Wynyard - North Coast Bass Strait Islands
St. Helens Bicheno Hobart
The Nord is just one of the excellent dive sites found on the Tasman Peninsula. This rugged projection of land with its towering cliffs has excellent shore site on rocky reefs and piers with easy aces for scuba diving, skorkeling and underwater photography.
The deeper water boat dives give access to colourful sponge gardens, pinnacles, caves and kelp forests. Because of its topography, there is always somewhere to dive no matter the conditions.
Diving on the Tasman Peninsula is centred around Eaglehawk Neck, where the Eaglehawk Dive Centre offers boat dives, and its own comfortable, hostel-style accommodation.
The fronds of the Giant Kelp Macrocystus pyrifera grow from the floats which hold up the entire plant. Like all algae, the Giant kelp grows towards where the most light comes from. In this case that is straight up. Unfortunaty the huge forests I once knew have died off and today one needs to enquire from local dive shops as to where it still can be found.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The Nord was a steel steamship that sank after striking an uncharted reef off the Hippolyte Rocks in 1915. The 81 m-long ship now lies upright at a depth of 42 m, and is considered to be one of the best wreck dives in Australia. The hull of the ship is still in remarkably good condition, and although much of the deck has collapsed, the engine, boiler, prop shaft, winches and other bits of machinery are all easy to recognise. The bow section has also collapsed, but the stern and propeller still make for interesting photos. It takes quite a few dives to see all of the wreck, and if divers take their time they are more likely to come across interesting artefacts, such as bottles and plates. The hull is covered in zoanthids, sponges, sea tulips, sea whips and bryozoans. Masses of reef fish can be seen on most dives, including butterfly perch, wrasse, bullseyes, boarfish, leatherjackets, bearded cod morwong, cowfish and an occasional draughtboard shark.
A strange little nudibranch, the Southern melibe Melibe australis has an extensive oral hood which it uses to spread out over various substrates to catch small amphipods. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
The Nord is just one of the excellent dive sites found on the Tasman Peninsula. This rugged projection of land with its towering cliffs has excellent shore dives on rocky reefs and piers, and boat dives on sponge gardens, pinnacles, caves and kelp forests. Because of its chape, there is always somewhere to dive no matter the conditions. Diving on the Tasman Peninsula is centred around Eaglehawk Neck, where the Eaglehawk Dive Centre offers boat dives, and its own comfortable, hostel-style accommodation.
The extraordinary bubble - like stomach extensions of the Swimming Anemone Phlyctenactis tuberculosa make it a unique species. The colour patterns are quite varied and the brown tentacles ( hidden by day ) are only extended for feeding on plankton during the hours of darkness.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Sisters Rocks
Spectacular walls and pinnacles are found right along the eastern side of the Tasman Peninsula. At the Sisters Rocks, the walls plunge to 40 m and more, covered with finger sponges, thick beds of sea whips, bryozoans, yellow zoanthids and sea ferns. Schools of butterfly perch often engulf divers in the deeper water, and other reef fish are plentiful around the reef. Macro-photographers will find nudibranchs, sea stars, basket stars, molluscs, crustaceans and sea spiders.
Largetooth Beardies Lotella rhacina spend their days hiding in caves and beneath ledges. This species can be easily identified by the white edges on the fins.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Waterfall Bay Caves
This huge cave system at Waterfall Bay is regarded as Australias best ocean cave dive. These caves undercut the sea cliffs, with Cathedral Cave being one of the most impressive. Three large openings allow access to this cave, which is about 30 m long and 21 m deep. Other caves in the area wind (100 m or more) back into the cliff, and require good cave diving training before they can be explored. All the caves are lined with sponges and zoanthids, and are occupied by invertebrates, reef fish, and sometimes schools of bullseyes and butterfly perch.
One of the few species of nudibranchs that is found right around Australia, the Made - up Phyllodesmium Phyllodesmium serratum feeds on soft corals and takes on the colour of its prey. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Giant Kelp Forests
Over winter three large kelp forests are found off Eaglehawk Neck at Shag Rock Bay, Deep Glen Bay and Fortescue Bay. These are best reached by boat, although parts of the kelp forest at Fortescue Bay can be reached from the shore. Thick jungles of Macrosystis kelp are found in depths from 10-30 m, and provide very exciting diving. Although swimming in and out of the forest is a novelty in itself, you will also see an impressive array of marine life banded stingarees, leatherjackets, boxfish, wrasse, perch, morwong, trevally, pike, mackerel, draughtboard sharks, weedy sea dragons, handfish, sea horses, molluscs and crustaceans.
Quite common, the Big - belly Sea Horse Hippocampus bleekeri lives in a variety of habitats including rocky reefs and in brown algae growing in sea grass meadows. It occurs in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Hippolyte Rocks
Its always a rewarding experience diving with Fur Seals. Their playfull antics and easy going natures make them one of the World of Waters most popular mammals.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Brilliant walls, pinnacles and caves are found around the Hippolyte Rocks in depths to 40 m. This area is densely packed with sponge gardens, and the deeper one goes, the better the marine life gets. Numerous reef fish and invertebrates species add even more colour to these picturesque sponge gardens. On the northeast side of Big Hippolyte lives a small colony of fur seals that often join divers for an entertaining swim.
Larger specimens of the Southern Scorpionfish Scorpaena papillosa grow to 30 cm and are generally only seen on the deeper water reefs. They are 'watch and wait' ambush predators, feeding mainly on other fish.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Port Arthur
A number of good shore and boat dives are located around historic Port Arthur. The Port Arthur Jetty pylons are covered with sponges, nudibranchs, sea stars, shrimps, crabs, molluscs and blennies. Small reef fish are common, and on the sandy bottom occasional banded stingarees and Tasmanian numbfish can be found.
More often than not, a deep water species, the Spiny Pipehorse Solegnathus spinosissimus can be seen in relatively shllow waters in Tasmania. It is a very brightly coloured species and can be found around sea whips and also in sea grass meadows. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
At nearby Safety Cove is a pretty rocky reef that can be explored from the shore. Morwong, leatherjackets, bearded cod, boxfish, perch and a wide range of invertebrates are found in among the rocks and weeds on the bottom. One of the best boat dives off Port Arthur is the rocky reefs around the Isle of the Dead. Here the kelp forests grow only 12 m of water. Reef fish and invertebrate species are common, as are lobster, stingarees and beautiful weedy sea dragons.
Arnolds Gymnodoris Gymnodoris arnoldi lives beneath stones and rubble from low tide down to at least 60 mm. It grows to 20 mm and feeds on the bryozoan Beania magellanica.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
From 1830 to 1877, Australias most infamous penal colony was located on the Tasman Peninsula. The Peninsula was a natural prison cool waters and towering cliffs barred any escape. Today the ruins of the penal colony at Port Arthur are a popular tourist attraction. Visitors to this area enjoy the spectacular scenery, national parks and a visit to the wildlife park at Nubeena.
Adorned with blue lines and spots, the Southern Goatfish Upeneichthys vlamingii often has dark patches above the midlateral line. It feeds over sand and mud and can be seen swimming around in small schools. It occurs from Victoria to south Western Australia. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Easily recognised, the Roughy Trachichthys australis is a small nocturnal species that is generally seen as a single, or in pairs beneath ledges and in caves during the day. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Wynyard - North Coast Bass Strait Islands St. Helens Bicheno Hobart
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 and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around the Tasman Peninsula.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
