Dive Details

Location

Date

Saturday 12 August 2017

Time

8:47am - 10:23am

Details

The Leap had been fantastic the last two days but I'm getting a new appreciation for The Monument with its anglers, pygmy pipehorses, seahorse, cowries and especially the seamoth. Plus I know Dama prefers The Monument and she was diving with me.

As we were walking to the entry point a huge pod of dolphins swam past very close to the shore. If we'd only been there 10 minutes earlier we would have been in the water with them.

We got in at the shallow mostly protected area a third of the way to the The Steps. We waded out to the edge of the ledge before descending. The blue groper greeted us immediately. While Dama was looking for dolphins she spotted a juvenile pennantfish swimming in the water column.

We headed for the sand line. Visibility was at least 10 metres, water temperature was around 17°C and there was only slight surge.

We swam along the sand line towards The Monument. At around Block Rock we saw two weedy seadragons, a female and a male with eggs. I found the little orange painted angler in its usual area just past Block Rock.

We continued slowly towards the wall and then along the wall. I found the black painted angler not far from where it had been on Wednesday.

I followed the wall along and then near the end went over to the other side. I found the other orange painted angler and then the female pygmy pipehorse on the adjacent rock. I couldn't find the male. Dama caught up to me and pointed out the angler and pygmy. She then asked if I'd seen the other angler. I said I hadn't and she took me back over the wall and pointed out a large grey red-fingered angler part way up the wall.

I went to Carijoa Rock and found the cryptic female pygmy pipehorse before eventually finding the pink male. I then swam up to Slope Rock and met up with Dama who was looking for pygmies. We looked for the red male she found last Sunday but it wasn't there - I had seen it on Wednesday with Mike. We looked all around the area for pygmies but found none. I couldn't even find the red male Mike had found on Wednesday.

We headed up to Seahorse Rock. I found the male seahorse and Dama pointed out first one spindle cowrie below Seahorse Rock on the north west corner and then a second on in the Capnella on the south west corner of the rock.

We went over the sand to find the little dragonfish which I eventually found walking around. We took some photographs and I shot some more video. We also checked for the egg cowries but only found one.

We swam for the exit doing a short safety stop along the way and got out in the little bay the the south east of the point.

Buddy

Dama Rodrigues

Seas

Slight

Visibility

10 metres

Duration

96 minutes

Maximum depth

12.5 m

Average depth

9.9 m

Water temperature

16.5°C

Dive Profile from Citizen Hyper Aqualand

Tides at Botany Bay AEST

Note that tides at dive site may vary from above location.

Low

5:14am

0.35m

High

11:26am

1.50m

Low

5:18pm

0.51m

High

11:30pm

1.61m

Video