Great Australian Bight Esperance Albany - Denmark Albany Best in the SW
Augusta - Cape Naturalist Busselton - Geographe Bay Fremantle - Cockburn
Sound Rottnest Island Houtman Abrolhos Jurien Bay - Geraldton Shark Bay
Ningaloo Reef - Exmouth Port Hedland Dampier Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Christmas Island Diving
Diving Broome is still difficult, as the 10 m tides restrict dive times. The water can be murky and box jellyfish and crocodiles must be avoided, but the scuba diving rewards can be spectacular.
The reefs off Broome have an excellent variety of coral, fish and invertebrate life, including many undescribed species.
Cape levique can really only be dived during slack tides or, in the bays where there is a circulating tidal eddie. the tidal currents can get up to 8 knots and whirlpools are everywhere.
All along the north coast of Western Australia, Aboriginal children still follow many traditions and learn the skills of hunter/gathering in order to help sustain the family.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The first divers to explore the waters off Broome were Asian pearl divers. During the last century, thousands worked the area in less than ideal conditions diving in standard dress diving gear, in deep, murky water and strong currents, without the benefit of diving tables; today the pearls are cultivated.
Pearl cultivation raft at Cape Levique. The pearl shells are seeded with small beads made from fresh water mussel shells. The pearl shell cages which contain shells are either hung off floats, or placed directly on the bottom and dived for at regular intervals to clean off all the overgrown debris, so the pearl oysters can get a better current flow. Lots of good cowry shells are often found in the debris.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Diving Broome is still difficult, as the 10 m tides restrict dive times. The water can be murky and box jellyfish and crocodiles must be avoided, but the rewards can be spectacular. The reefs off Broome have an excellent variety of coral, fish and invertebrate life, including many unidentified species.
Reefwalking Discoveries
Despite the difficulties at Broome there are a wealth of species to be found in the intertidal pools and along the headlands and foreshore reefs.
This is an example of the size of the tides. When the tide is in, this massive rock is covered by 2 metres of water. However, the opportunity to reefwalk and discover hectares of interesting marine life exists, whereas when the tide is in, the visibility on the coast is virtually zilch most of the time. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
The mangroves at Broome have a very rich fauna including a huge population of Red Fiddler Crabs Uca flammula. The males have one huge nipper which they use to wave around to attract females into their burrows.( photo: Neville Coleman)
Currently identified as the Translucent Hallaxa Hallaxa cf. translucens this one was found in a pool at low tide in 1972. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Channel Rock
The Amphitheatre is one of the best of a number of good dive sites around Channel Rock. A maze of swim-throughs in depths to 25 m are inhabited by soft corals, squirrelfish, gropers, wobbegongs, rock lobsters, batfish and many small invertebrates.
The most common rock lobster of the area is the Ornate Rock Lobster Panulirus ornatus. It generally inhabits low profile reef ledges caves, wrecks and beneath coral formations on the offshore rocky/reefs. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Whale Rock
Angelfish, gropers, trevally, moray eels, wobbegongs, stingrays and many species of reef fish can be seen on every dive at the reef around Whale Rock, which drops to a depth of 20 m.
One of the most frequently seen angelfishes around Broome is the Scribbled Angelfish Chaetodontoplus duboulayi. This fish is widespread from Shark Bay to central Queensland. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Swirl Rock
The reef here is covered with lovely soft corals, gorgonians, sea whips and sponges as well as rock lobsters, scorpionfish, butterflyfish, gropers and plentiful invertebrates. Around Swirl Rock are many swim-throughs in depths to 37 m.
A common inhabitant of the Sea Whips gorgonian Alertigorgia depressa, the Depressed Spindle Cowry Hiatovolva depresssa is also found in Papua New Guinea.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Battern Rock
Accessible from shore, Battern Rock is surrounded by reefs and drop-offs down to 35 m. Nudibranchs, flatworms, moray eels, stingrays, sea stars, soft corals, molluscs, anemones and reef fish will usually be sighted on day or night dives.
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Although a list of nudibranchs inhabiting the Broome area has not been collated and published, there are indeed many species. The Purple - edged Ceratosoma Ceratosoma tenue has been seen on a number of ocasions.
( photo: Wally Rowlands)
Disaster Rock
Schools of trevally, barracuda, tuna, mackerel, batfish, queenfish and fusiliers are the highlight of a visit to Disaster Rock. Turtles, red sharks, stingrays, eagle rays and gropers are often around.
The offshore reefs at Broome have a rich sponge fauna including Giant Barrel Sponges Xestospongia sp. These sponges often provide sleeping quarters for the Panda Butterflyfish Chaetodon adiergastos. This species is known from the Dampier Archipelago to Japan and generally swims in pairs, or as small groups.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Riddell Point
Numerous varieties of reef fish are residents of the coral gardens found off Riddell Point, in only 10 m of water. Hard and soft corals, sponges, clams and anemones cling to the bottom, where the abundant invertebrate life includes nudibranchs, sea stars, shrimp, crabs, molluscs and flatworms.
Living from low tide level down to 20 metres, the Hazy Dendrodoris Dendrodoris fumata is widespread across the entire Indo - Pacific. It feeds on sponges, grows to 50 mm and sometimes burrows beneath the sand.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Cape levique
Gold - lip Pearlshell altar at Beagle Bay Mission on the way to Cape levique has been a local tourist attraction for many years. The meaning behind such a memorial altar is sometimes lost in the splendour. Many Aboriginals, forced into diving by ruthless pearlers, died in the quest for pearls and pearlshell.
Yet it was the chance finding of a pearlshell washed up on a beach after a cyclone that opened up the entire north west coast to the pearling boomtimes.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Large perfect shells as this Bednalls Murex Pterynotus bednalli found off Cape Levique once sold for hundreds of dollars each. They live beneath subtidal ledges and beneath large flat sheets of rock from low tide down to 20 metres. The local aboriginals dive for them and reach in under the ledges, with their hands. Sometimes the visibility gets to 2 metres, but mostly its a bit murky.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Great Australian Bight Esperance Albany - Denmark Albany Best in the SW
Augusta - Cape Naturalist Busselton - Geographe Bay Fremantle - Cockburn
Sound Rottnest Island Houtman Abrolhos Jurien Bay - Geraldton Shark Bay
Ningaloo Reef - Exmouth Port Hedland Dampier Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Christmas Island Diving
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 Broome and Cape levique.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
