Tweed Heads & Cook Island Byron Bay Ballina Coff's Harbour
South West Rocks Port Macquarie Lord Howe Island Norfolk Island
North Haven Forster-Seal Rocks Port Stephens
Newcastle-Swansea Central Coast - Terrigal Sydney North
Sydney South Wollongong to Kiama Jervis Bay
Bateman's Bay Narooma-Montague Island Tathra Merimbula
Located 60 km south of Jervis Bay, Ulladulla's reefs are found in shallow water, very close to shore.
The rocky reefs support an incredible variety of sponges, gorgonians, sea whips, ascidians, sea tulips, anemones and bryozoans.
Numerous reef fish are prevelant, and these, together with the biodiversity of the marine invertebrates, attract many scuba divers, snorkelers and underwater photographers to the region.
With no other nudibranch having similar markings and colours, Verco's Tambja Tambja verconis is easy to identify. It feeds exclusively on the Blue bryozoan Bugula dentata and grows to 80 mm. It occurs from central New South Wales to South Australia and also inhabits Northern New Zealand. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Located 60 km south of Jervis Bay, Ulladullas reefs are found in shallow water, very close to shore, some only five minutes away by boat. These rocky reefs support an incredible variety of sponges, gorgonians, sea whips, ascidians, sea tulips, anemones and bryozoans, as well as numerous reef fish and invertebrates. Common and bottlenose dolphins, and humpback and southern right whales frequent the area during the winter months. Ulladulla is a fishing port and a popular holiday destination so book early during the holidays to avoid missing out.
Generally seen in water below 20 metres, the Blue Morwong Cheilodactylus douglasi grows to 70 cm and inhabits sandy areas around reefs from southern Queensland to Victoria.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Lighthouse Reef Wall
This rocky reef drops from the surface to 20 m, and is covered with colonies of gorgonians, sponges and sea tulips, Amid the corals and sponges are sea stars, nudibranchs, basket stars, hermit crabs, cuttlefish, octopi, colourful shrimp, and the usual reef fish, leatherjackets, red morwong, scorpionfish, beardie, sea perch and old wives. The wall is an excellent gathering place for pelagic fish such as kingfish, yellowtail, bonito and trevally.
Found at 25 metres this Southern Basket Star Conocladus australis is curled up in its daytime resting position. At night it spreads out its arms to catch plankton.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Home Bommie
Numerous boulders at depths of 15-22 m make up the dive site known as Home Bommie. Under ledges and in caves (usually overflowing with bullseyes) you will find cuttlefish and Port Jackson sharks. One wide cave houses a large anchor. Also common around Home Bommie are stingrays, giant Australian cuttlefish and a number of friendly blue gropers.
Very few invertebrate species of marine life are blue in colour. This unknown species of sponge is quite common along the south east coast of Australia and occurs down to at least 40 metres.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The Strawberry Rock cod Trachypoma macracanthus has a range from southern Queensland to the Victorian border. Rarely seen out in the open during the day, it hides in nooks and crannies and grows to 40 cm. It is very common at Lord Howe Island. ( photo:Neville Coleman)
First discovered at Bass Point, Coleman's Sea Star Echinaster colemani ranges from Norfolk Island to southern Queensland and down to the Victorian border.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
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Female Blue Groper Acherodes viridis are generally brown in colour and do not change to a blue colour until they change sex and turn into males.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Burrill Rocks
Boulders at depths from 10-26 m form a long reef off Burrill Beach. These rocks are covered in dense sponge gardens and support an excellent variety of vertebrate and invertebrate species, including weedy sea dragons, sea horses, blue gropers, blue devilfish, stingrays, wobbegongs, green moray eels, cuttlefish, pipefish and the occasional school of pelagic fish.
Mostly seen in relatively shallow waters, Green Morays Gymnothorax prasinus live in cracks and fissues in the rocks during the day and come out at night to hunt. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Other excellent dive sites (the best of all) are located south of the harbour at Ulladulla off Crampton Island, Stokes Island and Brush Island. These are deep-water sponge gardens teeming with marine life. There are a few good shore dives in the area; however, these are generally shallow and overshadowed by the easy boat dives.
A well established species along the south east coast, the Short - tailed Ceratosoma Ceratosoma brevicaudatum feeds on sponges and grows to 120 mm. On the east coast it often comes in weird colour variations which were at first, difficult to identify.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The main food source of a number of Chromodorid nudibranchs, the Rose Sponge Aplysilla rosea occurs off the shores of every state in Australia. It ranges in depth from low tide to at least 170 metres and often forms extensive encrusting sheets over large rocks. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Tweed Heads & Cook Island Byron Bay Ballina Coff's Harbour
South West Rocks Port Macquarie Lord Howe Island Norfolk Island
North Haven Forster-Seal Rocks Port Stephens
Newcastle-Swansea Central Coast - Terrigal Sydney North
Sydney South Wollongong to Kiama Jervis Bay Uladulla
Bateman's Bay Narooma-Montague Island Tathra Merimbula
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 Uladulla.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
