Along the rocky shore from Batemans Bay to Broulee Island are numerous small islands and reefs that offer exciting scuba diving, snorkeling and underwater photography.
The reefs are rich in temperate water sea creatures with high density populations of sessile marine invertebrates, like sponges, sea fans soft corals, ascidians often hidden beneath the kelp cover.
Batemans Bay is a popular holiday, scuba diving, snorkeling and underwater photography destination, attracting many divers from Canberra, only 85 km away. It also has some really nice national parks and lovely beaches in the area.
A little south of Blackman's Point the shoreline can be sheltered and shallow. However, similar to many shore entries along the south east coast a diver needs to snorkle out over the fringing kelp to get to deeper water.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Along the rocky shore from Batemans Bay to Broulee Island are numerous small islands and reefs that offer exciting diving. The area is most popular with divers from Canberra, only 85 km away. The bay was proposed as a seaport in the early days but it proved to be too shallow. Today, Batemans Bay is a popular holiday destination, with many national parks and lovely beaches in the area. Visitors will find an excellent range of accommodation and eating places to suit every budget.
Left: The tops of the shallow water reefs are covered with kelp Ecklonia radiata and to find interesting critters one must investigate below the fronds.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Right: Giant Sea Squirts Pyura spinifera decorate the deeper reefs like huge club - like candelbra. These long - stalked ascidians have various colours of a commensal sponge growing on them. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
East coast form of the male Freycinet's leatherjacket Meuschenia freycineti has a yellow side- patch which is not present in members of the same species in Victoria and along the southern coast.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Shore Diving
Around Batemans Bay are a number of shallow shore diving sites. The most popular spot is Guerrilla Bay, which is quite shallow and dominated by kelp. Once outside the bay, the bottom drops to 15 m and colourful sponges become more common. Marine life is abundant and divers will see nudibranchs, stingrays, electric rays, blue gropers, cuttlefish, sea stars and weedy sea dragons.
Daytime pose of the Swimming Sea Anemone Phlyctenactic tuberculosa. At night , or on overcast days, brown tentacles are extended to feed mostly on plankton. The species is very colourful with many colour variations over its wide range across southern Australia. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
A plankton feeder, the Southern Fusilier Paracaesio xanthura is often seen in large schools around the 15 to 20 metre depth. This fish is a tropical species that is widely distributed from the Red Sea to the South Pacific.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Boat Diving
The best the Batemans Bay area has to offer is accessible by boat. The Tollgate Islands are surrounded by rocky reefs, which attract schools of pelagic fish. The boulders are overgrown with sponge gardens hosting an excellent variety of marine life. Black Rock has a number of ledges and caves with cuttlefish, wobbegongs and rock lobsters. Jemmy Island offers interesting reefs packed with sponges, invertebrates and reef and pelagic fish. Burrewarra Point provides exceptional diving where the reef drops into deep water. This rocky reef is covered in beautiful sponges and an extensive variety of invertebrates. Vertebrates are plentiful as well, stingrays, weedy sea dragons, blue gropers, boarfish, Port Jackson sharks, blue devilfish and the occasional school of kingfish.
Ranging from Pittwater just north of Sydney right around the coast to Perth in Western Australia( including Tasmania) the Weedy Seadragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus is a very popular species to divers and photographers. On the south east coast they appear to be seen mostly on deeper reefs and around some jetties. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
During the day the Southern Rock Lobster Jasus edwardsii may be seen under ledges and in crevices and caves. At night it prowls forth in search of prey. It feeds on a number of invertebrate species including molluscs and will also scavenge.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
These strange sausage - like creatures are Clifton's Zoanthid Isaurus cliftoni. They are communal cnidarians that contain symbiotic zooxanthellae and during the day they lay over to catch as much sunlight as possible. At night they sit up and expand their feeding tentacles to catch plankton.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The Honeycomb Sponge Echinoclathria laminaefavosa is an easily recognised species. Even though it takes on many different forms depending on its initial habitat, the overall pattern remains the same.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
John Penn
In 1879 the John Penn ran aground on Burrewarra Point, and sank in Broulee Bay after being towed off the rocks. Still an interesting wreck dive, the 50 m-long hull is encrusted with sponges and gorgonians, and alive with reef fish. Although it lies in 13 m of water and is filled with sand, divers are still able to see the engines, boiler, gunwales and anchor.
Generally found under ledges, or in caves, these densly thick growths of Clump Gorgonia Acabarica sp. may be in several different colours, all living together. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Neville Coleman's diving expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys and marine life identification courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in living taxonomy and marine life identification extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around Bateman's Bay.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
