Scuba diving South West Rocks


These images posted, with permission, from the Gallery at fishrock.com.au

A belated post summarising a part of my journey to Sydney from Brisbane. My first plan was to make a circuitous route from Brisbane along the coast and then inland to the town of Manilla over perhaps two weeks. But that really was going to be more driving than it was worth.

First stop was South West Rocks, about an hour North of Port Macquarie, where I took pot luck on accommodation, staying two nights at the Sea Breeze Hotel right on the water overlooking Port Macquarie beach. I met a couple of lovely people there - Kieran Hartley and his friend Suzanne Ison. I'll be keeping in touch with them.

Next day I went scuba diving! Port Macquarie has some of the most amazing diving that I have yet experienced. The main feature is an underwater cave. At 126 metres long and completely dark inside. Each entrance is guarded by a wobegong shark, not the cute little half-metre creatures that you'll often see on reefs. These fellas were each more than two metres long, and their mottled brown and black colouring made them just about invisible on the sand amongst the shadows and rocks, until you right on top of them! Fortunately they seem to be used to divers appearing nearly every day and they just ignored the group. Also in the cave in abundance: squid, eels, huge reef cod.

Just outside the caves were giant batfish that would swim up close to look you in the eye and then quietly swim off.

The second dive was equally wonderful - about thirty metres from the cave is a trench which serves as a nursery for Grey Nurse sharks. There must have been nearly 100 sharks cruising around us, from new-born pups to big old creatures over 2.5 metres long. Grey Nurse sharks may look fierce, but they're actually quite gentle and safe, so long as you don't do anything stupid, like try to pet one or flash photograph up close. Fantastic. I would have stayed another day to dive some more but I felt a cold coming on, and equalising your ears on the way down is difficult and painful with a cold.

Diving was brilliantly organised by http://fishrock.com.au/

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