Warming the foreground in Pines Cave

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Aug 272013
 
Warming the foreground in Pines Cave

About the Cave Pines has a large cavern zone, and some interesting tunnels after you wind your way down the side of the rockpile. With some nice clay down in the deep zone, interesting critters up in the shallow and very easy stairs to the water it’s a fun and relaxed dive. You can see my close up yabby shots from the afternoon dive here. About the dive This dive was the first of the weekend, a checkout on my newly-replaced camera and the first time that I’d been in Pines in ages. Despite it being so popular and regularly dived, I have very few shots that I’m happy with from here. This dive was a nice chance to play [read more…]

Diving birds in Ewen’s Ponds

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  2 Responses »
Aug 192013
 
Diving birds in Ewen's Ponds

About the site Ewen’s Ponds is as close as you can get to cave diving with out being a cave diver. My assessment here is based not on the rocks or being able to swim through a dark zone, but entirely on the fact that the visibility is amazing. To discover the reason I go cave diving, go for a splash in Ewens on a sunny day. The experience of crystal clear water is like flying through space. Ewen’s Ponds are formed where 8 Mile Creek widens out and there are three successive ponds with freshwater springs in the bottom of them. Between the ponds divers and snorkelers float down the green streams. About the dive I had dived here [read more…]

Yabbies in Pines Cave

 Cave diving, Macro, Mt Gambier  1 Response »
Aug 052013
 
Yabbies in Pines Cave

  About the cave At a certain point in cave training, most CDAA members do a lot of diving in Pines Cave. There are five main cave-rated sites in Mt Gambier, and Pines is the largest and most interesting. In order to rack up the hours and experience required, those who don’t travel to other cave diving regions do a lot of diving here. It’s also a dual rated site and once you’ve passed the Advanced Cave course there are a bunch of tunnels to explore. The main cavern is fairly open and on clear winter days sees good sunshine down the rockpile. In the shallows there’s lots of timber scattered around. About the dive This was our last dive [read more…]

Silt clouds in Stinging Nettle Cave

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Jul 292013
 
Silt clouds in Stinging Nettle Cave

About the cave Stinging Nettle is a small sloping cave just across the road from Pines, with a gated entrance at one end of a shallow doline. There’s fine, dark organic silt through the whole cave but because it’s rarely visited by divers and only accessible on the weekends the water is normally crystal clear on the way in. The permanent line leads the way down the slope, twisting left and right between the boulders. The diveable cave has been formed by boulders rolling down the slope and coming to rest wedged between floor and ceiling which makes for an interesting dive. About the dive This was the first time I’d been in Stinging Nettle in 18 months, but I [read more…]

Rocky foregrounds in Tank Cave

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Jul 012013
 
Rocky foregrounds in Tank Cave

About the cave Looking back, this is the 14th photo article I’ve posted about my trips through Tank Cave. With easy access, miles of shallow tunnels and clear water it’s easy to see why we keep going back. On the other hand, long tunnels tend to lead to long swimming dives and it becomes a challenge to find a new angle while on the move. Things that have occupied me in the past include reflections in surface bubbles, action shots of divers reeling out, the perfect tunnel shot and more. About the dive I have to admit I wasn’t feeling the inspiration on this particular weekend. The more I dive in Tank, the more I notice the diver damage throughout [read more…]

Triggerfish in Tank Cave

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
May 272013
 
Triggerfish in Tank Cave

About the cave Tank Cave, Mt Gambier has kilometres of crystal clear, shallow tunnels perfect for testing things out. You can see the different areas in these two photos from the same dive – small twisting light-walled tunnels vs large dark chambers. All in the same still and clear water, so great fun for photography. About the dive Over the course of the weekend we dived down the gold lines and through J and K section, followed by a long swim to GS tunnel yesterday. All of the dives involved a trip out or a trip home under Lake Ayre, one of my favourite places to take photos. Taking photos under this huge reflective surface is tricky. The chamber is [read more…]

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