409 Dive Log Australasia December 24

The rare Gilded Triggerfish has bright gold tail margins and a blue cheek.

Square Spot Anthias

The ‘House reef” is fully protected. It is a huge wall dive, possibly more than a kilometre so you can do several dives here. Diving here is like a little window into the ultimate act of environmental protection. I often wonder what dive sites were like before human intervention. I imagine millions of fish, sharks whales and a rich and vibrant ocean. The house reef is one of the best dives there. Within a few minutes of entering the water, we encountered a cave with a dozen or so Ornate Crays in eight metres of water. Several huge Green Turtles rested on ledges in the vertical wall. Remora snoozed on their shells. The Turtles were fairly used to divers and did not seem to be bothered by my approach. Although I was careful to introduce myself and creep up slowly before taking a couple of shots and letting her get back to the serious business of her afternoon slumber. Sheer walls hit a sandy slope at around twenty five metres but I do not like to dive deep in the tropics. Most of the life is in the shallows and I like to get in a good solid photo session of at least an hour. This is when I found out that the suggested maximum dive time is seventy minutes. What a joy! My dive guide, Novie, never stressed out even if the dive time hit seventy-minutes and I had found a good photo subject. There was always time for a few more shots. Novie was an outstanding guide, very patient and helpful. nothing was a problem.

I had hired a near new BCD and reg. As always, it takes a while to become familiar with new gear. Once that was sorted, it was all systems go. The fish life here is awesome. Once again, they are used to divers and are present in greater numbers. I was thrilled to spot a great array of Butterflyfish and Angelfish. One highlight for me was the Royal Dotty backs. These tiny little camera teasers are so shy and elusive. However, I managed to employ that most important of all underwater photo tricks: dogged determination. The other ingredient of getting that shot is to spend the time. Some subjects can take a while to capture that magic shot.

24 So many colourful reefs to explore

DIVE LOG Australasia #409 - December ‘24