Three nights live-a-board accommodation, ten dives, fantastic buddies, great conditions - what more could a scuba diver wish for?
Well! – reaching a bunch of dive sites that are normally inaccessible is just one reason why Jervis Bay – south of Sydney NSW Australia - 2008 was ‘…one of those dive trips’ of a lifetime.
Friday evening, the start of our three day trip, commenced at the Huskisson pub, that is for those lucky enough to escape the working week early.
Dinner was the usual pub affair but the entertainment was electrifying. Just as the banter on where to sit for dinned eased the heavens opened up while the lightening virtually lit-up Jervis Bay for what seemed like hours. Then, just as we were contemplating the thought of a wet and uncomfortable weekend the storm passed, leaving in its wake a lovely night.
When the final members of our team arrived at the Huskisson wharf – apparently some were delayed by navigational devices – our hosts ferried us safely on board Ocean Trek. Following the usual safety brief we all settled for a night of sleep.
The enthusiasm for getting out and getting wet was obviously in the air as several people were up early. As we consumed breakfast we motored out to Warrens Reef at the inner southern head of Jervis Bay. The sandy bottom is speckled with weed covered small rock bommies and a rocky walled reef leading to the surface. This site is well known for harbouring weedy sea dragons and we weren’t disappointed. Simon from Terrigal Underwater Group was especially happy with eyeballing his first ever weedy.
Our second dive site was at the nearby Weedy Valley, again on the inside of the south head. This site was populated by several weedy sea dragons, as the name would suggest, a number of wobbegongs and pockets of squid circulating mid water.
Prior to lunch skipper Mick and the team moved OceanTrek to the Docks located on the inner north head. The depth to the sand where the vessel anchors is approximately 20 meters. From where the anchor lies divers can easily navigate to the near vertical wall, overhangs and caves. Grey nurse sharks are often seen in this area but not on this trip.
Our two dives (day one) at this site were in comfortable 21 degrees water. While at the site Robb Westerdyk, another Terrigal Underwater Group member introduced several of us to the world of underwater scootering. What a buzz!
Our first day of diving concluded with drinks on the upper deck looking out over the spectacular of Jervis Bay at sunset. Overnight, we remained in close to the Docks where the cliff face shielded the vessel from the prevailing north-easterly.
The next morning revealed another fine day. The surface conditions were perfect so following another great brekkie we headed outside the heads. Sunday was probably not the most appropriate day to visit the Whorehouse our first point of call on the way north along the coast. We were dropped right on the spot and descended to approximately 25 meters to a series of caverns that looked like a bordello (my wife Paula’s description) with a path right through the centre. The water temperature was a chilly 18 degrees C at the bottom but the surface temperature remained at a comfortable 22 degrees C. With all honesty I have never been to a whorehouse: this one would be worth visiting again.
Our next dive was at the appropriately named Devils Cauldron. The inside cave structure resembles an amphitheatre of biblical proportions. When at the bottom of the cave you can look up and see a series of steps and if you listen hard enough – plus use a little imagination – you can hear a continuous applause caused by waves crashing into the upper cave area.
Our luck with the great weather conditions held out and we made our way further north to dive the wreck of the SS Wandra a 164 tons, ketch rigged wooden twin screw steamer which foundered in heavy weather on December 15, 1915. The site is located seven miles north of Point Perpendicular at an indentation in the coastline called the Drum and Drumsticks. The site is often difficult to get to but the diving seemed a breeze. The ships wooden structure, time and the elements has left little of the ship like façade. The boiler and twin screws are very prominent and make for fantastic photography against the white sandy bottom. A word of warning – if you find something interesting to photograph don’t tell the others.
Inevitably, we had to make our way back to the bay. Our last dive of the day was a repeat of the Docks but with an opportunity to explore different areas of interest reported by divers from earlier dives. Once again we spent a wonderful evening on the upper deck sipping wine and enjoying each others company.
After another good nights sleep we made our way to Fish Rock not far from the Docks. We decided to make this 9th dive a pre-breakfast dive. The water was a little eerie at that time of the morning and around 25 to 30 meters seemed very dark. The site is close to the heads and we were told to keep a look out for the many large species of fish, including marlin that frequent the area. While none were observed we did see plenty of big rays and spotted wobbegongs. Close to the wall we encounter large schools of yellowtail. The natural architecture of the underwater rock wall at this site looks remarkably manufactured.
Point Perpendicular was our last dive before returning to Husky. This again is a remarkable dive with the possibility of viewing large pelagics. Several of our dives were live drop-offs and diver recovery events. Doing a live drop-off in front of Point Perpendicular adds a great perspective to this already exciting dive.
During the Jervis Bay adventure we were treated to a daily display of some of Australia’s finest naval ships and submarines. The navy was on exercise for the week. On closely passing one naval vessel one officer managed a quick guarded wave; the other officers remained on high-guard including two steadfast officers at the stern manning machine guns. Not to be out done by the flotilla two F-18’s buzzed over as we approached shore. I think they were thanking us for coming to Jervis Bay!
Thank you to all my great diving buddies for making this a great trip.
Grant Bradly, Jervis Bay Trip Convener 2008.
From Sydney to Huskisson, Jervis Bay:
Distance: Princes Highway - 185 km: Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Distance: South Western Freeway - 203 km: Time: 2 hours 58 minutes
Copyright (c) 2009 Grant Bradly All Rights Reserved
