Roney has found a new entry point for The Monument. We walked along the rocks towards The Steps and entered off a rock shelf. It was a little tricky due to the high tide but fine because of the calm conditions. I did lose my glove on entry because I forgot to put it on. I then lost my port cover while looking for my glove. No worries, the conditions were fantastic. Visibility was 10 to 15 metres, water temperature between 18 and 19°C and there was very little surge. We swam to the sand line and turned right and headed for The Steps for a short while. I was hoping to find the orange painted angler I'd seen on my last dive in this part of Kurnell. I wasn't able to find it.
We turned and headed towards The Monument. At around Block Rock I spotted a weedy seadragon on the sand line. I then found the little orange painted angler I'd seen a few weeks ago. I pointed it out to Sue, Roney and Dama.
Just before the Deep Wall I spotted another diver taking selfies with a weedy seadragon. After he finished I took ID photos of the weedy and then came across another one a little further along.
While looking at the side of the rock where some pot-bellied seahorses used to be I spotted a black painted anglerfish ambling along the rock. I wonder if it was the same one Dama found a month or so ago.
We swam further along the wall and near the end I found a Nembrotha sp. nudibranch. I'm sure this is the same one a few times before. A little further along I spotted a pair of octopus mating, the male on top of the rock and the female at the base. I pointed them out to Sue.
A little further along at the rock covered in Carijoa I spotted two pygmy pipehorses, a pinky red male (I wonder if it is the same one from a couple of months ago) and a cryptic female. I showed them to Sue and Dama.
I headed up to the rock where the small red male pygmy pipehorse had been. As I approached I spotted a giant cuttlefish under the rock. I looked all over the rock for the red male but couldn't find him but I did find a cryptic female.
I swam up to the rock with the White's seahorses. I looked at the side of the rock where the female has been but couldn't see her. I searched the top of the rock and found the male. I checked the side again and found the female. She'd been there the whole time. Sue and Roney left at this point and Dama and I continued.
I only had around 70 bar of air so I made a bee line to Four Pygmies Rock. I found the male in the purple sponge but couldn't find any others. We then slowly made our way up to the top of the North-South wall and then headed for the exit. We got out on the point. |