Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site
Home · Contact Me · Sydney Reef Dive Sites · Sydney Shipwrecks · NSW Dive Sites · Australian Dive Sites · Overseas Dive Sites · Dive Accidents and Incidents · My Yachting Adventures · 4WD Trips · Weather · Search 02 November 2024 23:34
Navigation
Home

General
About Me
My Diving
FAQ
Downloads
Web Links - Dive Clubs
St George Scuba Club
Some of my Best Photos
Contact Me

Dive Sites
Sydney Reef Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwrecks
Sydney Dive Visibility, Swell and Temps
Kelly Talking on ABC Sydney about Shipwrecks
NSW Dive Sites
Sydney Shipwreck Summary
NSW Shipwreck GPS/Marks
Australian Dive Sites
Overseas Dive Sites
Aircraft I have Dived
Old Bottles
Free Shipwreck Books

Dive Related Equipment
Shearwater Predator and Heinrichs Weikamp OSTC 2N
Uwatec Aladin Dive Computers
Apollo AV1 Underwater Scooter
Bauer Compressor
DIY Oxygen Stick - Nitrox
GoPro HD Hero Video Camera
My Camera Setup
Purchase of New Dive Boat
My Dive Boat - Mak Cat
My Old Dive Boat - Le Scat
My Dive Gear
GPS and Diving
Make Your Own Car Tank Rack

Marine Life
Rarer Sydney Marine Life
Bare Island Pygmy Pipe Horses
Bare Island Sea Horses
Bare Island Nudibranchs
Bare Island Marine Life
Encounter with Southern Right Whale and Calf

Other Dive Info
How Weather Affects Diving in Sydney
Visibility and Wave Averages in Sydney
Waves and Diving
Diving Weather and Sea Conditions
Tide Tables
Dive Accidents and Incidents
Dive Book Reviews
Site Map
Noel Hitchins 1951-2005
Lloyd Bridges - Mike Nelson in Sea Hunt
My Yachting Adventures
Below is a list of links to the main pages about my yacht, Catlypso and My Yachting Adventures:
  • Purchase of Catlypso
  • Details about Catlypso
  • Cleaning/Repairing Catlypso
  • My Yachting Adventures.
  • Login
    Username

    Password



    Forgotten your password?
    Request a new one here.
    Michael's 4WD Trips
    Click here for a list of my Four Wheel Drive and Camping Trips.
    Home Brewing
    Click here for an article about Home Brewing.
    Sydney Dive Site Hints
    "M&K Reef was named as Michael and Kelly had their wedding reception straight on-shore from here"
    Bellerive Beach, Hobart
    The main cricket ground for Tasmania is Belerive Oval. It is situated at Belerive which is on the eastern side of the Derwent Estuary, the harbour for the capital city, Hobart. Belerive Oval is right on the beach, and this beach has a fantastic dive site that is quite unique. Handfish! These quite strange and beautiful fish can almost certainly be found at this location, probably the best spot in Australia to find them.

    If you are in Hobart, cross the Tasman Bridge and take the exit to Belerive. Follow the signs and once in the main street of Belerive, go to the end and then follow the one way street that is adjacent to the water's edge (Victoria Esplanade). Eventually, you will come to a beach and ahead, you will see the southern stand of the Belerive Oval. Of course, to do this dive, you will need to make sure that there is no cricket on as you will not be able to do this dive if there is as you will have no where to park.

    Park in the first angled car park spots you see on your right, this is right next to the dive site. The beach is Belerive Beach and it roughly runs east to west. You are at the western end of the beach. Gear up and walk down to the beach. As this is a very shallow dive, you might need to add a little extra weight.

    Australian HandfishAustralian Handfish
    The first Australian Handfish I foundThe second Australian Handfish I found

    Enter the water and swim out a few metres before dropping to the bottom. The depth here is less than two metres. The bottom is composed of a sandy bottom which deeper becomes a little silty. The reef is a mixture of large low rocks and a lot of smaller rocks. There is kelp and weed on the rocks.

    Australian HandfishFlathead
    The third Australian Handfish I foundOne of the many flatheads seen

    Follow the reef edge as this is where the handfish live. As you can see from the attached photographs, the handfish are sort of like anglerfish that we get in Sydney but are skinnier and have an extra pair of hands at the front. The handfish can be found on the sand, sometimes out in the opne, sometimes under the sides of the rocks.

    As soon as I entered the water I saw an eagle ray. This took off and I did not even get a chance to get a photo. Within four minutes I found my first handfish. These are Australian handfish. These are also found in southern NSW and Victoria, but as far as I can see are best seen at this site.

    As I moved deeper, the visibility which was about five metres dropped a bit here and there. Most of these was from fish stirring up the bottom. The depth gets deeper very slowly, reaching a maximum of about six metres after 25 minutes. I am not sure what it gets to if you keep going.

    StarfishBiscuit star
    There were hundreds of these starfishI saw quite a few of these biscuit stars

    Anyway, as I get deeper I see lots of starfish, all of a type I have never seen before. I also see a biscuit star that is paler and different to any I have seen. There are some banded stingarees, a small ray, on the sand. There are also lots of bastard trumpeters, a few large flathead and other fish.

    I turn around after 25 minutes as the water has got quite dirty and visibility has dropped to about two metres. Also, as I am diving solo and Kelly is waiting for me, I think that I had better get back within the 45 minutes as I promised. On the way back the visibility improves.

    Shaws CowfishStarfish
    One of a few Shaws cowfish I saw hereThere were a few of these starfish

    As I approach the place where I found the first handfish, I find another smaller one. This fish is very hard to photograph as once I take a shot, it takes off really quickly under my body and I need to find where it went to take another photo. This goes on every time I take a shot.

    I continue on and soon find another one. It is similar in size to the first one and I am not sure if it is indeed the same specimen. However, once I looked at the photos, it is not the same fish. Eventually I exit the water, fully satisified with this dive.

    A great and extremely easy site that produces some great fish.

    Copyright © Michael McFadyen 1990 to 2024
    Non-commercial use of an article or photograph is permitted with appropriate URL reference to this site.
    Dive shops, dive operators, publications and government departments cannot use anything without first seeking and receiving approval from Michael McFadyen.
    This web site has been wholly thought up, designed, constructed and funded for almost 30 years by Michael McFadyen without any help from the Australian Dive Industry.
    Website created 1996!