Better weather today after not good over the weekend. Similar dive to the last two but went to SHC. Water conditions better, 5-7 m in spots, mostly 4-5 m. Less surge and lots warmer at 21.0C. Refound all three tiny orange painted anglerfish and also the yellow striped anglerfish which moved onto sand. Also the two brown and one black striped anglerfish. I did not see any PPH but Mandy said there were three. A fiddler-ray at Sea Tulip Rocks (STR), a few interesting nudibranchs but not a lot, heaps of yellowtail swirling around and in front of Second Cave. Another great dive here. Visibility fair.

Calmer than yesterday, similar visibility near Cave but less for the rest. Warm again. Still some surge. Could only find two tiny orange painted anglerfish, the one near First Cave was missing. The yellow striped anglerfish was also not able to be found. However, did refind the three PPH near where the yellow sea horse was. Found the other three striped anglerfish. Went to top of Second Cave, no anglers but did find a nice spindle cowrie on a sea fan. A few good nudibranchs but not many around really. A wobbegong above Cave, a large snapper near start and three lionfish, one only 15 mm long. Another great dive here. Visibility poor.

Swell up a bit from yesterday but much worse getting in and out. Swell coming around under the bridge due to high tide. Very surgy all the dive, stirred up the silt and made visibility much worse than yesterday, only 3 metres maximum. Two new members as buddies and another 6 members diving as well. Lots of divers today. Very dirty all the dive, especially near Cave where everyone seemed to meet up. Saw the two tiny orange painted anglerfish, three PPH, then there was a black and brown striped anglerfish together. So many divers here and one buddy reached half, so headed back. Saw two more striped anglerfish, the huge brown one and another black one. Then back. Despite all the divers and dirty water, a nice dive, but not great. Visibility very poor. 

My 100th dive here. After yesterday's very dirty dive, we decided to dive the opposite side of Botany Bay. Surprisingly, the visibility was about 10 metres, even after high tide, only a slight current. Flat seas and sunny, totally different to yesterday. Did the normal dive, saw three big belly sea horses, only one PPH, one pipefish, a few octopus, only a few nudibranchs. Mandy found the juvenile Bare Island anglerfish, it is so small and upsidedown. Has not moved apparently for a month or so. A really good dive, we were the only ones here apart from some we saw heading back about 20 minutes into the dive. Visibility good.

Huge seas and strong S/SW winds, so not many places to dive. Quite a bit of surge, some even at 8 m. Meant dirty shallow and bashing into pylons and net. So many holes in the net! Went from left side to wharf and along this to the end. Saw 7 Whites sea horses and a few small cuttlefish and Mandy found a weedfish. There is now a PVC garbage tube here to put stuff in (I had collected a plastic bag and added). Then went to SW a bit, shallower and back to wharf. Found a reef made out of besser blocks and a garbage tube. Back here Kim showed me a striped anglerfish and I then showed her another one next to it! Carole showed me a blue-ringed octopus, apparently two more were also seen. Then I made my way back to the net and then went to the huge tyre and sea horse hotels. Some are falling apart and as usual, no sea horses. Then back through a hole in the net and along but too surgy to see anything. Nice dive, will be another 18 months though before I bother again. Visibility poor.

Better weather today than the past few days. Water very dirty on top and not much better on the bottom, although it did improve as the dive went on, despite it coming to low tide. A fair bit of surge as well, stirring up the sand. Saw 4 sea dragons, 3 big belly sea horses, no PPH, two tiger pipefish, a wobbegong, a few cuttlefish, various sizes and a pair of large black reef leatherjackets. Shorter dive again due to buddy's air consumption. Nice dive despite all this. Visibility poor.

Flat seas and bluish water, visibility was at least 15 metres for most of the dive on an outgoing tide, 21.7C. Only three anglerfish seen but four PPH. A black striped one near the former home of the grey BIA, large brown one near First Cave and only the first orange painted anglerfish. Went to the top of the reef but nothing special there except lots of yellowtail. Back near Sea Tulip Rocks, a large snapper. Also saw many other interesting things like a blue devilfish and some starfish shrimp. A very good dive. Visibility good.

A little bit of swell when we went in but gone by the time we got out. High tide just before we started. Went in at normal spot. Viz generally 8-10 m. Went normal way to SHC. The first orange painted anglerfish was out in the open for the first time, got nice photos. Then to OHR but no anglerfish. Then around the outside rocks, only one PPH on the normal rock. Big brown striped anglerfish was in normal spot. Just past here a medium wobbegong shark came up off the bottom and almost hit me in the face! For about 10 minutes around here, there were tens of thousands of yellowtail circled around and went off in streams and then came back. Amazing! Some kingfish also came in through them. Then to SHC, no black anglerfish from Sunday. Two upsidedown pipefish in normal spot, no blue devilfish in Corner Cave. Back closer to reef, a large black painted anglerfish near where the other anglerfish were before. Then back. A great dive. Visibility fair.

Swell a bit more than Wednesday but less surge and much cleaner shallow, about 20 m. Deeper about 7-8 m. Went normal way to IR1 and around clockwise. Tiny orange anglerfish near SHR appears to have left, nowhere to be seen. Two PPH on the rock before Big Rocks. The brown striped anglerfish was on sand on E side, I did not see it but Mandy did. Then along the edge to IR1. Visibility a bit better out here, not much outgoing tide. Back to exit normal way. No more anglerfish, from max 8 two weeks ago to 1 today. Saw two fiddler-rays, one at start and one near PPH. A small lionfish, two large snapper again, a large flathead, three kingfish but only a few hundred yellowtail. Nice dive. Visibility fair.

Next Dives are all in Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia

24 April 2023 - USS Liberty Slope 

First dive of trip to Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia. A bit of wave action today but not too hard to get in or out. No visibility whatsoever above 4 metres. However, very good deeper, at least 20 metres. Followed the ridge down to 25 m and then zig-zagged back and over to the wreck. Some shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs and all the usual small things like blind shrimp and gobies. Also two barracuda on bottom in the shallower area. Nice dive. Visibility very good.

Located NW of Tulamben past Kubu. Rocky beach with toilet, shower and tables. Lots of divers here. The site consists of some rocky ridges that run N from the beach down to who knows what depth. In between there is black sand. We slowly went down, zig-zagging as we went. Leon found the most colourful anglerfish I have ever seen, tiny too. Lots of nudbranchs of course, most very small or tiny. Some crabs, sole, cuttlefish and dancing shrimp. Went to 26 m and then worked our way back up. Similar things seen on the way up. Excellent dive. Visibility good.

Did similar dive to first one, but went more to SE to near a large wall that runs from the point. Again we slowly went down, zig-zagging as we went. We saw two more of the colourful anglerfish! Once more, lots of nudibranchs, most very small or tiny. Also saw a pompom crabs, another sole, more dancing shrimp, a gurnard type fish walking and lots more. Went to 23 m and then worked our way back up closer to the wall. Another excellent dive. Visibility good.

Calmer than last two days but a raging current below about 10 metres. Was running SE to NW but in gullies was heading out deeper. Used a lot of air compared to my normal dives. Went to 26 metres again and then came back up but moved towards wreck a bit, did not see it though. Hard to go back SE if someone found something. Lots of nudibranchs, some shrimps, a few clownfish and anemones plus all the usual stuff. Nothing really special. Most of the nudibranchs are tiny, I would never find them. Not a comfortable dive, glad it was over in the end. Visibility very good.

What a difference 90 minutes makes, Very little current at all. Did similar dive but so much easier, air consumption 1.7 litres a minute better. Saw similar to first dive, but also a juvenile garden eel, glass shrimp in anemone, Moorish idols in shallows (saw last two dives here too). Really good dive. Visibility very good.

Much calmer than Tuesday, not as many divers either. I dived solo for the first half of the dive, then met back up with Kim and Karma. Went down to 26 m and then worked my way shallower. A few different species of shrimp, crab, plenty of nudibranchs. Some sole, Moorish idols and even a few butterflyfish. Went right over to the wall and found that there was an overhang with huge barrel sponges, sea whips and small gorgonias. Nearby a large deep cave. Got some nice photos around here, very colourful. Then back shallower and to shore. Very nice dive. Visibility very good.

This dive went to the left and found there was another wall, but not as high or extending as deep. Then back to middle and up to 13 m and then dropped back to 20 m as guides found some stuff. Similar to last dive, but more nudibranchs. Some very interesting shrimp too. A very good dive. Visibility very good. 

Raining but eased off a little and stopped when underwater. Millpond when we got in but waves breaking as we exited. A slope running from a black sand beach down. Not ridges, but lots of rocks in some spots, like slides. Went to 25 metres and then stayed around that depth for 17 minutes and then back to 20 for 10 mins and then up to 16 for five and then again up in steps. More razorfish, have seen on most dives. A few large trevally, some sole, a nice anemone with clowhfish and flutemouth. As usual, plenty of crabs, squat lobsters, some shrimp, nudibranchs and one of the tiny colourful black anglerfish. Also the strangest nudibranch I have seen, looks like jellyfish. Another great dive. Visibililty excellent.

A little calmer when we got in and timing it well made it no problem at all. Same when getting out. Now relatively fine, just high overcast. Did similar dive, only went to 23 metres. Came back to 15 but then dropped back to 21 m when Deppin found something, I forget what. Saw similar to last dive, but also a nice eel, some larger nudibranchs, especially shallower. Quite a few mantas shrimp, some bit, some small. One was swimming around but could not get a photo, only one poor one of a smaller one, they all pulled back. Another very good dive. Visibility excellent.

Site located SE of Gerombong. Beach with lots of fishing boats, they had about 30 huge tuna they were putting on ice. Rocky shore and then flat for 2 mins at 3.5 m then slope. A few ridges with some rope from moorings on the bottom. Went down left ridge and cut across to right one to 25 metres. Then back up this ridge. Some trevally, stingrays deeper. Plenty of nudibranchs, crabs, shrimp, squat lobster and similar. Also a large barrel sponge with six lionfish. Shallower there were butterflyfish, Moorish idols and some nudibranchs, even in the surgy bit. A very nice dive. Visibility very good. 

It rained as we entered the water but sunny when we surfaced. Swell came up a bit, but timing it was not too hard. Same at the end. Water a bit dirtier and also colder, with some even colder patches that did not record on computer. Went similar way but went further SE to another higher ridge and followed that back. An anemone with lots of clownfish, similar things to first dive. Probably more nudibranchs. A nice dive too. Visibility very good (just).

Located SE from Tulamben, past Batu Niti. Rocky and sand beach, long flat 4-6 metre area. Followed a large rope out to a mooring where the slope starts, no ridges. Visibility about 25 metres but less at times. Not many divers when we went in, but heaps towards end. Stayed above 18 metres for almost 25 minutes. Saw some Moorish idols and large lionfish near the mooring block. Later a tiny 10 mm black anglerfish, a robust ghost pipefish, a pipefish and some more lionfish near another mooring. Then got attacked by tiny cleaner wrasse, kept hitting my head. They then attacked a school of razorfish that came near. Then went down to 26 m. Saw two of the tiniest starfish I have ever seen, only 3-4 mm. Another interesting fish and some nudibranchs. Not a huge number of them. A snake eel in the shallows and also a pom-pom crab. A very good dive. Visibility very good.

This dive we went right side of the rope, there is a rocky reef there. Did not go that far though. Went to 13 metres and stayed there for about 7 minutes where there was a pipehorse. Not as nice as our Sydney pygmy pipehorse. Then dropped to 23 metres. Some nudibranchs along the way there and back up. A very nice shrimp on a featherstar shallower. When coming back at 5 metres, found a large anemone which had a large decorator crab in it. The largest clownfish picked it up and threw it out. The crab went back in again. This time I videoed it getting thrown out! Very funny. Then back to start. A good dive. Visibility very good.

Pouring rain from 0700. Did similar dive to last dives here. Went slowly down to 18 metres and stayed there for 15 minutes, then up to 16 m and then to 22 for a short while. Back up to 10 m and then a drop to 14 for7 mins before gradual ascent. Saw another of the black with many coloured spots anglerfish, lots and lots of nudibranchs, sole, pufferfish, a few clownfish, some mantis shrimp and a few other shrimps and crabs. A very good dive. Visibility very good but dark for most of the dive.

Sunny now, had stopped raining while underwater on first dive. Again, similar to this morning's dive except went slowly to 22 metres before a slow ascent, zig-zagging all the way. Saw an orange/pink anglerfish, tiny as normal. Lots more nudibranchs and shrimp and a few crabs. All the normal fish shallow like razorfish, Moorish idols etc. Another very good dive. Visibility very good. 

New guide since my previous buddy wanted her own guide! Unfortunately I was with a Chinese bloke and nearly all the other divers at this site were also Chinese. They all took forever to take a photograph, I swear a minimum of five minutes and even as long as ten! Even then, they only appeared to take a few photos, as I hardly saw a flash go off. In addition, they stirred up the bottom so at times the viz was awful. Anyway, saw some interesting nudibranchs but my strobe started to die as I did not charge batteries and over the past three days had taken probably 750 photos. Saw a few Moorish idols, some anemones and clownfish, mantis shrimps, sea whip shrimps and gobies and some butterflyfish. Despite all this, a nice dive. Visibility good.

Went straight to 23 metres to see the anglerfish I could not get near on the first dive. Strobe completely dead after a few photos, got one of the orange painted anglerfish and that was it. Another yellow anglerfish on the slope to SE, very cute. Not a great photo as no flash. Some more interesting nudibranchs, managed to get some photos using torches. Stayed away from my buddy so I did not get too many dust storms. Guide showed me things first as he knew I would take photos in under 30 seconds. Stayed around 20 to 23 metres for 18 minutes and then up a bit with a few drops back down to take photos. Then gradual ascent to shallows over next 30 minutes. A very good dive, would have been better with strobe working. Visibility good.

New guide and buddy from Ireland. Lots of wave action, haqd to be careful entering and exiting the water. The purpose sunk wreck is 80 m long and points to the shore. It is ENE of the entry point and you swim parallel to beach at first and then towards it. Nice reef with lots of huge barrel sponges. Wreck is at 18 m at bow and 35 metres at stern (on deck) and over 40 metres on sand at stern. Went from bow to stern and then back halfway. Then into the hull and along bottom level to bow. Then up a level 23 m and back to 27 m towards middle and then up to main deck. Back to bow. Left wreck at 21 minutes. Lots of things put on wreck, large oxygen cylinders, portholes, a Buddhist statue, other things as well. Rocks in bottom as ballast to help sink upright. A large fake steering wheel on top deck towards bow, nice photo opp. Back across to reef to SE, not the way we came. Stayed at around 22 m for 8 minutes and then gradual ascent. Lots of small reefs on the way. Nice fish and gorgonias. Visibility good.

This is not the same Kubu Reef we dived years ago, closer to Tulamben. Entered water and then headed SE to some bicycles and a motorbike. Then deeper to more things. Some are steel structures with large netting, some like square tables and different levels with coral and stuff planted on them. Lots of barrel sponges on the sand as we came across to 24 metres. Then some moorings and then more steel and concrete structure, some with bike and car tyres and lots of drink bottles floating on ropes, so many things. huge gorgonias everywhere with fishlife very abundant. Gradually came up to about 17 metres and then headed back, going to 12 and then 8 metres and getting shallower for last 15 minutes. Lots more to see too. Unfortunately a reasonably strong current on the way back. Excellent dive. Visibility very good.

Much calmer today but water dirty above 15 metres due to the swell yesterday. Above, probably 15 m, below, 25 metres. Went deep till around the corner and then started ascending to 16 m. Stayed around this depth all the way back till reached the sand. Still a really nice dive site, lots of gorgonias, sponges and soft corals. Not many sea whips and not many small things seen. Lots of fish though. A pity not many nudibranchs like last trips. However, still a very nice dive. Visibility very good deep.

Like last dive, dirtier shallower, above 20 m was mostly 15 to 20 metres at best. Below it was 25 m. Went to stern as usual and then around the deeper sections to the bow. Lots more damage than 2014, especially behind bow and the bow itself. Also more damage nearer to boilers. Came back behind bow and then through the middle of the wreck, inside at times. Then to the stern and through under the rudder and back to exit. Still a very colourful site, with lots of soft corals and some gorgonias. However, not as many as 2014. Did not see anything of interest on the wreck, no pygmy sea horses or anglerfish unlike 2012 and 2014. Nice easy dive. Visibility good mostly.

Sandy beach and then small rocks down to about 5 metres. Much dirtier than all other dives, only 15 to 18 metres at the best. Was a thermocline at about 16 metres and cooler and cleaner below. Went left and down to 24 metres and spent about 20 minutes around that depth. Lots of nudibranchs, shrimp, squat lobsters and more. Plenty of sole in the shallows. Really nice dive. Visibility good. 

This time walked about 100 metres to the right and entered water there. Similar water conditions to the last dive. We were looking for donut dotos but none. Instead saw a small pink anglerfish, I found a sea horse, lots more nudibranchs including Shaun the Sheep. Saw a dancing shrimp cleaning a large pufferfish, never seen them doo this before. Some very nice squat lobsters too. A very good dive. Visibility good.

Dive site is sand beach and then rocks and lots of reef to 6 m. Also reef deeper to the right. Water same as yesterday, cooler too at 29.9C. Went to 28 metres and then back up in steps to 26 m, 22 m and some stops at 16 and 13 m. Lots of large rope at start, also some sort of fish trap deeper, made from bamboo. Now a reef. No current till 35 mins and then reasonable till 55 mins. As usual, nudibranchs, shrimp and similar. Not as many as some other sites. Worked our way further to the right before coming back between 16 and 12 metres. Lots of tropical species near the rocky reef. Plenty of barrel sponges, some large, hard corals, and large ones too. I found a ribbon eel on the way back. Also a nice blind shrimp and its goby. A nice dive. Visibility good.

This site is so close to Melasti really just the left side of it, apparently new. Sandy beach, small rocks and then some larger ones to 6 metres. A rope running out to some floats and tree pieces which appear to be a reef structure. Another one deeper. Also a rope heading back from deep almost parallel to beach but ascending further left you went. Went to 27 metres and then up to 21 metres for 10 minutes and after that a gradual ascent. Went to left for whole dive till towards end. All the usual suspects, and I found a nice robust ghost pipefish. Back shallow to exit. Another nice dive. Visibility good.

Millpond seas today and no wind. Water warmer at 30.6C and clearer. Went to left at first to the I Love TULAMBEN sculpture, large letters on concrete bases. Was not here in 2014. Dolphin, humpheaded wrasse and sunfish sculptures and heaps of other structures. Lots more now, but did not see the airplane one, probably rusted away. Went to 20 m and then to 24 m. A few nudibranchs and a lot of barrel sponges. A large spotted eel next to one, then further on a very bright pink leafish on a pile of tyres. From 35 minutes a gradual ascent to 8 metres. Lots of growth along the way. In the shallows there were heaps of fish, and a huge area of anemones. Lots of clownfish, including quite a few Nemos. A good dive. Visibility very good.

 

Similar condition to last dive. Lots of divers on the shore but only a couple seen underwater. Went straight down and then slowly across to near the wreck. Stayed at 24 metres for first 25 mins with a drop to 27 for a few minutes once. Then up to 18 m with a few drops to 24 and 22 m. At 50 minutes had to ascend to 8 metres as nearing decompression. Many more nudibranchs than the first dive, some shrimp on featherstars and in anemones and a hairy one and a strange creature on a starfish, no idea what it was. Finished with lot stop shallow. Quite a good dive. Visibility very good.

Located further south than other dive sites. Long trip in from the main road. A sandy and pebble beach and then small rocks once in the water. Further out there are large rocks. It takes over 5 minutes to reach the sand and then it slopes down. There are no rocks at all on the slope, only black sand. I slowly went down, stopping at 12, 16, 22 and 24 metres before reaching 25 m. Then slow ascent in steps back to safety stop area. Saw so many Shaun the Sheep nudibranchs, they were everywhere on green leaves. Sometimes there were 6 or 8 on the one leaf. Some other nudibranchs, including a very beautiful yellow and blue one. Got some great photos. Also some interesting worm type creatures, shrimp and a few other things. Very good dive. Visibility good.

This dive went further to the right when going down. Slowly worked our way to 23 metres over 26 minutes and then slow ascent back. Temperature was 31.0C for the first 25 minutes but then dropped to 30.5C for the rest of the dive. Similar to first dive, but a few more shrimp, another every interesting nudibranch with black rhinopores. Also a small eel of some sort in the sand, could only see the top of its head. At the end a young tutlre, eating weed off rocks. Also a small eel in shallows but it kept moving. Another very good dive. Visibility good.

First dive back in Sydney since Bali and first dive on Tuggerah since November 2022. Calm seas, very little current, if any. Milky top to bottom, five metres maximum visibility. On the bottom very dark as thousands of yellowtail over the wreck, a bit lighter towards the bow. Anchor next to boiler, had to move it, took a bit of effort. Then to stern and around along hull bottom to the front section. Along this almost to bow. Then back via the wreckage on western side to boiler, then engine room and back and then up. Two very large wobbegongs, another smaller one, Ian said he saw two more. A nice easy dive despite visibility being poor.

First dive for over three weeks as away on camping trip. Flat seas, no wind or swell, incoming tide, 12 m viz at least but cool 18.4C. Went E for 45 mins and then back drifting with tide. Three sea dragons, only two sea horses, one bright red PPH, two orange painted anglerfish and one grey Bare Island anglerfish. Three wobbegongs, some large squid, one very large bullray, no pipefish. A really nice dive. Visibility very good. 

Flat seas, no wind, just after low tide. Viz was 5-7 m on wall and better shallower. Colder 18.3C and drysuit leaked again. Saw a huge wobbegong off the wall, a blue devilfish and pineapplefish on smaller wall, a bright red PPH, then a spiny gurnard near 15 M Reef. Two more PPH, one white, no anglerfish, a moray eel, some small cuttlefish, a few nudibranchs. Also a lot of the blue weed that the fine-lined tamja eat, so expect to see some soon. A very good dive. Visibility fair and good shallow.

Flat seas and no wind. Viz over 10 m shallow and almost 10 deeper. Went quickly to near SHR where a red/orange painted anglerfish is on rocks off the main reef. Then near here a tiny fine-lined tambja on the blue weed. Next to OHR where I found a smaller RIF. Another larger RIF out on sand between rocks near Cave. Then to SHC, two upsidedown pipefish, disappeared as usual once I find with my torch. Back slowly, a PPH near Cave. Also saw a large bullray, lots of silver sweep, thousands of yellowtail, a fish with a large bug on its back. A really nice dive. Visibility fair and good shallow. 

Same conditions as past two days. Just after high tide, tide was stronger than expected but easy to swim into at end. Viz was over 12 metres. A seal joined us before we went down and stayed with us for about 10 minutes, playing the whole time. One sea dragon, two big belly sea horses (in slot), a few nudibranchs. No anglers or pipefish. A very nice dive. Visibility very good.

Absolutely flat seas, never seen it so flat. When in well after high, slight current across dive. Went fairly quick to near Opera House Rocks and then slow to SHC. Saw the painted anglerfish from Friday and Kim found another one before the Cave. No RIF, searched everywhere. Two tiny PPH, including the one from Friday. Others were cold, so went back early, I found a Vercos tambja (Parramatta nudi) and some tiny fine-lined tambja. A really nice dive. Visibility good. 

Swell up heaps since Sunday but still okay. Surge out near Cave and more at the IR. Colder too, 17.3C, similar viz though. Showed Vicki and Garry the anglerfish, the Parramatta nudi not there and could not find the other anglerfish or the PPH. A frogfish and wobbegong. Went anti-clockwise around reefs via the Sand Bowl. A bit dirty in one spot for some reason. Little current out here. A good dive. Freezing cold out as strong SW wind. Visibility good.

Well, conditions have changed a fair bit. A bit of NE and SE swell, but blue water. However, once below 20 metres it went to crap, less than 5 m, heaps of surge. Very little incoming tide. Water 17.2C but warmer 18.5C once we came in a lot. Above 16 m viz 12 m and warmer. Saw four sea dragons, only one sea horse, a wobbegong shark, a few nudibranchs. Not the greatest dive I have ever done, especially here. Visibility generally poor.

OSTC computer died after the dive, screen seems blank. This is from Perdix. Went in next to Whale and then E for 22 mins. Then back past exit and then back. At least 10 to 12 m viz, no surge and very little current. Cold 16C in one spot but mostly 17C. One sea dragon, quite a few pairs of small cuttlefish, mostly mating. A few nudibranchs. A nice dive, but nothing real special seen. Visibility good.

Fairly flat seas, went off W Point to wall. Then normal way back. Very little incoming current from the tide. Cold 16C but 10 to 12 m viz. Found a blue tambja on the rocks off the wall, some opera house too. Then the large green nudibranch, some sort of tambja just past the pineapplefish. No blue devilfish. A few small cuttlefish, a PPH outside Cave that I could not find last few dives. Then the small RIF at OHR and a large Vercos tambja (Parramatta nudi). Lots of small fine-lined tambjas all over the place. Could not find the red/orange anglerfish but it has moved to the end of the same rock. A nice nudibranch here too. A very good dive. Visibility good.

 

Next 8 dives at North Solitary Island

First dive of the trip. Water not real clean, perhaps 4-5 m viz and cold 18C. Unfortunately my buddy had a new wetsuit and BCD and there were many problems. She was probably under weighted and also was very lopsided. No matter what I did she was on her side. In the end, turned around and aborted the dive. Spent some time back at mooring before ascending. Need to rethink the situation. Saw a grey nurse shark, a turtle and not much else. A rotten dive. Visibility poor.

Wind lot stronger than first dive, heaps of surge in gap. My reg got pulled out of my mouth when it caught on a cunjevoi. However, worth it as huge amount of fishlife. At least 20 wobbegong sharks, kingfish, surgeonfish, baitfish, bannerfish and so many more species. Back on W side, went S and then back to shallows near boat for safety stop. Saw at least 10 egg cowries. A really good dive, especially the first 30 minutes. Visibility poor.

Went in at Anemone Bay, then current took us W and then S. Huge amount of fishlife for the first 15 minutes. Others saw a grey nurse shark, but I didn't. Plenty of turtles or one three times. One was huge. Lots of silver sweep, yellowtail, about 6 huge kingfish, surgeonfish, bannerfish and many more species. A few wobbegongs too. In the cave near mooring, a large wobbegong and a large estuary cod or similar. A nice dive. Visibility very good.

Went S to the Sinkholes. On the way I found a nice white leaffish. Only went in first Sinkhole. Then went S again, a lot further than I have ever been before. Then back via leaffish to mooring area. All the normal fish, but nothing else special. Another nice dive. Visibility very good.

 

Started at the NW mooring. A bit of current here but saw at least 6 grey nurse sharks in this area, one a huge pregnant female. Lots of surgeonfish and kingfish here too. Then to the shell grit gully and E. Hundreds of short-finned bannerfish in this area. Then back W, more grey nurses, probably 4 and a couple of turtles. Back via the shallow area to the shell grit gutter that runs into island. From here to mooring. The small turtle was still on mooring rock, didn't move. I also found a nudibranch here, wow, not many on this trip at all. A very good dive. Visibility poor at first but then good.

My 100th dive this year! Started at inner mooring, then N and NW to the point. Then back along wall to S and then to mooring. At least one grey nurse shark, maybe two, males. Lots of fish on the corner, surgeonfish, trevally and kingfish. Back S lots of surgeonfish and southern fusiliers. I found a small black leaffish on the wall. A few wobbegong sharks too. Nice dive. Visibility good. 

S wind blowing and millpond when we arrived, but wind picked up to over 20 knots during the morning and became lumpy in bay. Trip back was rough. Went in at NW mooring, heaps of grey nurse sharks here, at least 10. Then came back via the middle mooring. Lots of fishlife, especially surgeonfish. About 50 barracuda, a dozen frisky wobbegong sharks, bannerfish galore. Back to inner mooring, the small turtle was still on the mooring. Saw three GNS around here. A great dive. Visibility very good.

Did similar dive to second one yesterday. First to middle mooring. Quite a few grey nurse sharks around here, probably six or so, including the large pregnant female seen yesterday morning at NW Mooring. Then W to the start of Mackerel Run. Lots of bannerfish, some kingfish, surgeonfish galore. Then back into the bay and S. Three GNS including one with lots of damage to mouth on the right side. Back to mooring and then to middle mooring where we saw GNS again. A good dive. Visibility varied, good to very good.