South West Rocks - Grey Nurse Sharks and some new Nudibranchs!

South West Rocks is best known to the diving community for Fish Rock Cave and its population of beautiful endangered Grey Nurse Sharks. In my previous blog I mentioned that I was going to dive Solitary Island in Coffs Harbour. Well, that dive was canceled due to rough seas. Luckily the dive shop that we were diving with the next day, Fish Rock Dive Centre (awesome shop, I highly recommend checking them out if you are in SWR) told us we could dive with them on Saturday as well as Sunday.

So off we were to South West Rocks.

Our first dive was amazing!
The seas were doing their best to keep dive boats away from Fish Rock Cave, but that didn't phase our skipper or the 8 divers aboard our boat. Descending down the anchor rope into a channel filled with Grey Nurse Sharks is an awesome experience that should be scribbled in permanent marker on every divers 'to do' list, and then once it has been completed, it needs to be redone again and again!

Once you see these graceful giants just gliding past you gain a new respect for all sharks. More people need to experience the thrill of diving with sharks to stop this worrying new concept that "sharks and humans can't coexist". Over 100,000,000 sharks get killed by humans every year; around 4 humans get killed by sharks in an average year. Those numbers are ever increasing due to a menu item. Shark Fin Soup. Oops, see how easy I get sidetracked?

Sorry, back to the diving and nudibranchs!

We actually didn't see too many nudibranchs at South West Rocks. There were a few Hypselodoris bennetti present. But the Aphelodoris varia to the right was my most exciting find! Even though it is a relatively common branch on the East coast, it was the first time I had seen it. Colour variation between localities is common and can be strikingly different. Blue gills are a common feature, but the dark pattern can be bold (like the one pictured), blotchy or virtually absent. High sheaths around the base of the rhinophores is also a common feature of Aphelodoris varia.


Here is another image I took of Aphelodoris varia at South West Rocks, just outside of Fish Rock Cave, in an area our divemaster referred to as The Aquarium. The size of this specimen was approximately 50mm. The depth was around 18m.


So in regards to my zany nudibranch adventures at South West Rocks, I would have to say they actually weren't zany at all! Only a few sightings in an area I had heard was filled with nudibranchs was a little disappointing. However, the rest of the diving was amazing! Grey Nurse Sharks, Lionfish, Sponges, Bryozoans, Fusiliers and loads more exciting marine critters made the whole weekend cement a spot in my memory.

Keep that neoprene wet guys!