About the site
Little Blue Sinkhole is a dive site and local swimming hole in Mt Gambier. Managed by the local council and found on Mount Salt Road, a set of stairs and floating pontoon make for easy access to the water. After an incident last year where a stolen government car was pushed into the water large rocks have been added around the hole to prevent future vehicles ending up in the drink. The council also periodically adds “Diving Prohibited” signs to the top of the cliff. I’ve inferred that this happens regularly by the sheer numbers of Diving Prohibited signs at the bottom of the underwater cliff.
As I talked about in One Tree Sinkhole, Little Blue has algal growth in the water throughout the year. In summer the algae can bloom and the surface of the water turns a lurid green, but the deeper water is clear. On this particular occasion at the end of winter, the surface looked clear as we arrived.
About the dive
We dropped down under the pontoon, planning to go and find the very old car body that sits in the middle of the sinkhole. When I dived the site a few years back, there was guideline running from one of the road signs around to the edge out to the car in the middle. That line has disappeared, and despite circumnavigation of most of the site we didn’t stumble on the car. Next time!
With the human tendency to throw their rubbish into a big hole in the ground, there is a lot of junk in Little Blue. From old CRT televisions, to 44 gallon drums, to beer bottles and bicycles, the detritus of day to day life is embedded in the silt. Out of all of this array of junk, my favourite photographic subject here is the road signs.
About the photo
The first photo up top was taken shortly after we arrived on the bottom, and I was still fiddling with settings to bring out the very dim natural light filtering through and find the best strobe positions for the silt in the water. The two road signs had come to rest against a tree, and my buddies obliged me by swimming through the framing. The second shot is one of the collection of Diving Prohibited. I started taking shots of the sign for the obvious joke, but I like this photo because of the small and rusty child’s tricycle hanging out at the bottom. I would love to see Little Blue in the crystal clear vis that we get in Kilsby’s – perhaps a clear view of the panorama of junk would slow down the amount of stuff thrown into the water table to rust.
News flash!
I had a 2013 calendar printed up for myself last week, and I like it so much I thought some other people might like one too. They’re A3 (28cm by 43.5cm or approx 11 inches by 17 inches) and ring bound with a metal loop for hanging. The quality is great; each page is card and the colours have come up well.
Pricing: $40 each or $30 if you’re featured.
Postage: $5 in Australia or $20 internationally.
Lead time is two weeks for printing plus time in the mail, so let me know if you’re interested and get your orders in. Make your PayPal payment to liz@lizrogersphotography.com and then drop me a line at the same email with your name and postal address.
Photos from the calendar can be seen here.