21st April 2021 – Uni Dive Day
As the sunshine greeted us today, so did the awesome diving and snorkelling conditions as we had Wildfin and 2 Wild fly out to South Solitary Island. Joining us today we had the “Bendigo SCUBA Club”, along with Marine Science students from Southern Cross Uni, in addition to a few extra keen divers and snorkelers. Today started off with a bang as we had Dolphins in the marina, following us out the Harbour, and then a nice smooth trip out to South Solitary.
For the first dive we had divers explore Manta Arch and Cleaner Station, with snorkelers swimming through the gap and checking out the Gantry. Highlights include approximately 12 Grey Nurse Sharks around the Back Gutter, Lionfish, Hawksbill Turtles, Wobbegong Sharks and a White Eye Moray which was filmed by our Divemaster Cassie.
The second dive we had some divers do a drift from Cleaner Station to South Boulder, and the remaining divers and snorkelers jumped in at the Back Gutter and swam through the gap and finished up at The Gantry. Hawksbill and Green Sea Turtles, Octopus, Eagle Rays, Mantis Shrimp, Lionfish, Black Cod, Blue Tangs, Fiddler Rays, and more Grey Nurse Sharks were the highlights, along with constant schooling fish. The snorkelers were even lucky enough to swim with a massive Green Sea Turtle for about 5 mins.
Conditions:
Water Visibility: 10-15m
Water Temperature: 23°C