Bit late with this post, but here are the photos from my dive last weekend. Sunday morning I woke up at 5:30 (toooo earrrrlyyyyy) to get ready for a dive on the UWA Underwater Club’s boat. The nine of us who were going loaded our gear into the Tantabiddi (the club’s boat) and set sail to Rottnest. It was a bouncy crossing, but I was excited to get back into the water. The first dive was at Swirl Reef – a dive site I had been to before. This was one of my favorite spots that I had been to at Rottnest so I was more than happy. The highlights from the dive were a couple Port Jackson sharks,
the intricate caves,
a fleeting stingray, and a cuttlefish (this squid / octopus type creature)!
Got a video of it swimming away from us - I was filming and V, another diver, was busy taking pictures of it. Not as dramatic as the other octopus I saw from a few dives back, but if you look closely you can see it change colors a bit as it swims.
Think this cuttlefish was injured because there were lots of scratches and bite marks on its body. Funny little creatures. Here are the other shots from the first dive:
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| Can you spot the fish? |
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| This was in the cave... pretty incredible that there are any colors since barely any sunlight reaches this point. |
The second dive we just went into this shallow bay since the wind was really starting to pick up. Mostly weedy but there were a couple nice rock formations.
By the time we left to return to Perth, the wind had really picked up and I was regretting not having had anything to eat. Contrary to popular belief, it is much better to sail on a full stomach than an empty stomach. As such, my empty stomach had me worried at one point that my “seasick-vomit-free since ’90” streak might be broken, but it all worked out. All in all it was a great day and just a nice reminder of how special it is being in Perth and Australia… not as if I could just go for a dive on a reef back at Hamilton. Seems like the vacation never ends … or until next week when I have my final exams! Eee! Pretty much my last day of classes today. Before our finals we have one reading week to prepare for our exams. Naturally, this seemed like the perfect time to get one last trip in with my friends so on Friday, I set off for Coral Bay with 10 friends. Coral Bay was one of the reasons why I chose to come to Perth and Western Australia (might have goten a little mixed up about the distances because originally I thought it was like an hour away … try 16 hours by car or a two hour plane ride) so I’m pretty excited to finally see it.
Amazing. When you set the bar so high for yourself, it's hard to jump over. Nevertheless, you did it. I'm sure you'll pack a lot of studying in during your road trip. Not. So glad you were able to keep the streak alive.
ReplyDeleteJules, the colors inside that cave are glorious. And now I understand why Jen (from Heron Island) was so excited about seeing a cuttlefish. I love the way it moves through the water--so graceful! Reminds me of a ballet dancer's costume.
ReplyDeleteThe purplish fish (against the gold background, which made me think of autumn leaves) is the one that looked transparent to me. And that blue fish is so beautiful--I just expect him to have a happier face, I guess...
What kind of fish is the one with the black-and-white spots and stripes? So pretty. I can't get over the variety of the nudibranches you've seen--they always have such startling colors and patterns.
So glad you felt all right on the way back! Next time you hit the waves, just remember: multiply by three, and divide by five. Trust me: it works.
One more comment that I've been meaning to post:
ReplyDeleteNow that I've seen Julian in action, I wanted to add some perspective to these photos. When he takes these pictures, he's balancing quite a few things at once: tanks, oxygen supply and a very big housing for a substantially large camera. In addition to keeping an eye on his air supply, he has to avoid drifting too far away from the boat so that he can get back to it when he needs to. And finally, these fish aren't exactly waiting to pose for him. They're moving targets at best--and speedy, elusive ones at that.
I don't mean to embarrass you, Jules, but I just thought your readers ought to know all this. Proud mom signing off now...
I've gotten used to seeing weird sea creatures in your photos, but that cephalopod really takes the cake for weirdlooking. You have gotten so good at this!
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm in Hong Kong right now, where they'd be eating all those things....
ReplyDeleteHello Julian,
ReplyDeleteYour photography,as outstanding as it was goes from strength to strength.I was so much fun to hear your voice last night( your morning) thank you for calling .Have a great flight and another great adventure.Soon you will have to find consolation in reef diving in the Bahamas and you will be forever spoiled after what you have seen and done.Much love,
Poppy