16th August 2025- WHALE MUGGING?

We had a fabulous dive today with SoWild as we ventured out to South Solitary Island! Conditions were great, with flat seas and sunny skies! On our way out, we had a small pod of Humpback Whales circling the boat, or “mugging” as some might say. It is unclear, but it seemed as though they were lunge feeding as they continuously opened their mouth on the surface for a period of time. Unusual behaviour for us to see this far north as they do not usually feed on their journey south, but interesting nonetheless!

The first dive of today saw divers jumping in at Cleaner Station! Some staying shallow whilst others ventured into deep water, this dive was packed full of Grey Nurse Sharks! Second up, divers jumped in at Shark Gutters for a bit of a kick down to the Gantry.

Both dives showed the true beauty of South Solitary. Heaps of Nudibranchs were seen out today, along with some other hidden critters like White Eyed and Abbots Morays. Octopus could be seen hidden inside of rocks, one even crawling along the rock shelf! Spiny Lobster, Eagle Rays, Green and Hakwbill Turtles were some other highlights of todays dive!

Conditions Report

Visibility: 15 metres

Temperature: 19.5°C