our luck with going with the current for the second dive, towards the steps, with the knowledge that it might be a harder swim back on the return leg. As luck would have it, by the time we started the second dive, the current had dropped off and it really needed have mattered which way we went. That was great though, because we had the whole section from The Steps to the Leap to ourselves, and saw catfish, rays, more weedy's, pigmy leather-jackets, brightly colour weed cale's and lots of schools of bigger fish that tend to vanish after a few divers have been through already.

Sun 12 Feb 2006 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Kurnell, The Steps

First dive back in the Sydney - Andy del and I hit the Steps in Kurnell for a Saturday afternoon dive. A glorious day after a dreary morning - the sun was belting down on us just after 1pm - not a great time to be putting on 5 mm neoprene.

The water felt SOOO good after the hot climb down the stairs. It felt even better after passing the thermocline at 5m.

Not great vis, but classic Kurnell, lots of fish, lots of nuidbranchs, weedy seadragons, etc.

I need to do some gear maintenance, my tanks are out of test, and my new computer, inexplicably, has a flat battery.

Sat 14 Jan 2006 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Kurnell, The Steps.

Went diving with Andy del, practically straight off the plain from Singapore. THe sky was blue, the water warm (ish) and the weedy's were out.

The mission was to test my new underwater enclosure out, which was a success and a lot of fun. I think once I get the hang of it, it will be amazing, the improvement I can already see - with the old Sony Cybershot I'd have to throw away about 50% of the images because they were out of focus or something else was wrong with them. With the 300D, that ratio drops to a about 10%.

There wasn't a great deal to see on the dive really, a coupe of weedy's and a few nudi's were out, but thats about it. It was just good to be diving again.

Sat 16 Apr 2005 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Kurnell - Steps, Leap to Steps

Caught up with Andrew for one last dive in Oz before I head of to Singapore. Perfect conditions, the water was a delightful 20 degrees at the steps. A bit murky in the water, but a good dive nonetheless. Lots and lots of nudibranchs out, the odd giant cuttlefish, and a couple of very friendly blue grouper.

There were plenty of fishermen about, but the only fish they nearly caught was an Andrew... damn fool fishermen. Don't they know there are no fish about?

Sun 26 Dec 2004 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Oak Park, The Cave

Fantastic to finally be in the water again after a nearly 3 month break. I stuffed up and arrived late to the shop because of Daylight Savings time (argh!) but it was OK, Geoff a visitor from Melbourne was just organising tanks and gear to join the club dive.

Geoff followed me to Oak Park, and we found the club dives going into the water already, so we took our time and did the dive on our own.

I was amazed at how well I can remember the site. I managed to get us all the way to the cave and urinal and back again without getting lost.

My new regulator was really working well - this was the first time I've made it to the cave with plenty of air to spare, my air consumption, even after being out of practise for so long, was better than ever.

Lots of brightly colour sea tulips on the dive, a big giant cuttlefish and some nudibranchs.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of diving again - I doubt the dive was really that spectacular, but the first time back, combined with the sense of acheivement of navigating and making it to the cave and back, made it special.

Geoff also thought it was special, which is great - hopefully he'll be back soon.

Sun 26 Oct 2003 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Oak_Park | permalink

Oak Park, Fish Soup

Alison and Greg were kind enough to wait back for me out of the club dive, as Geoff only had the time to do one dive, and we'd just gotten out of the water.

We intended to head to 'fish soup' but ended up making it to the cave again. Lots of great things to see on the way, such as giant cuttlefish, large and small stingeree's, nudibranchs, starfish and sponges.

I'm really enjoying the improvement the switch I made for my light makes - I don't waste so much time trying to get the light on an off.

Sun 26 Oct 2003 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Oak_Park | permalink

Kurnell, The Leap to Steps

A Port Jackson shark survey dive. I didn't have my camera, as my brother still has it from his trip to China.

I enjoyed my first dive back in a long time - it was good to be in the water, and watching the bubbles.

We only saw one very pregnant female PJ, not very ig, only 1 metre long. The season appears to be coming to an end.

There were a few other creatures of interest, but on the whole, generally very quite. Great conditions, just nothing around.

Sun 21 Sep 2003 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Oak Park

A nice leisurely dive, and a really long one too. My time away doesn't seem to have effected diving any, in fact I think my breathing was the best its ever been.

Peter joined us as a group of three, he was running a Dive Master course on the day. He dragged us asside and told us that he would vanish after 3 minutes or so, and we would not see him for the rest of the dive. When we got back, we were to act dumb, like we were always a group of two.

That little nugget tucked firmly into our belts, we went off and had a brilliant dive.

My buddy took the nav for the first half or so. Well, actually we sort of traded back and forth. Neither of us was spectacularly sure where anything was. Nevertheless, we got right out to fish soup without actually meaning to, and went past the bubble cave (and its nearby urinal in the sand) on the way back.

Fish soup was excelent, the largest school of Old Wives I've ever seen, and another bigger school of fast moving kingfish.

Other than that, a big eagle ray early on in the dive made it interesting, after we disturbed him, he circled us for some time, always keeping right out on the perimiter of our sight, like a ghost.

THe exit was one of the toughest I've done in ages. Because of the wave action, we had to get out on the south side of the pool. The waves were merciless, dragging you back more than you went forward. Tough work. For the 2nd dive, we decided we'd head to the right (south) of the normal Oak Park reef, across the series of reef fingers that mark the entrance of the river mouth. Our exit point, the rocks at Bass and Flinders.

We attempted to do this, but found it pretty tough going, and the surge quite strong.

Peter decided to turn around after consultation with the two trainee DM's.

The decision was made to head back, and we did. As soon as we got back to where we started, I knew Peter was up to something, because we started to follow the reef out in the direction of the cave. After about 30 minutes, I was running low on air, and indicated this to my buddy (one of the DM's.) This didn't seem to do much, but eventually someone let Peter know for me. He responded that he was lost.

Well, A debate like it I've never seen so painfully drawn out with hand gestures and slates... heheh. I knew precisely which way it was to go back, but noone seemed interested. Finally, my air dipping way below what I thought I'd need to get back from about where I thought we were, I took matters into my own hands and made some pretty straight to the point gestures to Peter (Low on air, thats the way back, point).

We left them to it, arguing, and headed back. Again Peter was up to something, because he shot away as if out of a canon. They hadn't a clue we'd gone, or where.

The exit was no peach either, having worsened from before, and I was tired.

This was a good dive. Gave me some great insight into the mechanics of what it takes to be a DM (and a little of what not to do). I felt pretty good that I knew what was going on and that I knew where I was, although I admit I didn't have the pressure of responsibility to cloud my judgement.

A great dive, despite not seeing much.

Sun 06 Jul 2003 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Oak_Park | permalink

Little Bay

Last time I was at Little Bay I was a student and we stayed within the natural reef wall that crosses the mouth of the bay. I now know why. Once we crossed over into the ocean side of the wall, the current kicked in and tossed us around mercilessly.

We ended up on the completely wrong side of the bay, the right side when we were supposed to be diving the left.

Lots of work and diminishing air, bottom time was short. I was not enjoying myself.

Plenty of fish life around, though, and the odd giant cuttlefish. The current had died away and we were able to take full advantage of the amazing visibility for Sydney.

Thousands of fish and life once we got out in the bay a bit further, at abot 12 metres or so things picked up a bit.

Lots of nice rock ledges, holes and walls to explore.

Because the current was still around, the bottom time was dimished with extra work. Kevins air ran out quite quickly after we headed back and we had to snorkle quite a long way.

This was a much better dive though, Little Bay will be worth diving again.

Sun 19 Jan 2003 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

Bare Island

Bare Island looked nearly perfect today, pin flat, crystal clear, not much wind and a nice warm sunny day.

Andrew, Phil and I decided to go in the left hand side of the island and head out and around the back as far as we could get.

An excellent dive. I could easily call it Nudibranch mating day, as I saw about 14 pairs of nudi's going at it. There was also an abundance of variable aphelodoris' around, which I'd not seen before and 1 other species I've not yet seen.

The dive was nice and leasuirely, and lasted for an hour comfortably - I still had 75 bar left at the end.This time we go in on the right hand side at the usual place and snorkelled out towards the back of the island before dropping down and heading back further into a deeper area of reef.

The visibility was not as good here, more than likely due to the large number of divers that had already been in, and the changing tide.

Not a lot to see out the back of the island, but we still saw a weedy sea dragon and a few nudibranchs.

The highlight of the dive was that Andrew spotted a Red-Indian fish right at the end of the dive. I had low air, no batteries left in the camera, but I still managed to get a couple of decent shots of my first Red-Indian fish.

We also came across a length of chain with a good length of rope attached. Andrew coilled up the rope to dispose of.

Another great dive - best time on an aluminium tank.

Sun 29 Dec 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Botany_Bay | permalink

Oak Park, Night (New Computer)

My first dive with my new dive computer, an Uwatec Aladin Air 2 Nitrox wrist computer with air integration. No consoles dangling from me, no crappy guages - I'm extremely pleased with it and how easy it makes getting the information you need at a glance. I'd left my camera at home, as I wanted to concentrate on using the computer and to not be lumbered if things went wrong.

The dive was extremely relaxing. I've not been for a little while, longer than I usually like between dives. We had a nice leasurly dive out along the lower edge of the oak park wall reef, and came back along the top of the wall.

The collection of rocky overhangs and other rock structures makes Oak Park a great night dive, there is lots to shine your torch into and explore.

We spotted an enormous wobbygong shark snoozing under one of these rock caves - he was easily longer than a diver.

Other items of interest was a pigmy seahorse, pointed out by Kellie and lots of large nudibranchs. There were quite a few splendid chromodoris about, and unusually, they were quite large ones.

I found I got quite cold towards the end of the dive which is unsual for me, especially considering the temperature of the water. I think it must be that I've lost too much weight for the wetsuit I usually hire and it doesn't fit as snugly as it should to prevent water circulatiing around.

Wed 18 Dec 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Oak_Park | permalink

Gordons Bay

Gordons Bay during the day is definately not as good as the writhing life display it is at night. We spent nearly an hour underwater, and aprat from a few large Red Morwong, saw very very litte. It was quite rough though, and this tends to send animals to ground.

I did se my little green "Lined Tamjba" again though, holding on for grim life to the bottom of a weed.

I was aslo suppremely hungover, so it wasn't a great dive. It was still enjoyable, just dissapointing...

Sat 30 Nov 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

Gordons Bay

I�ve never before seen so much life on a single dive. Everywhere you shone your light there were hundreds of little things (and not so little things) scurrying for cover. There were sea hares, brittle stars, hermit crabs, hinge back shrimp, baby squid, nudibranchs, and fish, large and small.

Being a particularly warm evening, the water at the surface was correspondingly warm, but seemed to be quite cold at the 10 metre mark � about 16 degrees I�d say. The cold, surprisingly, was the reason we finished early � our air consumption was going very well � after 45 minutes, I still had 120 bar.

The water was flat as a pin and entry and exit was a snack. We followed a wall off to the right of the entry point and headed in a sort of circle around the inner part of the bay. The wall was fantastic. The wall was covered in weeds at the top, 4 to 5 metres high with crevices and caves everywhere. Sea hares mating in the weeds, wonderfully coloured plant life and large red morwong were in abundance.

The nudibranchs were the highlight of the dive. I saw 5 new ones � one�s I�d not seen before, 2 of them I�ve yet to see in a book Its such a buzz to see new things, especially as exotic as the nudibranchs we encountered. I even managed to get splendid photos of them.

All around this dive was an excellent end to a sweltering work day. It is easily a 5 star dive. [[thumb|

Mon 25 Nov 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

Camp Cove

What an excellent night dive. We essentially just pottered about in 8 to 12 metres of water, in perfectly clear and calm water. I had a smaller that normal tank and still had air to burn - we turned back because it was cold!

A couple of Octopus, a small one in 3 metres right at the start of the dive, and later a large one that was feeding. It leaped on a fish, pumped water under its tentacles and started feeding - was quite spectacular.

We also saw a created horn shark, unfortunately he was a little ill with some fin rot. There were nudibranchs, including one I'd not seen before, dwarf lionfish (scorpionfish) and lots of cardinalfish.

On the return journey along the reef wall, it was well after dark and another animal I had not seen before was out an about. The Metabonellia haswelli echiurans (worms) were probing around with their bright green forked proboscis. If you shone light onto them, they immediately retracted - usually back under a rock. Its was quite cool to watch 10 to 20 of them simultaneuos vanish from sight with the passing of a light.

Overall an excellent way to spend a Friday evening (healthier than alcohol!).

Fri 15 Nov 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

Bare Island, Left and Right Side

Philip and I tagged along with another 2 divers from the club. This day at Bare Island there must have been 200 divers - possibly because it was so rough elsewhere. We decided to get in on the right side first and swim out around the back as far as possible before dropping down so as to avoid the other divers as much as possible. It was very hard going. Snorkling in rought sea is NOT my idea of fun. We saw a huge wobbygong - scare the pants off me because he was coming up the other side of a boulder I was swimming over. I raced after him for a shot, but he vanished... There were some huge nudibranchs, particularly a large Splendid glosodoris on an otherwise bare rock. Biggest nudibranch I've seen to date. I didn't really enjoy this dive to much - lots of swimming on the surface, and the other divers seemed to need to be somewhere else all the time, rather than appreciating the things that we saw...Same people again, but after the last time a bit more content to have a relaxing dive. Last time I did the left side of Bare Island, several large caves and hollows had massive giant cuttlefish in them. These had been replaced with smaller juveniles. We saw the odd weedy sea dragon, and quite a few Violet Pteraeolidia nudibranchs high on the reef walls.

Sun 10 Nov 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Botany_Bay | permalink

The Steps and The Leap, Kurnell

Paolo was content to drift along slowly and didn't mind that I was taking pictures. I also new the dive site a bit, so he was happy to let me lead (which is rare at the moment, and a bit of a thrill).

Lots of baby cuttlefish on this dive, 15cm's max. Paola passing his hand over one and it changing every colour in the rainbox made for some great video clips as well.Paolo was content to drift along slowly and didn't mind that I was taking pictures. I also new the dive site a bit, so he was happy to let me lead (which is rare at the moment, and a bit of a thrill).

Lots of baby cuttlefish on this dive, 15cm's max. Paola passing his hand over one and it changing every colour in the rainbox made for some great video clips as well.

Sun 20 Oct 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Tabbagai and Weedy Wall

Lots of murky black algae in the water made the bottom at 30 metres dark as night. It was definately torch diving. Lots and lots of nudibranchs out, and the light made for good photo's. Still lots of black algae around, but this time the nudibranchs were out everywhere, including 4 mating pairs, which was a real thrill. Very difficult nav because of the vis and the current, we all got slightly lost and needed to use the reel to ascend.

Sun 13 Oct 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

The Leap and The Steps

Lots of nudibranchs out!

Sat 14 Sep 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Bare Island

Shark survey. We attempted to catch and record as many Port Jackson sharks as we could. We ended up seeing 4 males, and 2 females, and mesuring nearly two - its far harder than it might appear.

The dive was hampered by conditions turning bad towards the end of the dive, the current picked up and we were sloshed about quite badly. We were exhausted by the time we made it back to the exit point.After the previous gruelling adventure with the sharks, Kerry and I were keen for easy and fun. We nearly got it.

This dive we went off on our own to explore the reef that heads of from the west side of Bare Island. This would be a test of our ability to navigate as a buddy pair, as the last time we tried it at Oak Park was a dismal failure.

This time we�re pleasantly surprised to find that we found the reef, enjoyed its offerings, and made it nearly back to the exit point without having to come to the surface for directions.

When we did surface, however, we had a little snorkelling to do, as I couldn�t go back down � I didn�t have enough air. We were both exhausted when we got back � the rough conditions really do exact their toll.

Overall the dive was good. A successful buddy only dive, and there were plenty of nudibranchs and big red morwong�s about. With it being a bit rough, we didn�t see any Weedy�s.

Sun 04 Aug 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Botany_Bay | permalink

Monument

The entry at Kurnell, near the monument is a perfect example that God had intended for people to SCUBA dive. The entry is a nice little sandy-bottomed channel cut into the rocks at a jaunty enough angle to hinder the waves on their mission to bowl you over. There is a ledge along the side of the entry just high enough to rest your bum on while you put your fins on in knee deep water, and there is a nice deep rock-pool at hand behind you to dunk your mask into for a quick rinse before you put it on.

Buoyed by this knowledge, I started the dive very enthusiastically. I had not been to Monument since my open water dive course and was keen to actually see it this time � mask on, no salt in my eyes.

We snorkelled out a little way before dropping down to about 5 metres onto a bed of sea-grass and weed. Continuing straight out from the shore, there are two drops, the first to 8 metres, the second to 12 metres or so. This marks the beginning of the reef wall and we headed off to the right with the current to gently move us along.

Almost immediately we came to the spot where Kellie had spotted a nice blue and yellow nudibranch the previous day, and pointed it out to us. Never one to miss the opportunity to photograph one of these cute creatures, I tried to get a little closer. This was a complete mistake. I ended up putting a fin into the sand and caused a cloud of particles to spoil not only my chances of taking a shot, but also everyone else�s chance to see it properly � bugger.

Almost straight away things got better though. The group had spotted a seahorse and were all grouped nearby watching � what they were missing made me and my buddy�s day � a hefty moray eel was busy trying to, and succeeded in taking a chunk out of a large and angry octopus. There was a big cartoon like scuffle, complete with whirling sandstorm effect and the odd tentacle and tail sticking out of the mallee.

I�d wish I�d got a photo off it. I had tried changing my camera to video mode instead to get the action, but failed and got neither � it was all over and done with in a few seconds.

Further on along the wall we started to get into a sponge garden. Each rock was host to numerous colourful species. Diversity tends to be a bit rare in Sydney � usually a rock will be covered in only one or two sponges. Among the sponges here and there were a few nudibranches. Quite a few of the reliable old black and white margined nudibranch, and this time a few new ones I�d not seen yet.

Also among the sponges were found a large number of sizable jellyfish floating about. They tended to ball up when you got close, so mostly we saw while spherical blobs bouncing near the bottom.

Towards the end of the dive, I spotted a big nudibranch sitting on a little tree of sponge on an otherwise completely bare rock. I managed to get an excellent close up photo of this one, without disturbing the view for my buddy. This nudibranch, which I think is a Hypselodoris bullocki (or a close relative), was vividly coloured. It had a brown to black body, edged with purple and blue. Bright red fans attached to the middle of its back with a blue base, and to top it all off, two blue and red horns.

We popped to the surface shortly after, not far from the exit point which is identified by the fishing warning sign just a bit round the point. A near perfect dive, packed with new things and I still had 110 bar left � even my air had improved. My previous buddy had gone home, so I ended up with Micheal who had just arrived. We decided to join Sam, forming a smaller group this time.

Again, easy entry for this dive. The end of the previous dive had become a bit choppy with the change of the tide and it had now headed out some, so the entry was a bit less comfortable than the hotel-like conditions of the previous dive. Still, it was a snack to get in.

The surge had stirred it up quite a bit, and visibility had dropped a far bit. The surge had gone however, and all the animals that enjoy the feeding frenzy stirring up the bottom had come out.

A small group of weedy sea dragons was busy herding a cloud of brine shrimp into a ball and where picking them off one by one � this was outstanding, all I normally see weedy �s do is float about like corks (delightfully coloured corks). There were also pineapple and puffer fish in the general vicinity hiding among the weeds.

I had another swim through the colourful sponge gardens this time around � this time all of the anemone�s had come out to feed, adding again to the diversity of colours and shapes on rocks at Kurnell.

A small blue groper was about, and followed us for a little way, but loss interest when we stopped to look at another new nudibranch. Sam also spotted a baby moray eel poking it head out of its hiding hole � I managed to get the cutest shot of it.

I largely stopped taking photo�s at this point, the visibility just got to bad. However, there was still plenty to see. Further along this time, well past the previous exit point, we saw the odd crested horn shark, some squid and cuttlefish, and some baby old wives and a few large red morwong.

Down this end, almost to the steps, are a few good rock swim throughs. I found a large quantity of large soft sponges covering on big rock. The detail and pattern of the markings on these was fantastic.

We had been drifting for ages, and our air was down to about 120 bar. We surfaced to have a look how far we�d got around the point, and found we�d even gone past the steps. We decided to drop down and head back. We made it all the way back to the original entry point, but missed it a little. We ended up coming out over a field of sea urchins, and I think I got just about all of them stuck into me.

Apart from a little bit of first aid and a bit of painful spine extraction involving grimaces and cries and anguish, I had a spectacular days diving. This last dive was just over an hour long � the first time I�ve broken the 1 hour mark in a dive.

Sat 27 Jul 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney/Kurnell | permalink

Deep Reef

My dive-buddy Josh was doing the deep dive as part of a module for his advanced open water. I've only done one deep dive before, so I was happy to tag along and do the excercises in an effort to gain some confidence at this depth.

There were a few tasks to perform - we had to check our depth guages - mine reads slightly shallower than it should. We had to time each other doing a concentration task to test the effects of nitrogen narcosis. I completely stuffed up mine, I'm, afraid to say. A combination of not quiet understanding what was required, and watching other people at the same time.

As an option, we could also try eating a mini mars bar at depth. The mars bar must have a fair amount of air because the squish in quite a bit. With a great deal of coughing and spluttering I managed to eat it, and was quite pleased really. I think the fish ate more of it than I did - but thats OK, it tasted HORRIBLE mixed with salt water.

Sun 19 May 2002 | /Diving/Australia/NSW_-_Sydney | permalink

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