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A Morning Dive at Fairy Bower

A Morning Dive at Fairy Bower

Diving
Waking up before the sun is always worth it when you're headed for a dive, especially if it's at Fairy Bower. I arrived just as the sun peaked it's head up from behind the horizon, and was treated to the most glorious sunrise. A few of the other divers were already there, so we caught up over a cup of coffee as the sun started to warm the chilly, 8 degree air. Sunrise at Fairy Bower Fairy Bower is a marine reserve located in Manly. It's a family friendly site which is great for snorkelers and scuba divers alike. It's protected by a large headland, which means the site is diveable in all but the worst conditions (coming in from the north-east). The site is generally teaming with life, and…
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First Dive Back From a Ruptured Achilles

First Dive Back From a Ruptured Achilles

Diving
After an incredibly long 111 days, my leg finally felt good enough to get back into the water. Was it because I was ready? Or was it because I needed to check my leg before heading to Fiji? A little from column A, and a little from column B, I guess. I opted for Clifton Gardens since I had a few friends who were diving there. And, as an added bonus, one of then was kind enough to lend me a set of split fins, which were in theory easier to kick than my Apeks RK3s. The dive itself was spectacular! It may have been that I'd been out of the water for almost half a year. Or it may have been the show the critters put on. But I…
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Shelly Beach Showing Off

Shelly Beach Showing Off

Diving
Every now and then, we're blessed with a magical day under the water, either because we see something unique, or because conditions are just that perfect. Sunday was one such day at Shelly Beach. I arrived at Shelly Beach bright an early to take a couple out on guided shore dive. Watching the sun rise over the ocean from the Shelly Head lookout, I could already tell we were in for a cracker of a day. There were the faintest wisps of cloud in the bright blue sky, and the surface of the ocean was completely glassed out and looking relatively blue and clear. Sunrise at Shelly Head Lookout Early morning at Shelly Beach, Manly Sunrise at Shelly Head Lookout I met the couple on the grassy area behind the…
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When We Surfaced The Boat Was Gone!

When We Surfaced The Boat Was Gone!

Diving
Every now and again, a simple day trip turns into an unexpected adventure. Whether this particular adventure was a good one, well, I'll leave that up to you. Early on Saturday morning, I met a group of divers at the boat ramp for a double dive just outside the Sydney Harbour heads. Our first stop was Colours Reef; a beautiful site which got it's name from the abundance and variety of coloured sponges populating the area. It's a relatively easy site to navigate, thanks to a distinct wall which drops from 22 meters down to 30 meters at the sand. The skipper dropped a shot line with a buoy on the top of the wall, and my group and I descended down the line to 22 meters. There was another…
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Diving – The Leap to the Steps – January, 2024

Diving – The Leap to the Steps – January, 2024

Diving
The Leap to The Steps has got to be the best shore dive in Sydney. It's definitely for the more experienced, and you need to be relatively good on your air. But if you tick both of those boxes, nothing else comes close (except Bare Island of course). The dive site is located on the southern headland of Botany Bay and is ocean facing, meaning visibility is generally pretty good. It's also a drift dive, so you need to dive it on an incoming tide so that you can ride the current to the Steps (rather than out to sea). As we do once or twice a year, a group of 6 of us decided to head down early on Sunday morning. We met at The Steps parking lot, geared…
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Freediving at Shelly Beach

Freediving at Shelly Beach

Diving
On Saturday morning I headed down to Shelly Beach to take a mate freediving. Generally I scuba Shelly Beach, so I'm always excited to get into the water without a tank and experience the bay in a different way. And it different certainly is! You can stay in the water for as long as you want, and you tend to focus on different areas of the site, areas that you would generally miss or ignore while scuba diving. We got into the water at around 9:30am, and headed out on the left hand side. The left is is generally more popular with snorkellers since it's shallower and has a higher abundance of both fauna and flora. There were a few things on our bucket list; Port Jackson sharks, turtles, giant…
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Blue-ringed Octopus at Clifton Gardens

Blue-ringed Octopus at Clifton Gardens

Diving
Saturday morning got off to an early start as I headed down to Clifton Gardens to lead one of Frog Dive's shore dives. It was a beautiful morning, with an orange glow coming off the sun, not a cloud in the sky, and absolutely no wind to speak of. The sea was dead flat, and judging from the surface, visibility looked good for Clifton Gardens. I was expecting 7 divers, but the group grew to 9 when the shop's boat dive was cancelled due to poor conditions. Thankfully Cec had offered to help out, and arrived shortly after me. The group group geared up in the parking lot, and once everyone was ready, I gave the dive briefing around one of the many tables scattered around the field. I opted…
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Diving Forster – Sharks, Whales, and the Biggest Turtle in the World!

Diving Forster – Sharks, Whales, and the Biggest Turtle in the World!

Diving
In the spirit of making the most of our downtime, Sharon and I found ourselves on a boat with the crew from Forster Dive Centre for our first ever dive in Forster. As luck would have it, Sharon and I were the only customers for the day and so we had the boat to ourselves, along with the skipper, instructor, and 2 divemasters in training who were keen to brush up their deep dive skills, including working on the lift bag and knots. We hit the jackpot with the weather. There was not a breath of wind and the water was like glass. There were a scattering of clouds in the sky, otherwise the sun was out in full force. Looking south from Forster, NSW On our journey out to…
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Diving With Dolphins at the Monument

Diving With Dolphins at the Monument

Diving
Every so often something magical happens on a dive that lodges it into your memory forever. This was one of those dives. It started on less positive notes, as a friend was leaving Sydney, so the dive was planned as a farewell of sorts. Visibility had also been amazing all week, but due to large swells overnight had taken a turn for the worse. We therefore weren't expecting much from the dive. Things got off to a rocky start...thanks mostly to the rocks. The swell from the evening before was still present, although it had gotten a fair amount smaller. That said, we still needed to wade across the rocks, and then do a rock entry into a small swell. One of the divers with us had some balance issues,…
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