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Broughton Island Diving

GREY NURSE SHARKS! One of our most anticipated dives for our trip was the boat trip out to Broughton Island, where Marky and I were lucky enough to spend 4 dives over two days observing these magnificent creatures in their natural environment.

And they certainly did not disappoint. From the first eerie sight of them, swimming towards us through the slightly murky waters, through to our final dive, where they were almost pausing in front of us, begging us to take their photos, we were awestruck.

Whilst we were here we also took the PADI Project Aware Shark Conservation with Mick and Jason from Let’s Go Adventures. Through the course we learnt about the different levels of conservation status, why sharks are so critical to our environment and what steps we can take to better improve their status. If you get the chance to observe these super important creatures in their natural habitat, with environmentally conscientious operators, please do. See www.projectaware.org if you want more info.

As always, watch in HD if possible 🙂 Vid is a bit long because I had trouble cutting out any of shark footage #sorrynotsorry 🦈

Location: Broughton Island, NSW, Australia
Water Temperature: 19°C
Average Depth: 12m
Maximum Depth: 18m
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Fly Point Diving

On Friday we headed out to Fly Point, a shore dive in Nelson Bay, led by the fabulous Jason from Let’s Go Adventures. We were blown away by the amazing creatures under the water, and a stunning shore dive amongst the corals that was almost 16 metres deep!

The highlights for me were the sharks (blind shark and wobbegong) and the fact that we had DOLPHINS diving amongst us (too quick for the video I’m afraid).

Location: Nelson Bay, NSW, Australia
Water Temperature: 19°C
Average Depth: 8.7m
Maximum Depth: 15.5m
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Mushroom Reef Exploration Dive

Just before our trip to Nelson Bay, we set out clutching our new copy of Shore Dives of Victoria to explore a new dive site (or at least a new dive site to us!) – Mushroom Reef.

Around the corner from the Flinders Pier, Mushroom Reef is a marine park so the fish swimming about were inquisitive and friendly with plenty of pretty sea grasses. Sunset from the water was rather special 🌅

Despite heading out at near full tide, the dive was quite shallow (our computers struggled) but it was fun exploring somewhere new! Big plans for more exploratory dives in the future 😊

Location: Flinders, VIC, Australia
Water Temperature: 15°C
Average Depth: 1.5m
Maximum Depth: 2.2m
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Blairgowrie Pier Dive

After last weeks fabulous show of Spider Crabs at Blairgowrie, we decided we would head back over one last time to see the crabs in action. Alas word went around the day before the planned dive that the crabs had moved on and very few remained in the area.

We carried on regardless, and were rewarded with an AMAZING show of cuttlefish, as they danced and showed off for us. Be sure to look out for the one that swam right between us, and the one with impressive folds of skin that makes it look straight out of Pirates of the Carribbean (Davy Jones anyone?!).

Before diving I had only ever associated cuttlefish with the thin white cuttlefish bone that often washes up on the beach, collecting them for treats for our cocky – I had no idea they were such magnificent creatures.

Location: Blairgowrie, Victoria, Australia
Water Temperature: 14°C
Average Depth: 3.2m
Maximum Depth: 5m
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Flinders Pier Dive

WE SAW A SHARK, WE SAW A SHARK! Despite a Great White being spotted in the area (how awesome would that have been?!), my first Australian shark was a draughtboard/swell shark, at about 1.2m long. It swam directly below me before disappearing into the murkiness that is Flinders. You just never know what you’re going to see under water!

The swell shark is so-called because despite its smallish size, when threatened it can swell up in an attempt to trick predators.

Location: Flinders, Victoria, Australia
Water Temperature: 15°C
Average Depth: 3m
Maximum Depth: 4.4m