Despite the rough surface conditions I decided to do a second dive at The Steps. I timed it so I could swim to The Monument with some incoming tidal assistance but get the outgoing tide to bring me back to The Steps.
There were a couple of largish sets of waves that came through as I entered but nothing that made it difficult. I descended to the sand line and turned left to The Monument. The visibility was still over 10 metres and I spotted a weedy seadragon across on the sand.
I followed the sand line hoping to find the robust ghostpipefish I'd seen on previous dives. I found a male weedy seadragon with eggs. That was the fourth I had seen today.
Around Block Rock I swam in from the sand line and checked out the sponge covered rocks for seahorses. I continued along the wall looking for the seahorses that used to be there. At the end of the wall I followed the reef along to Split Rock. Just past Split Rock I looked at the rock I'd previously seen a red pygmy pipehorse when I found a tiny juvenile pygmy pipehorse. As I was photographing the tiny pygmy pipehorse, a tiny almost clear sea spider walked into the frame. That is the oddest photobombing I've had to date. I looked around the surrounding rocks for pygmy pipehorses and seahorses but found none.
I came back along the sand line as far as the wall. I swam up over the wall to check out the sponge garden before coming back over the wall and following it to the other end. I followed the sand line all the way back to The Steps. I spotted both weedy seadragons on the way back. At The Steps I did my safety stop before exiting. Again the exit was easy. |
