Sailing Ningaloo Reef, Australia

Dawn over Western Australia

I've had "bloggers block".......... Struggling to put a post together because I feel I ought to commemorate the changing of the year, but heart and inspiration have been sadly absent!

There have been so many amazing and memorable moments in 2014 that it's that much harder to choose what and how to summarise for a readable posting.

So after a week or two of dithering and experimenting I've finally decided to go with a post that I've been working on intermittently over the last 4 months or so.


I spent an unforgettable 6 weeks in Australia earlier in 2014 and I still haven't posted more than a fraction about that trip. I have folders and folders of photos that I haven't even reviewed or categorised yet!

So today I'm going to post about the amazing sailing/diving trip I did on Ningaloo Reef, north west Australia.

Ningaloo Reef is a key component of the Ningaloo Marine Park and Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Site. It's the largest fringing coral reef in Australia and currently is most well known as THE place to go and snorkel with Whale Sharks.

for more info click on this link....
Wikipedia - Ningaloo_Coast

An old friend of mine owns and manages (with his wife) a beautiful catamaran yacht "Shore Thing", which does 3 and 5 day sailing, snokelling and diving trips out from Coral Bay along the Ningaloo Reef.

see their homepage by clicking here...
Sail Ningaloo 

"Shore Thing" at Coral Bay

So when I knew I was going to be flying to Australia for a family wedding I made plans to also visit Western Australia and dive Ningaloo!
 

Jetty & Boat Ramp, Coral Bay

The Coral Coast from the air

The Ningaloo Coast is fairly typical of North West Western Australia - arid, low lying, tree-less with the only notable features being occasional red sand dunes interspersed by low lying salt flats or lakes. But beneath the clear, warm waters of this coral coast it's a whole other story.....







Amongst the exquisite, multi-coloured coral reefs we saw manta rays, turtles, sharks, shoals of brilliant reef fish and a host of smaller creatures.

Manta Ray

 

Amazing underwater landscapes....

Green Turtle

Sea urchin

 

Christmas tree worms

There weren't just the mega fauna and "reefscapes" of course, but an infinite number of smaller sea creatures could be found if you looked close enough.

This was a challenge on almost every dive - having to take turns in admiring the reef "big picture" with looking for the little stuff.......

Nudibranch

Giant Clams of all sizes & colours could be found

 Of course we didn't spend the whole day diving or snorkelling.

The food was absolutely amazing.

 

The company fun and interesting, the sea calm and sheltered behind the reef,

and I'm always happiest being out on the ocean blue, especially sailing, at any time!

relaxing on the stern deck

Crew & divers on the "bridge"

filling dive cylinders

Daniela, our amazing cook

Sundowners & sunsets

 If you're ever in Western Australia I can highly recommend experiencing Ningaloo Reef with Luke, Lannie and their crew at Sail Ningaloo.

You don't have to be a scuba diver as most of the best reefs can be done snorkelling. They also do beach and land excursions although we hadn't enough time between dives on our particular trip.

The hospitality, food and friendliness cannot be faulted.

It was really a major highlight of my Australian trip.

PS - I didn't go diving/snorkelling with Whale Sharks. It's strictly regulated and and only a few operators run those trips. As I've been very very lucky to have snorkelled with Whale Sharks in both the Seychelles, Mozambique and South Africa (Whale sharks on our East Coast) I didn't feel the need to pay the extra in both cash and time.

But I have heard that the trips are excellently run and well worth it if you dream of that particular wildlife encounter!

A Diving Safari to the Pacific Islands

 I've been quiet on the blogging front recently but I have had a great excuse!!

Those few of you who are also "Facebook friends" may already know why - if you've seen ALL the pictures.....

Last July, a diving friend of mine, Rosemarie, asked if I was keen to join her and her husband John on a diving trip to Truk Lagoon in the Pacific Ocean. I didn't even hesitate - the answer was yes.

When I first started diving, whilst at college in the UK 35 years ago, I had heard about Truk. In those days, most British divers were "wreck crazy" and Truk was a "dream" destination. When I say "dream", I don't mean the balmy, palm fringed beaches type of dream, but rather an extremely remote and highly unlikely place to ever get to, but a "mecca" never the less. In those days I don't think you could fly in to Truk, and certainly many of the ship wrecks hadn't yet been charted.

But time passes by and destinations once extremely remote are now easier (though not much cheaper) to get to. I had also, in the intervening 35 years, been lucky to do a few wreck dives, both in the Red Sea and here in South Africa, and I knew it was a type of diving that I really enjoy.

So, the immediate answer was yes to Rosemarie's question:) We just needed to set the date.

A bit of background.......

After WW1, the Japanese were mandated a significant number of the Pacific Island groups, Truk included. In secret (in violation of the mandate) they built a significant naval base at Truk and after they joined WW2 this was a key base for them in the Pacific. The Americans decided against a land invasion of Truk (it was considered to be fairly impregnable to land/water based attack) and to attack it from the air instead. One of the American reconnaissance flights was spotted by the Japanese early in Feb 1944 and most of the Japanese naval vessels (carriers, destroyers, battleships etc.) were sent on to Palau. However, when the Americans did attack (Operation Hailstone) there were still a significant number of auxiliary and support ships in the lagoon. During Operation Hailstone and several more attacks during 1944, over 36 ships were destroyed / sunk in the lagoon.

 Truk (now called Chuuk) lagoon is a bit like a large lake in the middle of the ocean. It's barrier reef provides significant shelter and the scattered islands provide sheltered anchorages within the lagoon. This combined with its remote location (off the tourist/diver) route, has meant that the shipwrecks have been relatively untouched by time (and humans) - except for the amazing coral growth on the shallower vessels..... Even now, there are only 3 flights in a week, and approximately 5000 tourists a year.

The corals on the sunken fleet are quite amazing, but the only reason one makes the lengthy trip to get to Truk is the wreck diving -  I did 20 dives in the 7 days we were there, 19 of which were on wrecks, and we didn't see even a fraction of what could be done. (It's a bit like my safari guests coming on a "once in a life-time" 3-4 day safari to Kruger - one has brief encounters with some of the major highlights, but that is just scratching the tip of an elephants tail hair, if you know what I mean).

 Some of the tourist brochures for Truk talk of the "Ghost Fleet", and believe me, it is truly an eerie experience in many respects. There are still some human remains scattered amongst the other day to day artifacts that litter the decks and holds of the ship wrecks, plus many torpedoes, submarine parts, aircraft parts, tanks, bull dozers, truck chassis, weapons, mines, blankets, saki bottles, shoes............

 To add to the overall experience, the Captain of the SS Thorfinn (which was our home and base for the 7 days in Truk) has been in the area for over 30 years. So over every meal we had interesting and entertaining tales about the islands, Operation Hailstone, the shipwrecks and how they were sunk, his own history leading up to Truk etc. etc.  His knowledge and stories really brought those ships and the Japanese history in the islands to life.

Well, sadly (I could have spent much much longer diving those wrecks) we eventually had to start heading back home.

As a group (there were 4 of us who eventually went on this trip) we had decided to do an "add-on", which was a 3 night / 2 diving days stop in Palau on the way back.

Absolutely wonderful!!

First of all, it broke up the very long journey home, but best of all we got another 5 dives on some of the most renowned reefs in the Pacific Ocean.

Sharks, turtles, multitudes of colourful reef fish, blue reef walls, glorious corals, jungle clad islands, blue/green lagoon waters, and on the last non-diving day, a fascinating land tour of the islands.

The highlight of this "stopover" for me was our 5th and last dive - Chandelier Cave. A mostly submerged limestone cavern with stunning stalactites both above and below the water line.......unforgettable.

Well, that pretty much sums it all up.

To dive Truk Lagoon has been a vague but persistent murmur in my sub-conscious for over 30 years, and now I have amazing memories (and photographs) which will never dim or fade.

I'm still coming down from the high:)

A Kruger intermission, an underwater sojourn

Sodwana Bay, viewed from Jesser point

After a year of working quite hard on safari I was definitely missing my “alternate” world – under the sea.....

So when I realised that I was not working over Christmas (for the first time since 2007) I immediately made plans to go diving.

I hadn't been on the reefs of Sodwana Bay for almost four years and as one could, at a stretch, say it was on the way to Durban, where I planned to visit my extended family, well, it was the obvious diving destination.

Blue-lined & Yellow snapper

My timing was good, the sea has started getting warmer, there were enough divers around to make up a boat load of “advanced” divers to visit further reefs, but not yet the school holidays, so I could get some “off-season” discounts (plus the beach wasn't too crowded).

And, wow, I had forgotten just how glorious the diving at Sodwana can be!

Here are just a few of my photos, but they cannot really give you a feel for what we experienced:-

Paper Fish

 

The gorgeous, colourful hard and soft corals, sponges, anemones, clams and fish that proliferate on the reefs stretching north of Jesser Point;

Two-bar anemone fish

 The large manta ray swooping over and around us for most of another dive;

Ribbon Eels

Five different types of moray eel one afternoon, including the “cheeky” black-cheeked moray that nipped my hand as I struggled in the surge to take a photo of another;

The brilliantly coloured, tiny nudibranchs dotted almost everywhere we looked;

A view through one of the many arches on the reefs

A school of dolphins circling us playfully as we snorkeled with them after one dive;

Turtle tracks etched on the dunes as we skimmed past every morning;

The majesty of a large “raggie” shark winding away from us;

 And, at the end of a long morning's diving, that unique post-dive state of exhausted euphoria.

  

Ribbon-tail Ray

Giant clam

After that wonderful, diving break I am back to Kruger Park tomorrow, totally refreshed by almost 9 hours of immersion in the Indian Ocean, and ready for the bush again :)

I hope you have all had a happy festive season, and best wishes for 2013.

“Doodling” in Mozambique

Stretching north along the coastline from KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) into southern Mozambique are some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the Indian Ocean. They are generally  deeper than 12 metres which means that although snorkeling is very limited, the reefs have mostly escaped the catastrophic effects of the major El Nino-related ocean warming events of the last 15 years.

 

In South Africa the reefs have been protected to varying levels for many years now, and in Mozambique MPA’s are in the process of being implemented.

This means that some awesome diving can be had if one is prepared to make the long journey to Sodwana Bay, Ponta do Ouro and beyond.

Over the last 4 years I have made several trips to Ponta do Ouro, and recently I have been fortunate enough to work there as a Dive Master during the peak holiday seasons.

One of the best known reefs of Ponta is “Doodles”. It is about 17m deep and is the closest reef to the Ponta launch beach. So it is very easy to get to!

But of course there is far more to Doodles than it’s proximity to Ponta. It is in a zone that attracts a lot of shoaling fish. During April one could hardly see any clear water for all the shoaling “bait fish” and during the summer months there are usually small shoals of squid at the northern and southern ends of the reef and always the blue lined and yellow snappers.

Doodles is not the best reef in the area for hard corals, but it does have some pretty outcrops on the northern side and various impressive sponges and soft corals.

What draws most divers to Doodles are the Potato Bass, sting rays and my favourites, the lion fish.

 

My favourite “drop” on to Doodles is at the northern end. There we descend slowly through clear blue water on to white rippled sand. Quite often the Potato Bass, 4 or 5 of them will curiously approach whilst we are still orienting ourselves on the sand, and in this wide open space they look truly impressive. I suppose that because they are similar in size to us they are not shy about approaching, and sometimes the smaller ones get very close. A few months ago, a diver in my group had a small panic when a younger potato bass thought his hair wafting around his head looked rather interesting, perhaps tasty? And wouldn’t keep away…….. 

As we drift with the current towards the reef we start looking out for the blue spotted rays, sting rays and other large fauna. Only two weeks ago we had a large Leopard Shark resting under a small ledge. Not a common sighting in these waters!

Of course, as with any coral reef there is any number of smaller creatures to find as one works southwards with the gentle current.

A couple of remoras have been hanging out recently, though after a quick inspection they realise that divers are not a good “host”. Then there are the nudibranchs, urchins, anemones, shrimps, plus the lion fish and devil firefish around every corner.

Even in relatively poor “viz” the reef always delights! There is something for everyone.