Last weekend, five of us hit the road to beautiful Ulladulla, just a three-hour drive south of Sydney, for some diving with SCUDA. Hopefully, this was going to be different from our last trip here in May when we didn’t manage to get a single dive in!
Friday night was spent catching up on the latest gossip and celebrating Fe & Andy’s new house purchase. Saturday started off perfectly with a coffee stop at Native Café and the stunning views of the harbour right there. Next, we headed over to Brian’s place to load our gear onto his boat. After that, it was a smooth drive down to the boat ramp and an easy boarding onto SCUDA’s RIB. We were all set for a fantastic day of diving!
Our first dive was at Burrill Rocks, a spot that boasts a large cave, impressive sponge gardens, and some huge rays. Dive number two took us to The Playground, discovered only six years ago. Those (two) of us who heeded Brian’s advice had an absolute blast exploring the numerous swimthroughs and caves. One of those caves (which for some reason we decided not to enter) was home to several PJs and a big Wobbegong, all snuggled up together.
No trip to Ulladulla would be complete without a stop at Hayden’s Pies, so naturally, we made sure to indulge in their famous pies. Dinner on Saturday night was at the Golf Club where it was a mixed bag – one lucky person got their meal right away, while the rest of us waited an hour. At least the night out was worth it for the tasty gelatos we all enjoyed afterward from Tony’s Pizza House.
Fe and Steve W had to take off early on Sunday, but Hartley, Sam, and Steve T stayed behind for what turned out to be arguably the best dive of the weekend at The Arch. We descended to 27 meters in crystal clear water, explored the feature for which the site is named and the surrounding healthy and stunning reef system. Our final dive took us back to The Playground, but by then the conditions had turned and we had to deal with a tough current, surge, and even bluebottles at the surface. Not the most fun way to end, but that’s diving! We wrapped up by heading back to Brian’s to fill our tanks and wash our gear before making the trip home.
All in all, another successful and fun SSAC trip!
