Dive 1 Magic Point:
This morning we had some indelible experiences, especially at Magic Point.
The start of this dive was the perfect beginning where Pomfrets hovered like a magically suspended blanket over an extended kelp bed. Meanwhile, Yellow Tail produced a flourish right next to us. It was difficult to resist the temptation to lie back in that water bed of fish and look up at others weaving patterns around you.
Instead we skirted over that kelp bed and dropped off the top of the submerged reef, landing at a tear-shaped cave. From there we moved to a much bigger cave spying an Eastern Blue Devil fish within. But our plan was to go much further south, so there was no time today to dilly dally here. We pressed ahead until we found a horizontal chimney where we had to stop briefly to see what was within. Curiosity got the better of us. A Wobbegong had bagged this excellent spot (as it or its friends often do). That shark looked very comfortable on its sandstone sofa bed looking at everything, including us, outside. Next to the Wobbie, a Bearded Cod, looking like a cross between an eel and a Confucius priest, kept threading itself into and out of a connecting passageway like a jack in the box. The inactivity of the shark right next to the hyperactivity of the Bearded Cod, was incongruous. Fascinating as it was to see this strange behaviour, we had to remind ourselves of our objective. And in that context, managing our air supply was uppermost in my mind. Extending our range meant being extra vigilant.
Pushing forward again, we encountered an unusual scene of a school of Old Wives swimming alongside or together with us, depending upon how you looked at that scene. It was a fascinating sight. Maybe, like us, they has a similar objective! Individual fish took it in turns to lead the group. The first would soon have enough of it and then retire to the back of this group and a new one would then lead, with this process repeating itself over and over again. Was this the fish equivalent of a cycling peloton? The dynamics of this group effort were inspirational as they were entertaining. It helped keep us on track.
Arriving at our third cave, we found it filled with Long Finned Pike. They spilled out of one end, with yet more of them spread out in a sun drenched area just outside.
The landscape we came across in our exploration further south was rewarding for its landscape as well as aquatic life. We encountered yet more schools of fish, from another school of Old Wives, to schools of One Spot Pullers, picturesque Bulls Eyes, and more. The individual schools we came across had the effect of a deft touch from an artist: the perfect bit of colour in this spot and right bit of activity in another. A fabulous choreography of the two.
When we thought we had been amply rewarded for our planning and effort, we got the biggest and most unexpected reward of all. But before I attempt to describe it, I have to repeat a warning that I have sometimes made before - no words at all can fully describe certain underwater scenes nor the feelings they evoke. In crudest terms my description is that one moment we were joyfully making our return leg and the next moment we were stopped dead in our tracks: a large school of oversized Kingfish, tightly packed, suddenly appeared. Their size individually and collectively was sufficient to churn the water around them. It seems that not only was the first school of Old Wives we saw, nor us, the only ones on a mission here. The word 'awesome' is an overworked word, yet here it is the most accurate word to use. The scene was awesome, magnificent, and fantastic and it left us stunned by what we had just seen.
A Mourning Cuttlefish, a too familiar Blue Groper, and an equally friendly Crimson Wrasse deserve individual mention as well but there is no doubt that the Kingfish stole the show. Not even a safety stop surrounded by hundreds of fish could diminish what we had experienced not long before.
Dive 2: Old Man's Hat
Our second dive was the perfect contrast to our first in regards to topography and marine life - but especially atmosphere. I would argue that atmosphere is everything in diving but it is arguably the hardest to define.
Since some of our divers had never seen a Weedy Seadragon, this was to be our primary objective. This goal was not only achieved but surpassed when we found a heavily pregnant one. It has to be remembered that amongst Weedy Seadragons, it is the male who carries the babies. Which is sometimes easier said than done. In this case, the weight of its burden caused it to tilt to one side. But seeing us, it sought to restore some semblance of dignity or normality by moving to its normal upright position. But this was not maintained for long. For after we departed, I looked back and saw it slumping yet again. It could be argued that this is the metaphorical burden of any parent: how a parent might seek to maintain appearances as opposed to the true effect of the weight they sometimes have to carry.
We wound our way through outcrops of reef and large boulders. Between these we found some Red Morwongs, who had no regard for appearances: they lazed around barely having enough energy to even acknowledge our presence, hardly having any interest in moving at all. This was the complete opposite of the over-energised Bearded Cod we saw on our first dive. Grant was right to suggest this dive site for contrast!
Then we saw another strange sight we sometimes see, a 'village' of One Spot Pullers filling the bottom of some adjoining declivities in the juxtaposition of reef and boulders. They seemed busy but completely focused on just that space. Which is why the word' village' is more accurate than 'school' in this situation.
I suspect David will criticize me if I fail to mention the large Three Bar Porcupine fish with its hallo of Old Wives around it - looking very Egyptian Pharo-like!
Finally, the best way to describe this dive was a rolling cascade of vistas and things to investigate. There were multiple things we came across and saw, and if every one of them were to be described here then this report would have the legibility of a telephone directory. So I will stop now. Suffice to say that these exploratory dives went beyond the parameters of a typical dive at those sites. And the effort was well worth it given that the exploration was such a source of immense pleasure and interest. At the end of a dive, there was an understandable impetus to get back in the water and continue our explorations of a world which is both little visited and hardly known.
Eric