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We managed to get in two dives on Julian Rocks, a solitary rock outcropping no more than a few hundred square meters wide. This islet is only a five minute boat ride straight out from Byron Bay. Since this was our first dive in Oz, we were a little tense at first, not sure of what to expect temperature-wise. We've become so accustomed to drysuit diving that switching back to wetsuits felt odd... and definitely colder. I was frozen by the end of the first dive and Claire, not used to the swell that regularly occurs off the Australian coast, started to feel quite sea-sick. However, having said that, our first dive was amazing! LOADS of fish with rich colours in all sizes, including giant "Gropers" (not to be confused with Groupers.) We came across a large Queensland Groper nesteled in a cave that we swam through. Click "Read More" below...
This giant fish was almost as large as Claire... we know this because Claire was hovering shoulder-to-shoulder with this thing before she realized that there was a huge eye regarding her. I ended up causing some grief for this poor Groper as a I came through the cave afterwards, eventually unintentially pinning the fish to the roof of the cave. I actually thought Claire was trapped behind me, but quickly realized that it was the Groper trying push me out of the way. I gave a couple of strong kicks with my fins before the fish decided a good bite was in order to get the message across. We also a number of large Scorpionfish and Lion Fish, both deadly poisonous. Rarely in BC do you see divemasters giving the closed-fist signal for danger, yet here our divermaster was giving the fist signal at every third animal it seemed. Highlight of the dive for me, however, was a swim-by from a grey nurse shark. These "friendly" sharks have an unfortunate face that makes them look perfectly nasty, but these large fish are only interested in medium sized fish. The may come over to check you out as long as you keep your arms in and stay low to the bottom, but the moment you move or have your arms out, they leave the scene. The other shark family sighting included masses of Wobbegongs, a shark that spends much of its day parked on the bottom. This sharks get their "danger" rating just because of their tendency to grab at things that get too close, including foolish enough to try to touch their tails. They are very flexible and can reach right back to their tails, so trying for that "connection" with nature usually results in a chomped hand. In addition, they must have some pit-bull in them as once they bite, they tend to hang on and can apparently be quite difficult to remove. Our second dive lacked the nurse shark sighting of the first, but Claire had a fantastic experience sailing in the current with large eagle rays. While we have to work quite to stay in place in the fast current, the rays simply seem to hover effortlessly over the rocks. The best part of this dive for me, however, were the amazing small nudibranchs and the incredile "sea spider". Their colours are more radiant than things I've seen in Maui or BC, especially under lights. Next stop for diving: Tasmania!
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