A Blooming Good Adventure at Shelly Beach

This weekend I had the pleasure of taking a few out of town workmates for a quick dive at Shelly Beach. Sharon also got to join thanks to granny having finally arrived from South Africa, meaning we now have a free babysitting service.

Sharon and I picked up my colleagues from the ferry terminal bright and early, knowing that parking at Shelly is always an issue. Early starts are rarely wasted, and we got to enjoy a cracker of a sunset which set the tone for the dive.

We waded into the water at 8am, and did a quick weight check for those who were renting gear and hadn’t been out in a while. And then we descended and headed off on our dive. The visibility was descent at first, and the water pleasantly warm. On the way out we found a massive bloom of jelly blubbers, which we spent some time under, admiring. There were so many that you couldn’t see the surface between them. They were operating as a single organsim, pulsing and moving in unison, and protecting the plethora of fish under them.

Shortly after that we spotted a massive eagle ray which glode off effortlessly through the water. It was a sight to behold, with it’s wingspan being close to two meters! As always, it was a pleasure to watch. And if that wasn’t enough, towards the end of the dive, we were lucky enough to come across a dusky whaler shark. It was a juvenile, just over a meter long, but was still an impressive sight to see. It circled us curiously for a few moments, before disappearing back into the depths.

All in all, it was an epic dive that had us buzzing for hours afterwards, as we enjoyed a beautiful breakfast in Manly. It just goes to show, you never know what you might come across when you take the plunge into the ocean. Until next time, keep exploring and stay salty!