Darwin Gove
Several dive shops service the Darwin area, and run regular boat dives to the best scuba diving sites on the day.
Five-metre visibility is considered good, and a huge tidal range restricts dive times to the turn of the tide. The best time of year to dive Darwin is during the dry winter months, when the seas are calm, and the visibility may even reach 10 m.
During the summer monsoons, the diving can be affected by cyclones, heavy rains, bad visibility and box jellyfish.
While crocodiles, stonefish and sharks are common around Darwin, the main threat to divers is the box jellyfish. Divers should always wear full protection, a wetsuit or Lycra suit, gloves, booties and a hood. Underwater photography is generally restricted to close ups.
Darwin Harbour is surrounded by mangroves, shallow water and sandy beaches. Although the visibility is somewhat restricted at some locations depending on the tides, curents and general weather conditions, if you like "muck diving", its heaven,
(photo: Neville Coleman)
During World War II, most Australian troops were sent overseas, while only a small force was left to defend the country. Attack was considered a slim possibility, until the morning of 19 February 1942, when the Japanese launched a raid on Darwin Harbour. Over 45 Allied ships were in the port when 188 carrier-borne planes (from the same fleet that attacked Pearl Harbour), and 54 land-based bombers attacked Darwin. Ten vessels and dozens of planes were destroyed, another 14 ships were damaged and 243 people were killed in the raid.
No matter where one swims around Darwin there are bound to be Saltwater Crocodiles Crocodylus porosus. Certaily when taking pictures in the upper estuary shallows I was constantly aware of the possibility of meeting up with one. However, normally nobody would dive , or snorkel in those places, so the risk to a diver being attacked in deeper water at any of the regular dive sites, is quite small.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Some of the biggest ships lost in the raid were the US destroyer Peary, the tanker British Motorist, the US transports Meigs and Mauna Loa, the US supply ships Florence D and Don Isidro, the coal hulk Kelat, the steamer Zealandia and the cargo ship Neptuna. The Japanese returned in 1959 to salvage the British Motorist, and stripped many of the other wrecks, but what they left or missed still provides some of the best wreck diving in the country.
Photographed for the first time in situ in 1972, these Red and Yellow Isopods live exclusively on the sea fan Mopsella sp. and match the colour perfectly.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Darwin acquired another batch of shipwrecks on Christmas Eve 1974, when Cyclone Tracy sank dozens of trawlers, ferries, and small pleasure boats. Many were later salvaged, but some of the best dive sites around Darwin are the remains of these ships. Some of the lost boats have never been located.
Several dive shops service the Darwin area, and run regular boat dives to the best sites on the day. Sites off Darwin are usually dived in less than ideal conditions. Five-metre visibility is considered good, and a huge tidal range restricts dive times to the turn of the tide. The best time of year to dive Darwin is during the dry winter months, when the seas are calm, and the visibility may even reach 10 m. During the summer monsoons, the diving can be affected by cyclones, heavy rains, bad visibility and box jellyfish. While crocodiles, stonefish and sharks are common around Darwin, the main threat to divers is the jellyfish. Divers should always wear full protection, a wetsuit or Lycra suit, gloves, booties and a hood.
I was the underwater photographer on the scientific team which completed a fauna survey of Darwins marine invertebrates at the Northern Territory Museums 1993 workshop expedition.
Stony Coral experts from the Queensland Museum collected and tagged specimens of corals after I had photographed them and these were then cross - referenced in an effort to eventually produce a book on the subtidal corals of Darwin Harbour.
I was also able to photograph all manner of marine life both above and below the water on my own time.
Although visibility was only 3 metres maximum, with an average of 1.5 metres I was able to produce publishable images of every species.
Although written, the book was never published due to institutional priorities.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
One of my real priorities towards the completion of the Australian Coastal Marine Expedition in December 1973 was to find and photograph a Fleckers Box Jelly Chironex fleckeri in situ. The difficulty was to find one in the murky shallows. I spent many hours snorkelling in the vicinity of all the beach warning signs to no avail. Finally I just took off my protective clothing and waded along the beaches in an effort to find one, by being stung.
Luckily for me, the beach I was at had another swimmer who got stung right in front of me. So, I grabbed her with one arm and with the box jelly in the other hand, waded ashore.
I had a bottle of Metho there in case I got stung and we doused her stings and she went off to hospital and I got my pictures of a Box Jelly , both in situ and in an aqarium. This rather amazing event, was food for a great deal of thought.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Kelat
Divers can explore the superstructure of 78 m-long Kelat, which sits at 15 m. Wobbegongs are found on the bottom, and gropers, sweetlips, batfish, trevally and mangrove jacks swim around the debris.
Mauna Loa
The remains of the 123 m-long Mauna Loa lie at 18 m. A Harley Davidson motorbike, troop carriers and munitions can be seen among the wreckage. This wreck is alive with fish, including surgeonfish, barracuda, gropers and batfish.
I didn't actually see too many fish species at our study sites in Darwin Harbour, but there were a few like this juvenile Scribbled Angelfish Chaetodontoplus duboulayi.
One can imagine when the fish was originally described that in a juvenile specimen, the scribbling is far more pronounced and it is an excellent common name.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Meigs
The remains of the 129 m-long Meigs can be found at 18 m. Much of the wreck was salvaged, but the bulkheads and superstructure remain. Railway tracks, munitions, cables, salvage equipment, a Bren gun carrier and a few trucks are still easy to recognise.
USS Peary
Much of the 95 m-long USS Peary was salvaged by the Japanese, but it still makes an interesting dive. The ship rests at 27 m, and is surrounded by schools of reef and pelagic fish. The engines are exposed and piles of ammunition, brass fittings and rifles can be found around the wreck.
Amazing that such beauty exists in such a drab muddy habitat. However, to the Three - lobed Ceratosoma Ceratosoma trilobatum, as long as the overall habitat has its food sponges, it can live any number of habitats. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Catalina Seaplanes
A number of Catalina seaplanes were lost in Darwin Harbour during the war. Most are badly broken up but wings, engines, fuselages and the cockpit can be explored.
Zealandia
Although salvaged, there is plenty to see on the 123 m-long Zealandia. On an underwater junk pile are bulkheads, brass fittings, brass flashlights and piles of tiles. The ship rests at about 18 m, is covered with soft corals, and is a refuge for a variety of reef fish and invertebrates.
Bellbird
This trawler lies almost upside down at 16 m. You can swim through much of the interior of the wreck, including the engine room and cabins, but take care not to disturb the silt. An impressive array of fish life can be seen.
As part of the 1993 Nothern Territory Museum marine life workshop we found, ( and I photographed) 84 species of subtidal stony corals in and around Darwin. One of these was the Hedgehog Coral Gaxaxea fascicularis which is a common species found across the Indo - Pacific. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Mandorah Queen
This wreck, sitting at 18 m, has attracted an unusually large population of jewfish, gropers, batfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, rock cod, coral trout and many more.
NR Dieman
One of the most intact wrecks to be found in Darwin Harbour is the NR Dieman. The 20 m-long trawler rests in 12 m of water, and is inhabited by a wide variety of marine life, including many small invertebrates, reef fish, wobbegongs, gropers, tuna, barracuda, trevally and rock cod.
Song Saigon and Ham Luong
These two refugee fishing boats were sunk to form part of a particularly successful artificial reef. Gropers, surgeonfish, jewfish, coral trout, batfish, parrotfish, trevally and many other species can be seen on almost any dive. These small ships sit in 25 m of water and are essentially intact. Nearby is the John Holland barge, which also provides some good diving.
One of the dozens of species of ascidians I recorded was this really spectacular 'Coral' Ascidian Didemnum clavum. In the murky waters I first mistook it for asponge, but on closer examination found it to be an ascidian, which was a very exciting discovery at the time, as I had never photographed the species before.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Fenton Patches Artificial Reef
This large artificial reef complex, located 28 km north of Darwin, is made up of tyres, boat parts, a number of vessels and even some old bus shelters. A number of interesting sites are found around the reef, but the wreck of the oil exploration vessel Marchart 3 is the most exciting. The wreck sits on the reef in 28 m of water, and provides some penetration diving. The Fenton Patches Artificial Reef generally has good visibility, and large schools of jewfish, trevally, batfish and other species.
Nightcliff Reef
Coral heads and dense sponge gardens are found in 6-10 m of water. Close to the bottom, you can shoot excellent photos of nudibranchs, shrimp, crabs, gobies, anemones and their resident anemonefish, lionfish, flatworms and colourful reef fish.
Photographed beneath the Mandorah Point Jetty these two Margined Coralfishes Chelmon marginatus were feeding on a dead fish. This behaviour had never before been recorded in natural habitat and conflicts with everything previously known in regard to what coralfishes eat.( photo: Neville Coleman)
Mandorah Point Jetty
A rich assortment of marine life can also be found under the Mandorah Point Jetty. The pylons are coated with sponges, soft corals, ascidians, tube worms and anemones. Reef fish and invertebrates live among the tyres and other rubbish under the wharf. Many large fish, including barramundi, trevally, batfish, and a resident Queensland groper, are usually found.
The shoreline at Mandorah Point has a gallery of fantastic natural artworks weathered out of the rocks. I spent a number of days recording every design and pattern, and of course recording all the intertidal marine life as well.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
At nightime the rock platfroms come alive with a army of nocturnal creatures all out looking for a meal. A male rock crab Metograpsus frontalis scampers across the substrate displaying his strong, brightly coloured claws at the ready.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Always aggressive, Danas Swimming Crab Thalamita danae backs into crevises and ledges and rarely allows itself to out flanked. A powerful predator, it eats other crustaceans and molluscs, tearing them to pieces with its strong, sharp claws.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
East Point Reef
A wide range of invertebrate species, sponges, hard and soft corals, sea whips and ascidians, cover the reef and make for interesting macro-photo opportunities, although the visibility is limited. The fish seen at East Pint Reef are usually small.
Channel Rock
Exceptional marine life is found on the reefs around here. The reef rises to 12 m, with hard and soft corals, sea whips and sponges. Divers are likely to find an exceptional assortment of reef fish including stingrays, turtles, barracuda, trevally, batfish, gropers and the occasional sea snake.
This stony mound coral Goniopora sp. has very attractive purple polyps. It is undetermined as to the reason as to why the coral colony is one colour and the polyps another. Perhaps the zooxanthellae are two different species?
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Berry Springs
A number of freshwater springs are located 100 km south of Darwin. Berry Springs is probably the most popular, and in the winter visibility can be over 10 m. Barramundi, catfish, shrimp, snakes, tortoises, archerfish, mangrove jack and sometimes a freshwater crocodile are found in depths to 7 m.
Darwin Gove
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 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, Marine Reptiles and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around the reefs off Darwin.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
