Diving the Blue Heron Bridge

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One of my 2023 New Year’s Resolutions was to start scuba diving again. When I put my gear into storage after moving to Chicago from Australia, I never imagined it would be 8 years before I used it again! I was a little worried I would have forgotten everything and would have to get re-certified, but thanks to the help of some patient friends I was able to dive again after just a quick little refresher with the equipment.

I have actually already been diving twice this year, but the first time we went too deep for me to take my camera with me. We dove the Princess Anne wreck off West Palm Beach, which is at about 100 feet. The second time I went diving, my friends and I headed to the popular Blue Heron Bridge in Riviera Beach, FL. It’s a very shallow, easy spot popular with snorkelers and divers. There are lots of tropical fish and starfish as well as lobsters.

I’m so glad to be adventuring again, and will do my best to keep up with the blog! Thanks for reading.

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Scuba Diving in Manly

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Anemones at Shelly Beach in Manly

Anemones at Shelly Beach in Manly

I didn’t get a chance to go scuba diving in Tasmania, so I wanted to make sure I went in Sydney before leaving Australia to get one last day in. I was referred to Dive Centre Manly, who do regular shore dives from Shelly Beach. The dive site is well sheltered with good visibility, and rather shallow at a max depth of about 10 meters.

The site has several friendly blue gropers as well as cuttlefish, octopuses, wobbegong sharks, sweepers, cockatoo fish, and huge schools of barracuda and others. Unfortunately the rare weedy seadragon is no longer at the site, as the colony that had been there died off a few years ago and they never repopulated.

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Scuba Diving Ningaloo Reef: Asho’s Gap

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Reef sharks at the Asho's Gap cleaning station, Ningaloo Reef

Reef sharks at the Asho’s Gap cleaning station, Ningaloo Reef

The second dive of the day was Asho’s Gap, which is famous for a giant shark cleaning station. It didn’t disappoint, as we saw about a dozen reef sharks swimming around. Again, visibility wasn’t amazing so the pictures didn’t turn out, but you can get a good idea. In addition, I saw more turtles, a very cool razorfish and a gigantic school of bannerfish.

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Scuba Diving Ningaloo Reef: The Canyon

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A turtle at The Canyon, Ningaloo Reef

A turtle at The Canyon, Ningaloo Reef

I did a one day dive trip with Ningaloo Reef Dive and got a bit closer to the spectacular west coast corals and sea creatures. The highlight was definitely the hard coral structures, but I also saw two turtles, a gorgeous trumpet fish and a nudibranch. Unfortunately the visibility was uncharacteristically low, at about 7 meters, so I didn’t get so many amazing shots. Here’s a sampling.

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Diving on the Great Barrier Reef: The Final Post

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A pair of anemone fish in a bright red anemone

A pair of anemone fish in a bright red anemone at Steve’s Bommie on the Great Barrier Reef

Finally, here is my last batch of diving photos from the Great Barrier Reef. These photos come from Christmas Tree Bommie, a relatively deep, small bommie that is visited less frequently than a lot of the other sites up in the Ribbon Reefs. There’s also a final group from Steve’s Bommie, whose photogenic qualities never cease to amaze.

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