23rd August 2025- Barney Welcomes us

SoWild made the most of the lull in the weather and headed out to the lighthouse at South Solitary Island with nearly a full boat of divers!

Dive one was a jump in and out at Buchanan’s Wall- which ended up being the most exciting dive of the day! Divers were delighted to see a squadron of Squid! These encounters have become more regular for us to see at South, something we haven’t seen much of in the past. Lets see if this continues! Eagle Rays were also seen gliding through shallow waters nearby the island wall! The best part of this dive was Barney coming to say hello! Barney is our resident Loggerhead at South Sol! If youve dived with us a few times- chances are you would have seen her before!

Dive two was a drop in at South Boulder for a quick peak at the top end of the island, just to finish back at The Gantry! This dive was “turtle-y awesome”! Green Turtles and Hawksbill Turtles were seen crusing through the gap, riding through some of the surge! A Cownose Ray was also spotted by Julz andher group, which is always a nice surprise to see!  The crease in their lobes by their head along with a notched head create a cow-nose likeness that gives this ray its name! Other than that, lots of Wobbegongs and Blue Tangs were seen!

We even turned around after dropping a few off and made it back to South for a third dive! The third dive was at Cleaner Station! We saw two Grey Nurse Sharks on this dive, a school of Barred Barracuda, a Semicircle Angelfish, and more!

Visibility: 10-15m

Temperature: 18°C