May and June 2026-Sydney
1/5/2026- Shelly Beach
Max depth- 8.7 metres
Dive Time- 40 minutes
Temp- 21 degrees
Just a quick dip with Kieren to film a large school of Bannerfish that we knew was hanging out. Found it and got some good photos and footage of it, so mission successful.
15/5/2026- Shelly Beach
Max Depth- 9 metres
Time- 82 minutes
Temp- 20 degrees
A very enjoyable dive. After first checking in on the Bannerfish school, which was still in good shape, I decided to have a wander around the low reef that runs outwards from near the motorbike at Shelly. I first saw a small turtle that I hadn't seen at Shelly before; it wasn't Basil. Might have been the new turtle that has taken up residence in the area, Rosemary. It was in a hasty retreat from beneath a ledge. I looked under it and found an enormous Giant Cuttle sitting under it. It came out and had a bit of a look at me before going out and hunting. I had a little explore around the reef and found lots of juvenile tropical fish, including a school of baby Blue Striped Snapper. The Giant Cuttlefish I had seen before also came back around to look at me a couple of times. I then returned to the rock wall and started going back towards Shelly. Didn't find much of interest aside from an adult Longfin Rockcod, which was odd to see this far south. Went onto the seagrass and found Basil. Chilled with it for a while, and tested out the macro video mode of the TG-7, to great success. A very good dive.
16/6/2026- Shelly Beach
Max Depth- 8.6 metres
Time- 77 minutes
Temp- 19 degrees
A pretty nice, if unremarkable dive. Firstly checked out the seagrass and said hi to Basil. Then I cruised along the right-hand side, sticking to the rock wall. Aside from some enormous schools of one-spot pullers and bream, there wasn't a whole lot happening. On the way back, I went back to the seagrass and looked for Basil. Didn't find her, but did find a Wobbegong sitting on the seagrass right out in the open, which was unusual. Afterwards, I crossed over to the left-hand side. I found a couple of baby boxfish, which were very cute. I also ran into a small Giant Cuttle and finished the dive watching a hunting cormorant.
22/6/2026-Fairy Bower
Max Depth- 7.9 metres
Time- 64 minutes
Temp- 19 degrees
Jumped in at Fairy Bower towards the end of the day. It was a nice, cruisy dive, aside from a Wobbegong nearly swimming into me at the start of it. Plenty around, but nothing out of the ordinary, aside from tens of thousands of yellowtails, it seemed. The coral colonies were looking very healthy, with lots of tropicals hanging around them. Also checked out some of the swimthroughs in the shallows, which were fun albeit quite tight. At the end of the dive, a Blue Groper became quite fascinated by my buddy's torchlight, which was interesting to witness.
23/06/2026- Fairy Bower
Max Depth- 8.2 metres
Time- 88 minutes
Temp- 19 degrees
Jumped back in at Fairy Bower. The conditions were great, and the huge school of yellowtail were still blanketing the site. Watching the schools swirl around and form into tight balls was very interesting, and the site was full of tropicals, including a school of small Blue Striped Snappers. Also saw a moray eel out in the open hunting, and a fiddler ray. Then I headed towards Shelly Beach and the seagrass to look for Basil. Didn't find Basil, but did find an Angelshark sitting right out in the open, which was pretty cool.
24/06/2026- Watsons Bay
Max Depth- 6.3 metres
Time- 60 minutes
Temp- 18 degrees
Did a chill little dive at Watson's Bay. Not much to write home about, saw a Frogfish, a Moray eel which was blind in one eye, tons of Cuttlefish and checked out the really nice soft coral which grows under the pontoons.
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