Blog

First Fish Off the New (Old) Boat

First Fish Off the New (Old) Boat

Lure Fishing
Exploring Cowan Creek Thanks to Nick and a little elbow grease, my new tinny had finally been serviced and was ready to hit the water. Yes, we'd given it a few quick runs while working on it, but nobody had caught a fish off of it yet. Thankfully, that all changed on Sunday morning when my sister and I headed out for a quick fish on Cowan Creek. We'd originally decided to give it a miss due to recent heavy rains and strong winds, but conditions were better than expected in the morning and so we made a last minute call to head out. We boiled a few eggs, made a flask of coffee (which we forgot), packed the rods, and headed for Apple Tree Bay. We had the boat…
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Guiding at Clifton Gardens

Guiding at Clifton Gardens

Diving
Sadly I wasn't able to guide as often as I would have liked this year. Work was chaotic, the kids schedules seemed to have exploded, and I had other projects I was working on in my free time, many of which involved home maintenance. So getting back into the water in December was amazing. As is always the case, we met at Clifton Gardens for a 7:45 dive brief. There were a few little dramas, one of which was the valve on my tank failing while I was setting up my gear. Thankfully, I had a spare tank with me, and the other issues were easily resolved. So by 8:30 we were wading into the water ready to go. Sunday's group at Clifton Gardens The water was a warm 21…
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Diving with the Port Jackson’s at Shelly Beach

Diving with the Port Jackson’s at Shelly Beach

Diving
After being out of the water for almost 2 months, due to multiple family commitments, I finally managed to get myself wet. I volunteered to guide a dive at Shelly Beach for Frog Dive, and what a dive it was. Spring has finally arrived and despite a chilly start at home, it was absolutely glorious in the sun. Early morning at Shelly Beach We kitted up in the sun before making our way into the water to dive the right hand side. I wasn't expecting great visibility as it had been raining on and off for days, but it wasn't too bad, ranging from 6 meters in the shallows to 4 meters when we got deeper. As expected for this time of the year, we spent the majority of the…
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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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