News
Photo Gallery: South Australia
The next feature in our new Gallery series where we let the photos tell the story… This week, Nick and Caroline showcase South Australia.
When we travelled to South Australia we had one thing on our mind, to photograph Great White Sharks for our book World’s Best Wildlife Dive Sites. We had also been commissioned to write an article about our travels and so wanted to pack in as much as possible in our all too short stay. We knew that is was possible to photograph leafy seadragons in the area, so we arranged that, before heading to Kangaroo Island (where we also found seadragons. There is so much to see and do in this area, with great wine on offer too! We were lucky enough to meet, and spend a morning with, Rodney Fox (along with his wife Kay), to chat about their amazing life that has revolved around the Great White Shark for the past 60 years! Our shark diving was done with Rodney’s son Andrew, who has taken over the business and runs expeditions to the Neptune Islands year-round.
Alas we went in our summer, and therefore their winter, and did not get the best of the diving conditions. But we got most of the stuff we wanted, and our short trip just made us want to return someday to try it all again.
Image 1: A New Zealand Fur Seal plays with us for the final part of our dive. We had gone looking for Leafy Seadragons, but come away with an amazing experience of 3 of these seals turning and twisting around us a great speed.
Image 2: A Great White Shark cruises near (but not near enough) our submerged cage. The Rodney Fox Expedition is the only one that offers a cage down to the sea floor where you can get more natural shots of these magnificent sharks, but alas the weather and visibility was against us. Still quite an incredible experience though!
Image 3: Our other main marine life target was the Leafy Seadragon and we saw these diving at Rapid Bay Jetty near Adelaide and whilst diving Kangaroo Island. They are delicate creatures, closely related to the seahorse, and have superb camouflage. You really need to move slowly and keep your eyes peeled to see them. This image shows how they blend in with the seaweed. We made sure we did not stress out these creatures and only took a handful of shots of each one we encountered, as there is some worry that divers are disturbing them and causing a drop in their population figures.
Image 4: As the underwater conditions were less than perfect, we also took some topside shots. The Great White Sharks are not fed on these trips (this is against the marine park rules) but tuna heads are used to tempt them closer to the cages. This shark took a lunge to see if it could grab the fish head in time. In the evenings, we sat down with Andrew Fox, who used our images to identify individual sharks, which much of the time he can do on sight.
Image 5: Under Rapid Bay Jetty there is a host of other fish and marine life to explore, if you ever find that you have had your fill of the seadragons. At the end of the pier, a dive they call the Aquarium, is well worth a visit, with nudibranchs, schooling fish and huge sponges, there is enough to keep you entertained for several more dives.
Image 6: The chum designed to attract the sharks also attracts plenty of other fish, who seem unconcerned by the huge predators that cruised past. With the cage moving around in the swell, it was tough underwater photography conditions. We will just have to go back!
Image 7: Little Penguins come out at night at some coastal locations in South Australia and you can do night tours to see them as they head back to their roosts at dusk. This is a great post dive experience, and there is so much wildlife to see on land, including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats……
Image 8: We also visited an Australian Sea Lion colony on Kangaroo Island. These charismatic animals may go out feeding for days on end, and then will return for a well-deserved snooze. Whilst you are required to keep to strict paths so as not to disturb the colony, sometimes you will get some really close encounters.
South Australia has so much to offer both above and below the waves. We flew into Adelaide and then hired a car so that we could tour the vineyards and get to the dive sites and onto Kangaroo Island. We did a short flight to hop from Adelaide to Port Lincoln in order to catch our expedition boat to the Neptune Islands, where we spent four days out at sea trying to photograph the Great White Sharks. What would we change – only the weather, so next time we will try again in Spring or Autumn.
Take a look at these links to find out more about Diving South Australia:
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
-
News3 months agoHone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months agoCapturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs2 months agoCreature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months agoMurex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months agoDiver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months agoSave the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida
-
Gear Reviews3 months agoGear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone
-
Gear Reviews2 weeks agoGEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit