We hit the jackpot with the dive conditions at Edithburgh! Standing on the shore and looking out along the jetty, we saw barely a ripple on the crystal-clear water, and one lazy fur seal bobbing around in between the jetty pylons.
Fur seal
After jumping in and overcoming the initial “brain-freeze” from the 12C water engulfing our heads, we went in search of the most beautiful and elusive South Australian fish – the leafy seadragon. As usual, the leafies were hard to find, but we have had a lot of practice now that we’ve been in South Australia for nearly five months!
Another benefit of having extra time here in South Australia, is that we’ve built up a catalogue of leafy identification photos which we donate to the DragonSearch citizen science project.
Underneath the jetty at Edithburgh, colour explodes from the pylons in the form of corals and sponges. There is a lack of larger fish, but the abundance of small critters makes for an excellent dive. At night, we found tiny bob-tail and pyjama squid hiding on the sandy patches, and shorthead seahorses perching on fronds of weed.
Shorthead seahorse
Pyjama squid
Bobtail squid
Colourful jetty pylon and spider crab
Tasmanian clingfish
We discovered, from our boat, that the bottlenose dolphins at Edithburgh are exceptionally friendly. They rode our bow-wave, and stared up at us with their big curious eyes, so that we felt we were the ones being watched – such a feel-good experience!
Bottlenose dolphin
Photos by Rosie Leaney & Scott Portelli using Olympus AU & NZ OMD EM1 MK2 cameras.