Great Australian Bight 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 Broome - Cape Levique
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Christmas Island Diving
Esperance is located 725 km south-east of Perth. The town offers a wide range of accommodation and excellent tourism facilities.
Diving in the area is through Esperance Diving Academy which runs regular day and live-aboard scuba diving, snorkeling and underwater photography trips to the Archipelago of the Recherche and the numerous dive sites off Esperance.
Over 280 islands, and probably twice as many reefs, make up the Archipelago of the Recherche Nature Reserve. This mass of granite islands and reefs stretches from 230 km parallel to the coastline, and is famous for its wildlife above and below the water.
While most of these islands are only accessible to a live-aboard boat, closer to Esperance are many excellent shore and boat dives, including the Esperance Jetty which has an extraordinary diversity of marine life on the pylons and around the reefs and sea grass meadows.
The Recherche Archipelago has 280 granitic islands many surrounded by huge masses of boulders where the marine life is as rich as anywhere. Giant black coral trees and forests of colourful Spiky soft corals vie with kelp covered bommies as to which habitat hides the most extravagant underwater wildlife.
( photo; Neville Coleman)
The captain of the 33,000-ton bulk cargo ship, Sanko Harvest, would rather forget Valentines Day 1991. While taking a shortcut through the unchartered waters off Esperance, the ship struck a hidden reef and began to take on water. Hopes were high that the vessel and her cargo of phosphate could be saved. But when a wild storm blew up the next day, she was battered on more rocks, broke in half, and sank. Oil leaked from the wreck polluting pristine beaches and killing dozens of sea birds and seals. However, quick action from volunteers and the authorities averted a major disaster.
Amongst the most colourful of south- western fishes, the Goldern Scalyfin Parma bicolor generally inhabits waters of 15 metres or more and is is endemic to south Western Australia.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Today the 174 m-long wreck sits in 30-40 m of water, with the bridge resting 50 m away from the hull. Only experienced divers should attempt the dive, as one has to avoid twisted, sharp metal, dangling wires, and disorientation on this large wreck site. Divers can explore the bridge area, the engine room and the tower cranes. The hull now has a covering of kelp, anemones, sponges and sea tulips. Reef fish usually found on the wreck include boarfish, bullseyes, blue gropers, morwong, sweep, perch and yellowtail.
Photographed at the Recherche Archipelago at 25 metres, this Firebrick Sea Star Asteriodiscus truncatus was feeding on a sponge. It was the only one I have seen in the south west in several hundred dives. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Esperance is located 725 km south-east of Perth. The town offers a wide range of accommodation. Servicing the area is the Esperance Diving Academy which runs regular day and live-aboard trips to the Archipelago of the Recherche and the numerous sites off Esperance.
Giant Cuttlefish Sepia apama are to be seen around shallow and deeper water reefs and are especially noticeable around jetty pylons. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Over 280 islands, and probably twice as many reefs, make up the Archipelago of the Recherche Nature Reserve. This mass of granite islands and reefs stretches fro 230 km parallel to the coastline, and is famous for its wildlife above and below the water. While most of these islands are only accessible to a live-aboard boat, closer to Esperance are many excellent shore and boat dives.
I was especially interested to get an image of this beautuful little Blue Spotted Pufferfish Omegophora cyanopunctata because its spots were much larger and more irridescent than the shallow water ones I had encountered. It was photographed in habitat at 25 metres. The males pile up masses of empty univalve shells inside barrel sponges. I had never observed this behaviour in a pufferfish before.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Esperance Jetty
At the end of the Esperance Jetty the diving is magic. getting out there with all ones gear and cameras is the trick. Luckily the locals have it 'sussed'. The dive shop will hire out wheelbarrows that make the long walk a little easier.
In1971 when I first visited Esperance I had a 4 metre 'tinnie' and that was by far the easiest way to dive the Jetty and cover the dive scene. Under the jetty is a wealth of species, but out from the end of the jetty, at the real end, is the bonus. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
About 1 km in length, with a few sections missing, the Esperance Jetty provides brilliant diving in depths ranging from 6-12 m. Photographers will find an incredible assortment of photo subjects, whether using a macro or wide-angle lens. Countless small fish swarm under the structure, including schools of old wives, leatherjackets, globefish, silver drummer, seahorses, pipefish, gobies, boxfish, anglerfish, blennies, southern coral fish, scorpionfish, wrasse and perch.
Each wooden pylon is crammed with soft corals, sponges, gorgonians, and ascidians. On and around the sea floor are spider crabs, sea stars, brittle stars, flatworms, nudibranchs, shrimps, feather stars, octopi, sea cucumbers, cuttlefish and hermit crabs. A number of sea lions reside near the jetty, and will sometimes follow divers around.
The pylons may be old and many have fallen down, but those standing are decorated by encrusting sessile growths, a really wonderful smorgasboard of marine life that defys ones ability to search and discover.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Lion Island
Numerous boulders shape the terrain around Lion Island, creating gutters, swim-throughs, ledges and caves. Kelp dominates the shallows, and sponges, soft corals, sea tulips, ascidians, hard corals and gorgonians cover the bottom. Again, photographers will find many subjects, nudibranchs, octopi, hermit crabs, sea stars, rock lobsters, cuttlefish, basket stars and a wide variety of reef fish.
Mostly seen on the outer jetty pylons the soft coral Carijoa sp. is also observed on deeper reefs and drop offs where there are moderate currents. Species of Tritonid nudibranchs have been found on this soft coral. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Over the old artificial tyre reefs, out past the end of the jetty, there are often huge numbers of Old Wifes Enoplosus armatus schooling up. It is thought that this behaviour relates to mating. However, as Old Wifes actually pair up at times there appears to more to the story. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Found on Zimmers Sea Fans, the Western Spindle Cowry Phenacovolva sp. actually gets the colour of its shell from feeding on the gorgonian. Each mollusc found on a different coloured sea fan becomes the same colour as its host. They live out their entire life cycle on their host. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Cape le Grand
Although some areas around Cape Le Grand are accessible from the shore, the tip of the cape is best dived from a boat. Here large boulders tumble down to the reef in 30 m of water. Around the boulders live leafy sea dragons, blue devilfish, boarfish, bullseyes, yellowtail, silver drummer, harlequin fish, leatherjackets, blue gropes, morwong, perch, scorpionfish and many invertebrate species.
Known along the southern Australian coast as the Moonlighter, Tilodon sexfasciatus belongs to the family Scorpididae and has a shape and banded pattern which is very distinctive, somewhat reminiscent of Butterflyfishes and Coralfishes.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Long Island
The most popular of a number of dive sites around Long Island is the wreck of the trawler Lapwing, in 30 m of water. The wreck is mostly intact and covered with soft corals and sponges. Nearby is a rocky reef with reef fish and an occasional leafy sea dragon.
There are some really beautiful nudibranchs along the southern coast as can be seen by observing this colour variation of the Sweet Dorid Ceratosoma amoena. This colour variation is only seen in South Australia and Western Australia.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Remark Island
Similar to many of the islands in the Archipelago of the Recherche, Remark Island offers a variety of diving experiences. The northern side of the island is shallow and sheltered, a haven for reef fish and invertebrates. The exposed southern side drops into 50 m of water, where you will find many ledges and caves. The terrain in deeper water has a dense covering of sponges, gorgonians, soft corals and an occasional black coral tree. Typical fish life includes blue groper, morwong, boarfish, harlequin fish, blue devilfish, silver drummer, yellowtail, bullseyes and schools of pelagic fish. Seals appear at the most unexpected times, as colonies are located on many of the outer islands. Divers may also be lucky enough to see dolphins or a southern right whale during wintertime.
With tendril - like arms wound firmly around its sea fan 'home stay' this Erns Basket Star is secure in its daytime residence. At night it unravels its arms and climbs up to the top of the sea fan, spreading out its arms to catch plankton.
(photo: Neville Coleman)
Great Australian Bight 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 Broome - Cape Levique
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 and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters off Esperance.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
