rEvo training in Kilsby’s Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  2 Responses »
Apr 092012
 
rEvo training in Kilsby's Sinkhole

About the site Over the Labour Day long weekend in March, I joined students and instructors for a dive of their rEvo rebreather course. After the initial training dives in Goulden’s Sinkhole, the rEvo courses had moved on to the much more photogenic Kilsby’s Sinkhole where these shots were taken. Following the successful morning dive for both student buddy pairs and their instructors, I jumped in with afternoon sunlight streaming down. By this time of year we’ve progressed from summer into autumn, and it takes longer for the beams of sunlight to hit the bottom of the sinkhole in the morning. The stairs cut through the high rock walls allows spectacular beams to hit the water later in the day [read more…]

Panning shots on a drift dive

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Apr 022012
 
Panning shots on a drift dive

About the site The Heads of Port Phillip Bay are one of the more dangerous stretches of water in the world for shipping. A combination of huge tidal flow through the narrow entrance, wind conditions and the prevailing south westerly swell from Bass Strait can create incredibly unfriendly conditions in this small area. Even if the conditions are acceptable for diving outside the Bay, it can be impossible to transit the Heads to get to these dive sites. With nasty waves in the Heads, the attention turns to dive sites within the Bay. These include Pope’s Eye, a rock annulus in the middle of the bay, South Channel Fort and Chinaman’s Hat to play with the seal population. Lastly, parts [read more…]

Return to the Roe Plains

 Cave diving, Nullarbor, Roe Plains  1 Response »
Mar 262012
 
Return to the Roe Plains

At the end of this week I’m heading out west, driving from Melbourne to the desert plains over the West Australian border. I was last out that way at the end of 2010, when I had the privilege of diving both the Roe Plains caves of Olwolgin and Burnabbie, as well as assisting with some research in Warbla Cave and with time for a quick dip in Tommy Grahams. This time I have a slightly shorter trip planned, and the first half is focussed exclusively on the latest discovery in the Roe Plains. In October last year, Paul Hosie from CEGWA did the first dive in a small, unpromising puddle. Two dives and two reels of line later the cave [read more…]

 Posted by at 11:00 am

Harvester in One Tree Sinkhole

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  1 Response »
Mar 192012
 
Harvester in One Tree Sinkhole

About the site One Tree Sinkhole is located to the south east of Mt Gambier, near Little Blue and other sinkholes in the area. Unlike the crystal clear visibility of Kilsby’s Sinkhole, it can be quite murky. The shallow layers of water are often warmer and have a greenish tinge from the algal growth. After breaking through into the deeper, colder and hopefully clearer water, sunlight only filters down very dimly. One Tree has a classic sinkhole formation with the shallowest area being the middle of the hole, dropping steeply away to deeper areas around the edge. The natural rockpile in the middle has been augmented by a variety of farm implements and other items disposed of over the years. [read more…]

Bottles on the wreck of the Loch Ard

 Ocean diving, Wrecks  2 Responses »
Mar 122012
 
Bottles on the wreck of the Loch Ard

About the site The Loch Ard is one of the more famous wrecks in Victoria’s history. One of the last passenger sailing ships to travel from the UK to Australia as steamships began to take over; she made the journey in 13 weeks in 1878. Aboard the 3 masted square rigged ship were 36 crew and 18 passengers. After leaving England in March, the Loch Ard was nearing her destination in Melbourne when disaster struck in the early hours of June 1st. Captain Gibbs was expecting to sight land when the ship encountered heavy fog. Unable to locate the Cape Otway lighthouse, he instead spotted cliffs looming out of the darkness. Despite attempts to turn the ship using sails and [read more…]

Friendly fish at the Grotto

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  1 Response »
Mar 052012
 
Friendly fish at the Grotto

About the site Melbourne sits at the northern end of Port Phillip Bay, and the heads open out into Bass Strait at the southern end. A comparatively large volume of water flows through a small heads entrance, leading to strong tidal currents each day. This water movements carries nutrients through the entrance, and when the water flow stops as the tide changes direction, great diving become accessible. Diving between the heads of the Bay is of necessity a well-timed activity, and one that’s well worth it. In some places the wall of the channel steps down from 12m reef flats at the top to over 60m deep in 5m blocks. The vertical walls are coated with soft corals and sponges [read more…]

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