Dive 856 – Port Hughes Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

4

Date: 4th February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 7m

Details: Sadly this was going to be the last dive of the trip before along drive home. Port Hughes was somewhat on the way home, and since we only dived it at night with ordinary conditions, i decided to try it again at daytime. There were lots of pipefish in the seagrass right under the main entry platform, and plenty of blennies hiding behind the soft corals on the pylons. Some very cute baby cowfish also skirted around the pylons, while the adult cowfish satyed a little further out on the sand. Plenty of both Ornate and Shaws Cowfish around. Port Hughes is a long jetty and it was fairly similar all the way out…that is until you hit the end where it was deeper, darker and much more interesting. A big school of fish was swirling around the end, and cowfish and toadfish were going nuts over some fish carcasses disposed of by fishermen. I wish i had of got out here sooner, but time was the enemy and i had to make my way back. A good dive to finish off the trip.

Camera Details: Tokina 17-70mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 855 – Wool Bay Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

3

Date: 3rd February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 3m

Details: Another evening of onshore winds, but i suspected this might be to my benefit, since the Leafy Seadragon i found the previous evening may have been ‘sheltering’ under the Wool Bay Jetty again. So i went back to Wool Bay in hope that it was still there. Success! Another amazing shallow dive with a beautiful Leafy Seadragon. I couldn’t believe my luck when a short-headed Seahorse swam in mid-water past the seadragon as i was photographing it. Two species from the same family in one shot! I had a chuckle when a weed whiting approached the seadragon, and gave it the “what the hell are you” stare down.

Camera Details: Tokina 17-70mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 854 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

3

Date: 3rd February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 7m

Details: Back into Edithburgh Jetty with the wide angle lens on to capture some of the sponge life that grows on the pylons. I was also secretly hoping for some Leafies here too, but wasn’t too active trying to look for them. Especially since a group of snorkellers had been scouring the area for the last hour looking for them with no luck. Apart form the pylons, there isnt really any great wide angle subjects at Edithburgh from my experience…unless you get lucky with a seal or Great White. : ) I was ocntent having a relaxing dive shooting bullseyes and starfish.

Camera Details: Tokine 17-70mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 852 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

2

Date: 2nd February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: Night Dive

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 90minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: A trip to Edithburgh is not complete without a night dive. The target species was Striped Pyjama Squid which i missed last time, but this time around they were everywhere. I even photographed two locked in a territorial grapple before the defeated one departed from the area. A cute little clingfish was another highlight, as well as a sand octopus.

Camera Details: Canon 60mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 851- Wool Bay

By pfuller

Feb

2

Date: 2nd February 2017

Conditions: Strong Onshore winds

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 3m

Details: This is the third dive i’ve done at Wool Bay over the years and i hadn’t had much luck with finding Leafy Seadrgaons here. However, this place holds a certain charm over me and i think the prospect of seeing a Leafy Seadragon in such a tranquil place made me want to do another dive here. However, this evening was far from tranquil on land. A stiff onshore breeze really chopped up the surface yet the water still looked reasonably clear. So i braved the conditions and used the last of my near empty tank. After 20 minutes of not much and photographing the local Old Wives, sitting quietly in the weeds i came across a beautiful Leafy Seadragon. The late afternoon light being filtered through the jetty above and then the shallow water set up a dramatic and dream like encounter of this leafy. It had no fear of my presence and we both floated motionlessly above the shallow sun-drenched eel grass with no reason for either of us to change locations. I’d found my dream leafy! BUT..i was nearly out of air..like..empty! I had another tank with about 10-20bar remaining – that would give me another 10-15minutes…so i dashed back to the car and swapped tanks. I relocated it in the same position, and got a few more snaps. A great encounter..

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 849 – Point Turton Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

2

Date: 2nd February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: Point Turton was a bit of an unknown but sounded like a cool little dive from all accounts. Its a small jetty, and well protected by the surrounding headlands, and some reef along the point promised some alternate habitat if the pier wasn’t any good. Conditions were great, and as soon as we got in, we were greeted by big schools of Black Drummer. This was soon followed by a massive school of Australian Salmon, that formed swirling schools around the pylons. Remaining still, the school would approach close and circle around us. A very impressive sight. There were a couple of nudibranchs around and it seemed like it would be a great spot for a night dive. NO rays as promised from some we reports but the schooling fish was worth the visit.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 848 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Feb

1

Date: 1st February 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: After staying on the Fleurieu Peninsula for a few days, the next journey was down to the Yorke Peninsula to dive the many jetties. We based ourselves at Edithburgh and after setting up camp, we did our first dive at Edithburgh Jetty. I put the macro lens on for this dive. Plenty of small subjects around including nudibranchs, gobies, cowrie shells, wavy grubfish and flatworms. We spotted a Blue Grouper, which i always try to get a record shot when i seen them. This was more a warm up dive to familiarise ourselves with the jetty again so we could night dive it to find Striped Pyjama Squid.

Camera Details: Canon 60mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 847 – Rapid Bay

By pfuller

Jan

31

Date: 31st January 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 11m

Details: Before the dive, we ran into a couple of dive tour operators that gave us some tip off’s on where the Leafy Seadragons had been seen. So we entered with confidence that we would see some Leafies on this dive. However after about 30mins of swimming around and still not finding any, our confidence was flailing. Luckily, a group of divers turned up and their guide pointed out to the divers two Leafy Seadragon’s tucked away behind some structure. These little fellas seemed like they were hiding away from the constant stream of divers, and even had some algae on them attempting to add additional camouflage to their armory. It made me appreciate my dive at Victor Harbour even more now, seeing Leafies in a more natural, less harassed environment.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 846 – Second Valley

By pfuller

Jan

31

Date: 31st January 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 8m

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 30minutes

Max Depth: 4m

Details: I really wanted to explore the sea caves at Second Valley after finding them on my last trip over this way. I only had about 50bar left in my tank from the previous day, so i thought i’d do a mixed snorkel/dive just to check out the caves. After snorkelling into the the third bay, i couldn’t resist dropping in on a cuttlefish. As i descended i noticed an Eagle Ray buried in the sand, so instead of the cuttlefish, i focused on the Eagle Ray. These critters always know when your watching them though, and it took off in a flash.

I continued on to the sea caves, enjoying the lighting affects. It wasn’t long before i was out of air, so i still have a nice long dive to put on the todo list here.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 845 – Rapid Bay

By pfuller

Jan

30

Date: 30th January 2017

Conditions: Overcast, getting dark and plenty of current

Visibilty: 10m+

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 11m

Details: After arriving at Rapid Bay, and setting up camp it was straight into our first dive. Conditions weren’t great with onshore winds earlier in the day. A strong current moved through the site making it fairly uncomfortable. No Leafy Seadragons were found on this dive, so we just explored the jetty and enjoyed the fishlife. A couple of Kingfish were an interesting sighting. Apart from that it was the usual suspects….Western Talma, Spiny-tailed Leatherjackets, Dusky Morwong and old wives in the ‘cathedral’.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 844 – Victor Harbour Bluff

By pfuller

Jan

30


Date: 30th January 2017

Conditions: NW winds meant flat seas, but very cloudy water

Visibilty: 5m+

Water Temp: 20c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Details: Our diving safari in South Australia started at Victor Harbour with a dive at ‘The Bluff’ in Encounter Bay. I wanted to dive this site last time i was over but conditions weren’t good. Although conditions weren’t ideal today, it was the only day on the 5 day forecast with winds from the north, so today was the day, despite the fairly average topside overcast skies.

After about 20 minutes in, i thought the search amongst the kelp covered granite boulders was futile, with not a single Leafy Seadragon to be seen. But after i spotted my first one (with algae covered eggs), they started popping up everywhere. All up i saw six, including one that was missing its tail, possibly a fishing line amputation. Another interesting sighting was a leafy with wrinkly/indented tail. I presume this was a male that was ready to take on eggs, and this was shaped this way to accommodate the eggs.

If it hadn’t been for the Leafies, this would have been a fairly average dive. Very surgey, and cloudy vis with not much fish life to speak of. I wasn’t overly adventurous though, staying close to the granite boulder wall under the jetty, so perhaps further around on the seaward side, it would be better.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 843 – Ewens Ponds

By pfuller

Jan

29

Date: 29th January 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 30m+

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Details: Ewens pond is a busy little place in Summer…the local swimming pool. And despite the signs saying no flotation or water craft, there were kids with boogie boards, lilo’s, floaties etc..you name it. At one stage while i was doing under over shots, a kayaker even paddled passed. Now, kids with their boogie boards don’t bother me, but kayaking through these little channels while there is scuba divers below is pretty daft. Anyway, it did give me a nice under over subject so i shouldn’t complain.

I always seem to spend too much time in the first pond when i dive Ewens and am either too cold or run out of air by the time i hit the last. So i spent most of this dive in the last little pond, exploring the small limestone cave where a few bream and fresh water crays hang out. Always a fun dive.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 842 – Kilsbys Sinkhole

By pfuller

Jan

28

Date: 28th January 2017

Conditions:

Visibilty: 40m+

Water Temp: 16c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 30m

Details: A big part of getting my CDAA Deep cavern certification was to dive the amazing Kilsby’s Sinkhole. A crystal clear sinkhole with near unlimited vis. However, over 2016, the access arrangements have been contentious with the land owners opening the site up to Open Water divers(much to the displeasure of many CDAA authorities in a clear breach of the organisation protocols).

However, during the transition period, it was agreed that CDAA members could dive under the new arrangements together with Open Water divers, so i jumped at the chance and booked a spot with Scubafiend. I hired a nitrox tank, which was unfortunately a 300bar steel tank which over weighted me without any dumpable weight. So the first half of the dive had me floundering around making photography very difficult, and fairly unenjoyable. I didn’t nail any of the shots i wanted but got some keepers, so another visit is definitely on the cards. Photography was a lot harder than i expected, with dramatic changes in ambient light as you move around the sinkhole.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dives 750 – 756 – Deep Cavern Course

By pfuller

Sep

19

Date: 19th/20th and 26th/27th September 2015

Conditions:

Visibilty:

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time:

Max Depth: 40m

Details: The Caves and Sinkholes down at Mt Gambier have always held an allure to me. I’ve really enjoyed the diving i’d done in the fresh water pools of Ewens Ponds and snorkels around Piccaninnie Ponds and Eight Mile creek. And swimming over the Cathedral in Piccaninnie Ponds would make anyone wonder what its like down there. However, actually getting my Deep Cavern Cert to fully explore these glorious wonders of nature, seemed like a pursuit that was best left to someone else. So when Chris asked whether i wanted to do my Deep Cavern Course with him, what else could i say but, “Of course!” So over two weekends, under the excellent training of Jane Bowman, Chris, Jackson and Myself completed some vigorous skills training in pools, parks, muddy sinkholes in the paddocks of Mt Gambier, and finished up with a wonderful dive in Kilsbys Sinkhole. Was it easy or fun. Hell No! At times, i wondered why i put myself in these situations. But at the end of the course, i felt like a much better diver and was so glad i stepped out of my comfort zone.

The dives done included Pool Work, Gouldens Sinkhole, Little Blue, One Tree and Kilsby’s Sinkhole.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm, 2 X YS-D1 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 739 – Edithburgh Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

6

Conditions:

Visibility: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: The last dive of the trip was at Edithburgh Jetty in search for a Leafy Seadragon that eluded us at Wool Bay. This dive we got luckier and found one at the base of the pylons. Some cowfish were enjoying a feast on a discarded fishermans catch and both Shaws and Ornate Cowfish allowed close approaches. The growth on the pylons always amazes at this jetty…one of the best in the country. I hope to return for more diving here and find the even more elusive, Striped Pyjama Squid.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 738 – Wool Bay Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

6

Conditions:

Visibility: 15m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 4m

Details: After staying the night at Port Hughes, i convinced the other guys that it would be madness to be at the top of the Yorke Peninsula, and not have a crack at Leafy Seadragon. So we headed down the east side of the peninsula with first stop being Wool Bay. Conditions were great with light off shore winds and sunshine. The water was beautifully clear and the three of us spread out on our search for Leafy Seadragons amongst some of the nicest weed beds you’ll see. We searched for about 40mins with no luck, so decided to call the dive and head to Edithburgh instead.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 737 – Port Hughes Jetty

By pfuller

Jul

5

Conditions:

Visibility: Night Dive

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 70minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: We headed back towards Victoria from Whyalla, and decided to stop over in Port Hughes which is apparently a great night dive, and a good spot for angler fish. Unfortunately an onshore wind picked up and it made for a very surgey dive. I can imagine it would be a very good dive, but with a macro lens on in the surgey conditions and cold water temperatures it was a less than am ideal night dive. We did spot a Sand Octopus, Wavy Grubfish, some Decorator crabs, Cowfish and pipefish, but no luck finding any anglerfish or Warty Prowfish.

Camera Details: Canon 60mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 736 – Stony Point, Point Lowly

By pfuller

Jul

5

Conditions:

Visibility: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 140minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: This was going to be our last dive at Whyalla and conditions were fantastic. great vis, no current and lots of cuttlefish around engaging in all sorts of behavior. I started out the back in the deeper water and wanted to try to get some solitary cuttlefish shots with sunbursts in the background. One put on a great show for me, and i got the shot i’ve always been after, with a cuttlefish lunging at its pretty with tentacles spread and ready to devour. In shallower waters, the courting and guarding of the females was underway, with groups of eager males trying to muscles in on the dominant males action. The dominant male would spread out his mantle as a protective shield to keep the advancing competitors at bay. On one occasion, a small male got too pushy and the large male lept at it and grabbed him in his tentacles, drawing in the smaller male into its mouth. It nearly had him totally consumed, and in a last moment of desperation sent out a huge ink cloud into the large males mouth. I watched as a cloud of Cuttlefish ink arose out of the vents of the large cuttlefish and the small one made its escape from the jaws (or beak) of inevitable death. Sadly this was our last dive, but there is so much interesting behavior to observe at this unique aggregation, and i hope its preserved well into the future for greater understanding of these creatures and their breeding rituals.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 735 – Stony Point, Point Lowly, Whyalla

By pfuller

Jul

4

Conditions:

Visibility: Night Dive

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 40minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: On the edge of exhaustion after the last dive in current at Black Point, we decided to get in a short night dive back at the fenceline. The Cuttlefish had mostly tucked away fro the night and there were only a few night owls on the prowl. The lights generally kept them at a distance, so not very conducive for photography.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 734 – Black Point, Point Lowly, Whyalla

By pfuller

Jul

4

Conditions:

Visibility: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: For our second dive we headed to Black Point. The current was ripping through the area, which made the dive fairly uncomfortable in the fading low light of the late afternoon. This site didn’t have the concentration of Cuttlefish as Stony Point, but the area is much more interesting terrain wise. One cuttlefish, looking a little worn out, had its two feeding tentacles exposed and dangling from its beak. It made it look even more alien than these creatures already do, albeit a bit like a thirsty dog with its tongue hanging out. This was a fairly exhausting dive with the walk down the stairs and over the rock platform in an over weighted drysuit and camera. This site would be much better on a dodge tide.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 733 – Pt Lowly, Whyalla

By pfuller

Jul

4

Conditions:

Visibility: 8m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 90minutes

Max Depth: 6m

Details: Cuttlefish Aggregation at Whyalla – We finally made it to Whyalla and with enough daylight to get in a solid first dive with the Giant Cuttlefish. We headed straight out to Point Lowly and to the fence line site at Stony Point. Initial reports were good, with all the divers in the areas reporting good numbers around. So we geared up and got straight into it. There really was no shortage of Cuttlefish, and lots of great behaviors were observed. One grouping that i stayed with a while, was a large male guarding his female with both his extended mantle used as a barrier, and his outstretched tentacles to cover her. Many new suitors approached the area and tried to muscle in on the action, but were quickly deterred by the dominant male. A great first dive, but it started getting dark quickly with overcast conditions.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 732 – Ewens Ponds

By pfuller

Jul

3

Conditions:

Visibility: 30m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 60minutes

Max Depth: 12m

Details: On a road trip with Chris and Jarrod down to see the Cuttlefish Aggregation at Whyalla, we stopped in at Mt Gambier to break up the long journey from Geelong. Chris and Jarrod had never dived any of the ponds in the area, so Ewens Ponds seemed like a good choice. Its always nice to dive in the crystal clear water of the ponds and explore the colourful fresh water vegetation in the channels. The chilly fresh water really woke us up and put us in good stead for the next leg of the journey.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes + YS-D1

Photos:

Dive 696 – Second Valley

By pfuller

Apr

5

Conditions:

Visibility: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 50minutes

Max Depth: 8m

Details: I hadn’t really researched Second Valley, but had heard its a nice dive with Leafies and a few caves. I headed ‘outwards’ and saw very little reef but just open expanses of weed bed and sandy plains. I looped back and eventually came across some nice reef with a few small overhangs. This area was so much more interesting than the first half of my dive that i popped up to see exactly were i was. Looking around i quickly realized that i had no idea if i was left or right of the small jetty, since it was no where in sight, and the current had made me lose my bearings. The light was fading and my air was getting low…shit..which way??? I swam along the cliff face and only after a couple of minutes i spotted the jetty…phew..crisis averted. I headed back down and along the wall, and came across one of the caves i’d heard about. The kelp covered cliff walls along this area were pretty cool too..and much ‘fishier’ than out on the grass beds. If i return to Second Valley, this is the spot i’ll return too..great little dive in the end. The thing that surprised me on my last visit here is how the Yellow Zooanthids grow in shallow water around here. A contrast to Victoria, where they usually grow in around 20m +.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 695 – Rapid Bay

By pfuller

Apr

5

Conditions:

Visibility: 10m

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 10m

Details: The last dive at Rapid Bay and we had another crack at the juvenile Leafy Seadragon. This time we were straight onto it by observing a patch that another group of divers were checking out. I quickly realized that my dome port had two large drops of water in it…that appeared right in the middle of the frame for every photo! Buggar…i swum back in and got a tourist to assist me with taking apart the housing and wiping out the dome. Risky business, but some times these things have to be done. Back in the water and straight to the seadragon. We looked for another Adult, but had no luck. I was a happy diver finding an adult and juvenile over the 4 dives here, so i could return home content.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes

Photos:

Dive 694 – Rapid Bay Night Dive

By pfuller

Apr

4

Conditions:

Visibility: Night Dive

Water Temp: ??c

Bottom Time: 80minutes

Max Depth: 5m

Details: I couldn’t resist a night dive at Rapid Bay even though conditions were less than ideal. I didn’t go far so didn’t get the full show, but saw cuttlefish, scorpionfish, a couple of nudibranchs, a wavy volute and a strange worm thing. A cowfish posed nicely for some photos too.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm 2 X Inon z240 Strobes

Photos: