In February I popped down to Nelson Bay from Forster for 6 dives, diving Fly Point with Nicci Johnson (once) who was lead a Newcastle Dive Centre social dive there and Steven Begley (twice). With blind and wobbegong sharks, stingrays, numbrays, scorpionfish, octopus and beautiful sponges and I have to admit it, two friends who are just great at spotting sea life, I had a fabulous time. Steven and I also dived Halifax Park (twice), Steven sporting his Manchester United shirt and Little Beach (once) spotting Pineapple fish and several Crested Horn and Wobbegong sharks.

June

By June Mary and I had moved from Forster to Nelson Bay in Port Stephens. Well more accurately Corlette. Naturally as an underwater photographer I was very excited. I had never lived anywhere which had such excellent shore dives and I soon realised that my now local dive centre, Let’s Go Adventures, was outstanding. In fact I would have to say the best dive centre I know.

Spotting a koala near my new home and discovering kangaroos not much further away, felt magical to this Pom!

Since I moved from the UK to Australia in 2009, I had come to realise that the conditions for shore diving on the east coast varied enormously. I still could not believe what a great range of fantastic sea life there was but the underwater visibility had often proved disappointing. However Nelson Bay was an exception. Fantastic sea life and a good day in Nelson Bay was likely to be superior to further up or down the NSW coast. Even “poor days” in Nelson Bay were not disappointing. Yes I was very excited to be living in Nelson Bay.

I enjoyed 6 dives during June. I dived Fly Point four times, twice with Steven Begley and Martin Johnson, once with Mick Todd, once solo, enjoying encounters with Blind and Wobbegong sharks, turtles, even a Toadfish. I had only dived Little Beach once before June but Jim and Cherie Adams Dodd kindly invited me to join them for a dive there and I also dived Halifax Park with Jim.

August

Three dives, all at Fly Point with crayfish, blind, crested horn and wobbegong sharks, an eastern shovelnose ray, morays and numbrays. On the first, Mick (Todd) saw a dolphin. Well he said did. At least unlike Steven he did not wear a Manchester United shirt but then he did have the Manchester United badge in his regulator first stage. Sigh. Mick may have been fantasising about dolphins but we both saw a half-banded seaperch with what I think was a hinge-back shrimp in its mouth. Was the seaperch cleaning or was it being eaten? My second dive, late in the month, was with Peter Sear. We’d know each other for 40 years, jointly owned a business interest in New Zealand but had never dived together. So it felt pretty special to finally get in the water with Peter and I was pleased that we had an excellent dive. My third dive was solo, again very enjoyable.

September

Five dives, again all at Fly Point. The first three solo, then the fourth with Nicci Johnson, the fifth with Martin Johnson. I don’t know if it was the same eastern shovelnose ray that I had already seen at Fly Point ((I should of course) late in August but I saw an eastern shovelnose ray on each of my three solo dives early in September. My next two dives at Fly Point were late in September and I did not see it.

October

However I did come across a shovelnose ray on a solo dive at Fly Point in early October. Or rather a dead shovelnose ray. Was it the same one? I don’t know. I repeated the dive the next day seeing blind and wobbegong sharks, then Seahorse Gardens the next day. Next up was another dive at Fly Point, this time with Mary’s son, Ben and his friend Dominic Braham, the month concluding with solo dives at Seahorse Gardens, then Fly Point.

December

My first dive in Australia in two months and the water was noticeably warmer than October. After a highly enjoyable solo dive at Fly Point, I next dived The Pipeline with Mick (Todd). Vertically challenged, Mick insisted on standing on a raised slab for a pre-dive photo! After this dive I resolved never to dive with a macro lens when with Mick. He got up close and personal with a juvenile wobbegong, nothing happened but then a not-so-docile blind shark took a dislike to Mick as my “Shark attack! Mick is bitten…” shot shows… and Mick’s punctured wetsuit arm testify. A wide angle lens would have captured the moment perfectly but at least my macro lens shows the shark clinging onto Mick! Next up we solo dives at The Pipeline and Fly Point with blind sharks, cuttlefish, fiddler rays, sea hares and octopus. Just when I though life was fantastic, Hilary-Maud Hickmott of Sevenoaks (UK) arrived to spend Christmas and New Year with Mary and I. The same Hilary-Maud who does not like to dive in water cooler than 30 degrees celsius. Fortunately a juvenile crested horn and a blind shark at Fly Point and nudibranchs, a seahorse and a blue ringed octopus at The Pipeline distracted her from the 18 to 19 degrees water temperature. That and getting a nasty shock from putting a finger on a Numbray. If only I had a shot of that moment! We had a great first Christmas/New Year in Nelson Bay, with Hilary-Maud, her brother Jon, my daughter Jennifer, Mary’s sons Ben and Daniel and daughter-in-law Martha to mention just a few of our guests.