This was an anticipated trip what with the prospect of a fantastic shore dive from Fly Point just out of Nelson Bay and boat diving from Mike’s boat not much more than a year old. Ben, Steve T and Paul headed north.
Saturday was early start to hit the high tide at 11am. Steve T was his usual punctual self and Paul and Ben not far behind. We all arrived early enough to scout the site and get a park for the cars with numerous other divers. The conditions were perfect. Ben gleaned info from a few other divers, and we agreed to drop in slightly ahead of schedule before 11am. This allowed us to be carried by the tide into the bay until it stopped and reversed and carried us back to the exit point. This is a marine reserve and an excellent site. Shark eggs, baby Moray eels, baby blind sharks, many Stone fish, Flatheads, Groupers, and lots more were seen while Ben took photo after photo drifting along in the current. The colours were amazing, sponges and all sorts of other scenery mesmerised us all. 65 minutes later we exited the water with satisfaction in abundance. The post-dive refreshments were at a recommended café called Kin, and its confirmed good especially the scallop and prawn burger!
Saturday evening was a trip to a local curry house with the whole team including Mike and Amanda.
Sunday morning another early start to Soldiers Point boat ramp. After loading the boat and a small altercation with a local about poor boat ramp etiquette, apparently ours, we made way to North Island. Once the anchor was in Ben and Mike dropped over the side for nearly an hour dive in the gullies, but no sharks were there. Steve T and Paul decided to wait for the next site at Looking Glass. This is a gully between the island, and it is spectacular and usually with Grey Nurse sharks, although not today. However, there was Wobbies, PJs and a couple of Turtles (one of them tagged). Great scenery with viz not bad. This dive was enough for Paul, whereas the other 3 jumped in for a further 50-minute dive.
A fast passage back to the boat ramp and a well-executed trailer loading we were ready to head to Sydney after a debrief and thanks to the Skipper.
SSAC should go visit this part of the coast more often.
