Seadragons under Flinders Pier

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  4 Responses »
Nov 052012
 
Seadragons under Flinders Pier

About the site Flinders Pier is a long, shallow dive out off the eastern side of the Mornington Peninsula. Because it’s on the opposite side of the Peninsula to Portsea, Rye and Mornington Piers it can be a good dive when the wind is blowing the wrong way. It’s also known for very reliable sightings of the weedy seadragon population that lives there. The pylons and under-pier area has kelp and seaweed, which turn to seagrass as you swim off the sides. You do have to watch out for fishing line, as it was busy up top with fishermen while I was there. About the dive My plan yesterday was to make some great shots of the seadragons, which was [read more…]

Sharks at Lissenung Island

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Jul 162012
 
Sharks at Lissenung Island

About the site The two photos in this post were taken at different dive sites, both dived during my stay at Lissenung Island Resort. A week on a tropical island in PNG as prize for winning the Freshwater category of the Underwater Festival gave me lots of time to check out the sites in the area. As well as having great fun with the WWII plane wrecks and critters that I’ve shown you, I was also keen to catch some of the bigger animals on camera. The white tip reef shark above was one of many hanging out at the Nusa Blowholes. While the coral at the blowholes is less colourful than on the dropoffs on the other side of the [read more…]

Spider crabs under Rye Pier

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  3 Responses »
May 282012
 
Spider crabs under Rye Pier

About the site As well as the great wrecks lying out in the ship’s graveyard, diving from Melbourne also features a great set of piers. These shallow and easy shore dives showcase a wide variety of marine critters. Flinders Pier on the east side of the Mornington Peninsula is known for its weedy seadragon population, and scorpion fish, pot bellied seahorses and thousands of nudibranchs can be found between sponge-encrusted pylons all around Port Phillip Bay. While a favourite of macro photographers, the piers aren’t my usual weekend diving destination. Rye Pier lies on the south east side of the Bay, a bit over an hour’s drive from Melbourne. It has a max depth of 5m or so, and as [read more…]

A view of Lissenung Island

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
May 212012
 
A view of Lissenung Island

About the site As you can see from the photo above and the one below, both of these shots were taken within close vicinity of Lissenung Island. Lissenung is located between the Bismark Sea and South Pacific Ocean, in Papua New Guinea. I was there in April for a week of diving after winning the freshwater category of the Underwater Festival 2011. About the dive The photo up top was taken towards the end of the week. After two morning boat dives out on the deep walls that drop into the Bismarck Sea, I spent a cruisy afternoon diving on the house reef. With poor visibility out deeper, the shallow reef flats had clearer water. I was also tempted into [read more…]

Critter interactions at Lissenung Island

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  2 Responses »
May 072012
 
Critter interactions at Lissenung Island

About the site Lissenung Island is a tiny sandy island in New Ireland, PNG. Located between the Bismarck Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, the waters here see incredible biodiversity. With coastal mangroves nurturing juvenile fish and corals walls down off the continental shelf all within a stone’s throw of each other, the marine life thrives. I visited Lissenung Island Resort in April 2012 for my prize trip after winning the freshwater category of the Underwater Festival 2011. Over 6 diving days there were clouds of fish, huge barracuda, dolphins surfing the bow wave on glassy seas and some great photographic dives on WWII plane wrecks. As the boat winds between sandy tropical islands over 30 degrees water, paradise is [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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