Dive Journal: The Secret Garden, 22nd August 2009

SECRET GARDEN- 22ND AUGUST 2009

Anita and Heather elected to record the marine debris using four 25 metre transects.
Anita tied the tape to a rock or sea tulip and I followed to record and collect any debris. Happily the only piece we found was a brick, which had holes in it. On closer inspection I discovered there were signs of life in the holes and decided to leave it. It was not all work however as towards the end of the dive Anita beckoned me to look under a rock where I saw a large eye belonging to a black reef leatherjacket and later spotted a moray eel poking out of a rock near the anchor line. The water temperature was even cooler at 16 degrees however as we were finning constantly it was not as noticeable. This site was originally unnamed however despite the poor visibility we all agreed we would love to return and thought the name Secret Garden was appropriate, given the beautiful colours and variety of shapes in the benthic life comprised of sponges, corals and algae.
Suzanne and Isabelle completed Reef Life Surveys, and although fish diversity was rather low, the benthic life was diverse and unlike that seen further south. This area definitely contains unique and wonderful reef life that is well worth the visit.

Dive Journal: Snapper Rock, 22nd August 2009

SNAPPER ROCK- 22ND AUGUST 2009

Early in the morning eight divers met at the jetty to board “Habana” with John from Action Divers. We donned life jackets and headed through the bar up to Saltwater and Snapper Rock. I chatted with Anita on the way out so we buddied up to do fish identification. The pencil on the slate was broken so Anita tried to sharpen it with her dive knife to no avail however Anita had her camera so we could still record our findings. Initially we were disappointed as there was almost no fish life however towards the end of our time we came across a cave, which had many Wobbegongs and Port Jacksons Sharks lying about at the entrance and a school of bullseyes inside. On our dive there were quite a few sea stars and nudibranchs including many small bright yellow one with white spots. The water was a cold 17 degrees, which made the dive uncomfortable.

Back on board Anita and I wrote down the fishlife on a slate, which included hula fish, yellow tail scads, sergeant baker, crimson banded wrasse, maori wrasse, girdled parmas, mados, a large catfish and a, Eastern blue devil fish (a rare and endangered species) as well as the Wobbegongs, Port Jackson Sharks and bullseyes but ironically not one snapper. Peter and Ryan reported seeing a turtle on their dive. Everyone was cold and shaking so soup was the preferred choice. Suzanne had lost all the blood from her fingers so John gave her the kettle to cuddle, of which she became quite possessive, much to our amusement. It was Isabelle’s birthday but sadly she and Ryan were both feeling the effects of the choppy seas.
After tucking into Anita’s tasty lunch of chicken, ham, salad and hommos dip we changed over tanks and John motored to our second site.

HEATHER ARMOUR

Dive Journal: Sawtooth Rock, Seal Rocks, 27 June 2009

SAWTOOTH ROCK – 27th June 2009

Whilst gearing up for our second dive a turtle popped his head above the water at the back of the boat. Peter laid out the transect tape to enable Suzanne and Isabelle to complete Reef Life Surveys whilst I trailed behind recording fish life on a slate. Despite poor visibility, there were lots of schooling fish, such as Yellow-tailed Scad, Mado and Eastern Pomfrets.

It was a quick trip back to the bay and John kindly motored in closer to the shore so we only had a brief snorkel back to the warmth of the car.
HEATHER ARMOUR

Dive Journal: Little Seal Rock, 27 June 2009

LITTLE SEAL ROCK – 27th June 2009

We met at the marina to stow our gear on the Action Divers boat before car pooling for the trip to Seal Rocks. Suzanne kindly drove John , Isabelle, Rob and I down to meet up with John who had already arrived. We snorkelled out and boarded for the trip to our first dive site. On the way we saw whales breaching and swimming about as well as a pod of dolphins.

Suzanne had both a camera and a slate whilst I recorded the fish life on a slate. I was delighted to see a Moorish Idol as soon as we reached the anchor. There were also yellow tail scad, hula fish, leather jackets, banner fish, red and crested morwongs and both female and male grouper. We almost circumnavigated the rock before settling in an area with a vast array of fish. It was here I almost bumped into a grey nurse shark slowly cruising by however Suzanne had spotted one earlier.

Back on board we devoured a delicious lunch prepared by Anita.

HEATHER ARMOUR

Dive Journal: Shark Gutters, Broughton Island, 9th May 2009

THE SHARK GUTTERS BROUGHTON ISLAND 9TH MAY 2009

I opted to be part of the transect team so took a slate listing local free swimming fish on one side and cryptic fish on the other side to tick off when sighted. The team consisted of Ryan laying the four twenty five metre tapes, Scott photographing and Peter recording the invertebrates. I recorded many fish but could not find girded parma on the listing. It was on the return journey that I found it listed as cryptic. How this could be considered a fish that hides is unknown! Ryan motioned me to a rock and wrote black cod on my slate, a large but shy species now listed as Endangered and part of our key monitoring target species. At the end of the fourth transect we were surrounded by a large school of kingfish which was exciting and even Scott was smiling through his facemask. The return trip was choppy however the boat handled it well. When we docked at Nelson Bay all the tourists came over to have a look at us.

HEATHER ARMOUR

Dive Journal: North Rock, Broughton Island, 5th May 2009

NORTH ROCK BROUGHTON ISLAND 9TH MAY 2009

GLUG scheduled some dives at Port Stephens, using Pro Dive at Nelson Bay. Some were driving down early in the morning whilst others opted for a weekend away with shore dives on Sunday.

The seas were up but the size of the boat decreased the rocking and rolling on the 45 minutes trip to Broughton Island. I buddied with Peter who again had his video camera. The water was my favourite shade of blue so the visibility was fantastic. I took a slate with a list of local free swimming fish clipped to one side and recorded a large green turtle and later a small green turtle as well as five grey nurses, fiddler rays, puffer fish and many more including a multi coloured leatherjacket with a yellow patch in the centre of its body later identified as a six spined leatherjacket.

Back on deck we checked our slates and it was like the television show “The Rich List” as we kept saying “it’s on the list” when we identified a fish. Anita reported the water temperature was a balmy 22 degrees.

HEATHER ARMOUR

Dive Journal: Bait Grounds, 25 April 2009

BAIT GROUNDS – 25th April 2009

At anchor we saw a green turtle which was exciting. On the way to the Bait Grounds we passed One Mile Beach and saw a wreck on the sand and a crowd looking at it. I was part of the transect team so took a slate. There were many fiddler rays and a huge school of scat however I also saw a large estuary catfish. On board we watched gannets dive into the sea like dive bombers. They are large birds which appear each winter.

Back at the marina Anita and I barbecued sausages for everyone and a vege-burger for Isabelle. I decided to go and investigate the wreck at One Mile Beach and so did Jan, Tony, Anita, Wayne and John! It was a lifeboat from a container ship named Kilabati Crew, which drifted ashore the night before and meant to carry 25 persons. It was considered to have been floating for about six months as there were barnacles on its bottom. The police had looked at it already possibly for bodies or espionage as there was police tape on it. Cape Hawke SLSC were caretakers and it was not decided what they planned to do with it. Now it was unstable as it was moved around by the waves however the longer it stays there the more stable it will be and harder to shift.

HEATHER ARMOUR

IDOL BAY- 18th April 2009

The second dive of the day was to Idol Bay and we were having coffee to celebrate April’s birthday cake when we saw dolphins. I was part of the transect team recorded the fish life. The shallow water made the water surgy, however I recorded quite a few species including quite a few fiddler rays. On board Anita said the water temperature was 23 degrees.
Heather Armour