Colours of a temperate reef on Nepean Wall

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  2 Responses »
Jan 092012
 
Colours of a temperate reef on Nepean Wall

About the site I’ve talked about the wall between the Heads of Port Phillip Bay before. A stunning dive at slackwater a short boat ride from Queenscliff on the west or Portsea or Sorrento on the east, several kilometres of colourful reef makes for hundreds of different dive sites. Boat passage through the Heads and out into the open ocean can be difficult when the weather is bad, restricting the access to the wrecks outside. However, some bits of the wall are always accessible at the right time of day although visibility can be very variable. Slack water dives when the tide has been ebbing out of the Bay and the ocean is about to flood in through the Heads [read more…]

Clownfish at Layang Layang

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  1 Response »
Dec 262011
 
Clownfish at Layang Layang

About the island Layang Layang is a small coral atoll located in the South China Sea, about 300km north west of Borneo. Officially part of Malaysia, the island houses a Malayasian Navy Base and the Layang Layang Island Resort. Available activities include diving on the coral wall that drops 2000m into the depths, and jogging up and down the airstrip (safe, as the plane only lands three mornings a week). Being so small, Layang Layang is a place you go for diving, eating and sleeping, and this is facilitated by the schedule. After a wake up call and first breakfast, the first dive is followed by second breakfast, the second dive, lunch, the third dive and then afternoon tea. A [read more…]

Australian Fur Seals on the safety stop

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  No Responses »
Nov 212011
 
Australian Fur Seals on the safety stop

About the site Over the last few months I’ve been lucky enough to have seals drop in for a visit towards the end of my dives. Despite their considerable bulk and slow speed on land, these guys are easily able to turn a lap around a diver faster than you can turn to follow them. Luckily, curiousity will often bring them in for a closer look, craning their neck from side to side as they inspect the divers in their domain. About the dive This particular photo was taken at the end of a dive in the Heads of Port Phillip Bay. Slack water had just finished and I was gently drifting out to sea with the ebbing tide as [read more…]

Outcroppings on Lonsdale Wall

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  5 Responses »
Oct 242011
 
Outcroppings on Lonsdale Wall

About the site Lonsdale and Nepean Walls form two sides of the shipping channel through the Heads of Port Phillip Bay. With such a narrow opening to the large area of the Bay, the channel is also known as the Rip for the speed and volume of water that flows through it when the tide is running. A couple of times a day, the tide levels inside and outside the Bay are balanced, and the current stops for around 45 minutes…perfect for a dive. Slack water timings are based on mathematical calculations by the Bureau of Meteorology and nature doesn’t always co-operate. Inevitably, if you’re running late at the boat ramp, slack water will be running early. It’s also important [read more…]

Hammerhead Sharks at Layang Layang

 Ocean diving, Reef diving  1 Response »
Aug 292011
 
Hammerhead Sharks at Layang Layang

About the island As I’ve mentioned before, Layang Layang is a small coral atoll in the South China Sea, northwest off the coast of Malaysian Borneo. With 30 degree water, visibility in excess of 40m and a reef that drops 2000m into the blue depths, the diving is spectacular. One of the key drawcards for Layang Layang is that as an oceanic atoll, it sees a lot of big pelagic fish stopping by. Dogtooth tuna and several kinds of barracuda were common sightings. Trevally would shoot through the reef at high speed, scattering schools of tiny purple reef fish as they hunted. For me, the real attraction was the chance to see schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks. With shark populations [read more…]

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