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…]

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…]

Underwater junk in sinkholes

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Apr 292013
 
Underwater junk in sinkholes

About the cave These two photos were taken in a small sinkhole south of Mt Gambier. I dropped down on a rope from the paddock above, stopping half way down to survey the entrance lake covered in floating bottles and other debris. Directly under the entrance is a huge cone of stuff…a lot of old fencing wire, bottles and tins, 44 gallon drums and other unidentifiables. The water around all of this was crystal clear, so the challenge was working out how to get dive gear on and get in without spiking myself or my drysuit on anything sharp. About the dive Having navigated my way off the pile and into the water with dive gear attached we set off [read more…]

Rocks, reflected

 Cave diving, Mt Gambier  No Responses »
Mar 252013
 
Rocks, reflected

About the cave The photo above was taken under “Lake Ayre”, which is on the gold line in Tank Cave. Given its convenient location I usually swim under it at least once on a weekend in Tank, on the way home from the further reaches of the cave. It’s a completely enclosed air space composed of bubbles exhaled by passing divers. When first approached from back in the tunnel, you can look up and see the still, mirrored surface. Once divers swim underneath and exhale the ripples begin, spreading outwards to the walls on either side. About the shot As I was putting together my talk for OZTeK last weekend I spent a lot of time trawling back through my [read more…]

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