DIVE LOG AUSTRALASIA FEB 2026

A curious White Spotted Guitar fish, or Shovel Nose Sharkray, Rhynchobatus australiae on the wreck of the Yongala.

is more protected down behind the wreck and is much safer. This time, my powerful dive light lit up a female Bronze Whalers racing above us at high speed. I estimated it was moving about thirty times faster than I could swim. It does make you feel very vulnerable! She made two or three lightning passes and disappeared into the darkness in a flash. It is amusing to see huge Trevally, Cod and other large fish sitting in the current motionless. We round heads have to hang on with reef hooks, straining almost to breaking point. On the wreck, you can hang

about near the top where the promenade barrier is and watch giant creatures cruise by. The best of these include Huge Sting Rays, Turtles, Cobia, Coral Trout as big as you will ever see and Shovel Nose Shark Rays. One trip, I got a great photo of a Guitar Shark Ray but I was still green with envy when one of our diver group, Fang, who was from China, got a perfect close up portrait of a Leopard shark just moments later. It calmly swam along the top of the wreck right in front of his camera. Just like my Shark Ray had done.

Stingrays on the wreck of the Yongala.

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Dive Log Australasia #416 February ’26

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