Dive Reports – November 2022
Take a look at our dive reports from November 2022! We’ve detailed what we saw, the temperature and visibility, and surface conditions of the Solitary Islands in Coffs Harbour in November 2022.
Dive Reports November 2022 – Table of Contents:
2nd November 2022 – Mid week diving South Solitary island
With only a small group of divers this morning ” 2 Wild” headed out to South Solitary Island. Manta Arch and the Gap area was very flat and a perfect place to be for both dives hiding from a strong North West wind.
Divers explored from the Boiler to the Arch, the Back Gutter and also the Gap. The marine life we saw on both dives varied from Grey Nurse Sharks, Wobbegong Sharks, Black Cod, to the smaller Lionfish and Schooling Fish and a lonely Green Turtle.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C-20°C
- Visibility: 10m
Dive Report by Stuart
3rd November 2022 – Wild Wobbes
Today we took 2Wild out for a lovely Thursday dive at South Solitary Island.
We sat at the top end of the island to hide away from the southerly wind, so Shark Gutters was our dive site pick for the first dive. Here we saw a large amount of grey nurse sharks hanging around shark gutters, cleaner station, and the sanctuary marker. So many Grey Nurses!! There were plenty of nudibranchs, some stripeys, and heaps of wobbegongs piled up like a stack of pancakes (which we have featured as our image for today’s report). There were some lionfish, black cod, and friendly blue gropers spotted.
Dive two was once again a gap swim. Highlights on this dive included even more grey nurse sharks, and 3 or 4 Green Sea Turtles. There were plenty of schooling fish, along with old wives, blue tangs and anenomefish. Some divers spotted some moray eels, too!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 8m-10m
Dive Report by Tara
4th November 2022 – Barney says hello!
Tucked away from the southerly breeze we enjoyed two action packed dives at South Solitary Island today. Barney the loggerhead turtle, and the dozen or more grey nurse sharks stole the show today with lots to see at every turn. Big schools of surgeonfish, moray eels, lionfish, stacks of wobbegongs and a juvenile emperor angelfish made up just some of the highlights.
Check out this great shot of Barney taken by Abby today!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20°C
- Visibility: 5m-8m
Dive Report by Andy
5th November 2022 – Visibility on the improve!
Yay! The vis is improving at the Solitaries! The southerly breeze confined us to the northern end of South Solitary this morning where we were able to dive with more than a dozen grey nurse sharks! Turtles, black cod, lionfish, lots of wobbegongs, and a few friendly bullrays also entertained us on both dives!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-12m
Dive Report by Andy
6th November 2022 – Sunday funday at South Solitary!
Calm seas made for ideal surface conditions at South Solitary today. The top end of the island along with the gap was explored by our divers across both dives. Our friendly grey nurse stole the show today as the divers were able to get up close with these magnificent animals. Plenty of turtles, black cod, moray eels plus schooling mado and sweep made for action packed diving.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-12m
Dive Report by Andy
10th November 2022- Blue Water at South Solitary islands
A little bumpy on the way out today, however we were greeted Better visibility when we arrived. With a strong current and Blue Water on the northern end of the island, we opted to dive the western side first up to avoid the current. Check out the pic of a Marble Ray that swam past one group.
Dive two was a Drift dive from Shark Gutters to the Gantry and was such a great ride. Everything from big Black Cod and Grey Nurse to 5 turtles at the gap in one area, along with more turtles in other spots near the Gantry. Blue water was clearer than we have seen in months!
Looking forward to the conditions improving in the coming days!
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20.5°C
- Visibility: 20m
Dive Report by Mike
11th November 2022-Blue Water and great drift diving
We got excited today when we saw lovely Blue Water halfway to South Solitary Island. We were not disappointed when we arrived with great visibility all round. With a big current early we dived at Buchanan’s Wall to avoid it. Wobbegongs and turtles were abundant with snorkellers having a great time too.
Dive two was a drift for the experienced divers only with a challenging entry, however it was amazing once underneath. Grey Nurse Sharks with huge Marble rays and fish-life going off in the current. Topping off that with 8 turtles in the gap area together. Finishing a great day of diving.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20°c
- Visibility: 20+ and Blue!
Dive Report by Mike
12th November 2022 – Turtle City at South solitary!
Ideal conditions allowed our dives to explore the back gutter of South Solitary Island before shooting the gap on dive one. Big numbers of grey nurse and turtles were spotted on this dive!
Taking advantage of the current, dive two was spent drifting along the Boulder Wall. A few more nurse were spotted on this dive along with a squadron of bull rays, schooling surgeonfish and many more turtles!
Vis varying from 5 to 20m.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20°C
- Visibility: 20m
Dive Report by Andy
13th November 2022 – Great day underwater at south Solitary
Sheltered from the freshening northerly breeze, Buchanan’s Wall and the Gantry at South Solitary Island were ideal locations for diving today.
Buchanan’s Wall was a big hit with the divers! Up close interactions with a friendly green turtle and one monster bull ray made for an exciting first dive! Keeping within the shelter of the island we made our way about the Gantry on dive two. Lots more turtles, lionfish, black cod and many of the islands amazing nudibranchs were just some of the highlights on this dive.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C
- Visibility: 10m-12m
Dive Report by Andy
19th November 2022 – Split Solitary Saturday sojourn
With the weather and surface conditions finally aligning Megawild steamed out to South Solitary for todays dives. the visibility at South Solitary was resplendent with the bottom clearly visible through crystal clear blue water, but due to the wind and swell directions being at odds, we had to adjourn to Split Solitary, which luckily tuned it on for our divers!
Due to the prevailing surface conditions our divers dropped in at Mike’s Mooring for both dives. During the dives many nudibranchs were seen, along with Slipper Crays, Green Lobsters, Hawksbill Turtles, Wobbegongs, a Grey Nurse Shark, a Blindshark (today’s photo taken by our Instructor Nathan) and an Octopus eating a Tiger Cowrie.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 20°C
- Visibility: 3m-8m
Dive Report by Nathan
21st November 2022 – Clear water is back at south solitary!
With the wind and swell subsiding after a wild weekend Megawild loaded up and powered out to South Solitary Island for some sensational diving!
First up our divers descended on a crystal clear Cleaner Station. During the dive several nudibranch species were observed, along with Grey Nurse Sharks, Black Cod, Dwarf Lionfish and schooling Tarwhine.
For the second dive our divers rolled in at Cleaner station for a drift along Boulder Wall to the Gantry. More Grey Nurse Sharks were seen, along with several large Marbled Rays, Abotts Morays, Green and Hawksbill Turtles.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 18m-25m
Dive Report by Nathan
23rd November 2022 – CHHS hit the light!
With the Good conditions holding steady Megawild loaded up with students from Jetty High School and cruised out to South Solitary for a morning snorkel trip!
Our snorkelers jumped in at Cleaner Station and saturated the top end, finishing up with a swim through The Gap. During their swim they saw several Turtles, Blue Tangs, Black Cod, a Marbled Ray, Wobbegongs, and even a couple of Grey Nurse Sharks!
Whilst the snorkelers were exploring the top end, our instructor Nathan dropped in at Manta Arch for a bit of a site/condition reconnaissance; four Grey Nurse Sharks were seen in the arch, along with Banded Coral Shrimp, an Abbots Moray & a very shy Sandbar Shark that was skulking in the distance ; around 30 more Grey Nurse were seen in the Back Gutter, and after cutting through the swimthrough to the Third Gutter a large (and grumpy) Queensland Grouper was seen, along with two more Grey Nurse and several Nudibranchs, including a very exotic Tambja Sp.? (today’s pic) found and photographed in Cleaner Station cave.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 19°C-21°C
- Visibility: 10m-20m
Dive Report by Nathan
25th November 2022 – Turtally Wild Friday!
After a brief break Megawild loaded up and powered out to South Solitary for some great diving!
First up our divers rolled in at Cleaner Station, our divers saw Nudibranchs, Black Cod, a Grey Nurse Shark, a Queensland Grouper, and our advanced deep divers came across a Great Hammerhead lurking in the deep water.
For our second dive our divers dropped in again at Cleaner Station for a drift to the Gantry. Along the way our divers encountered Marbled Rays, Lionfish, Painted Crays, Wobbegongs and several Turtles in the Gap.
Congratulations to Eve and Lyarnah on completing their PADI Open Water course, and to Ewan on completing his Advanced Open Water course.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 8m-15m
- Visibility: 20°C
Dive Report by Nathan
26th November 2022 – sensational saturday Diving at south solitary
Trying to sneak in before this afternoon’s blow Megawild Powered out to South Solitary for some sweet diving!
First up our divers rolled in at Manta Arch for a swim to Cleaner Station two Grey Nurse Sharks were in the arch itself, with 25+ more in the Back Gutter. During the remainder of the dive Nudibranchs, Flatworms, Lionfish, a Queensland Grouper, Abbotts Morays and Wobbegongs were seen.
After the surface interval our divers descended on Cleaner Station mooring for a swim to South Boulder, along the way Green Turtles, Blue Grouper, Painted Cray, a juvenile Emperor Angelfish, more Grey Nurse sharks, more Nudibranchs, and a very Happy Three-Bar Porcupine Fish (today’s photo courtesy of our DM Rosie!).
Congratulations to Aisha on completing her PADI Open Water Diver course.
Conditions Report:
- Temperature: 21°C
- Visibility: 5m-15m
Dive Report by Nathan
