The south west corner of Western Australia is the greenest part of this large desert state. Tourist flock to this area, south of Perth, to explore the world famous Margaret River wineries, amazing caves, forests of giant karri trees, bushwalk the many national parks and swim, surf, fish and dive this magnificent coastline. Diving in this region is centred around the towns of Busselton and Albany, both of which offer the diver many wonderful diving opportunities.
BRILLIANT BUSSELTON
Busselton is a small holiday town, 230km south of Perth, that sits on the picturesque waters of Geographic Bay. The town
’s
main claim to fame is having the longest timber jetty in the Southern
Hemisphere. This jetty also happens to be one of the best dive sites in
Australia.Construction began on the Busselton Jetty in 1865 and over time the structure was lengthened many times to reach its current length of 1841m. While it is possible to shore dive the jetty, the best section is at the very end so it is best dived from a boat.
A dive under the Busselton Jetty is a mind blowing experience. Almost every timber pylon is completely covered in incredible sessile life – sponges, ascidians, algae, hard corals, anemones, bryozoans, sea weeds and soft corals. The most abundant and beautiful are the orange and red telesto coral, which look stunning with their white polyps. The jetty also supports masses of fish and invertebrate life and is only 9m deep.
Many of the fish species you will encounter are endemic to Southern Australia and very photogenic. Large dusky morwong rest on the bottom, while above huge schools of yellowtail swarm around the pylons. Cheeky white barred boxfish will peck at your camera while you try to photograph a cloud of old wives. Very bizarre pineapplefish, and they do look just like a pineapple, hide under fallen pylons. Also seen in large numbers are leatherjackets, moonlighters, bullseyes, western talma, scorpionfish, black banded sea perch, goatfish, wrasse, flatheads, sweep and schools of silver drummer.
Shark and ray species are also common, including Port Jackson sharks, southern fiddler rays, western stingarees, ornate wobbegongs and even numbrays, that give quite a jolt if touched. Invertebrate species are everywhere, crabs, shrimps, octopus, cuttlefish, flatworms, sea cucumbers, sea stars and lots of nudibranchs. You will want to spend several dives exploring and photographing this amazing jetty.
While there are many other wonderful reefs off Busselton, the other very popular attraction is the HMAS Swan. The River Class Destroyer HMAS Swan was scuttled in Geographic Bay on 14 December 1997. The ship is 113m long and 12.5m wide and is one fantastic dive.
Resting in 30m of water the hull of the HMAS Swan is completely adorned with soft corals and sponges. Before she was sunk the ship was cleaned, stripped and access holes were cut along its sides to allow divers to safely penetrate almost every part of the hull. Divers can explore an endless maze of rooms, including bathrooms, the radar room and bridge, which still has the captain’s chair in place.
The HMAS Swan is a haven for marine life. Schools of yellowtail, trevally and batfish circle the towering mast structure, while huge samsonfish charge through feeding off the smaller fish. Most of the reef fish that are found at the jetty are also common, but also look out for western blue devils and western blue gropers. It takes several dives just to get a brief look at this impressive old warship.
LEEUWIN CURRENT
The warm water from the Leeuwin Current not only has effects on the marine environment, but also influences the weather. While northbound cold currents off South America and South Africa help to create fogs and rain clouds, the warmer waters of the Leeuwin Current do little to encourage rainfall across Western Australia, meaning most of the state is desert.
W.A. ARTIFICIAL REEFS
The Western Australia state government is setting the pace in Australia for sinking old ships as artificial reefs for marine life and divers. Beside the HMAS Swan and HMAS Perth, in recent years three other vessels have also been scuttled. The 55m long Lena, a fishing trawler captured fishing illegally, was sunk off Bunbury in 2003. Another illegal fishing trawler the South Tomi was scuttled off Geraldton in 2004. While off Rockingham they are creating a Dive Park, with the 37m long Saxon Ranger the first ship to be sunk in 2005.
AMAZING ALBANY
The first European settlement in Western Australia, Albany was founded in 1826 on the protected waters of King George Sound. Located 400km south of Perth, Albany was Western Australia’s main port for the better part of a century and had the countries last whaling station, closing in 1978.
The coastline around Albany is spectacular with dozens of offshore islands and rugged granite cliffs that are exposed to the full brunt of Southern Ocean swells. Luckily for divers King George Sound is sheltered from most large swells and there is always somewhere to dive no matter which direction the wind.
The full benefit of the Leeuwin Current is experienced in Albany, with winter water temperatures warmer than one would expect and some incredible coral growth at many dive sites. While there are literally hundreds of dive sites on the reefs and islands around Albany, the most popular site is the HMAS Perth.
The Guided Missile Destroyer HMAS Perth was scuttled in King George Sound on 24 November 2001 in 35m of water. Not as much was stripped off the 122m long ship, so she still has rooms full of computers and her mast actually protrudes above the surface. However, the most impressive sight is her huge stern gun turret. The gun is a popular stop for photos, but the whole ship is very photogenic as the hull is encrusted with sponges, corals, ascidians and some lovely pink jewel anemones.
While there is plenty to explore on the ship, the fish life will also impress. Thick schools of yellowtail engulf the mast and funnels, while reef fish dart around the decks. One of the most popular residents are the false Tasmanian blennies that live in the handrails and pop their heads out to watch divers. Many invertebrate species inhabit the ship, including some large cuttlefish, and divers may also be visited by the odd Australian sea lion.
When the whaling station closed several whale chasers were left to rust, a local dive operator purchased one and sunk it off Michaelmas Island in 1982. The 47m long Cheynes III sits in 23m and has now started to collapse on itself, but there is still plenty to see and explore around the ship. Adorned with lovely sponges and soft corals, the ship is home to large quantities of reef fish. Huge cabbage corals grow in the shallows next to the ship and if you explore the kelp beds you may be fortunate to see one of southern Australia’s most stunning fish, the leafy sea dragon. Both leafy and weedy sea dragons are found on the reefs around Albany, but they are very hard to find without the keen eye of a local guide.
The old whaling station is now one of Albany’s main tourist attraction, and on display is another whale chaser, Cheynes IV, which is interesting to explore and compare after having
dived
the Cheynes III.There are other brilliant dive sites around Michaelmas Island, including a site called The Caves. Here divers can explore an endless maze of ledges and caves and will see some glorious sponges and soft corals. This is also a good spot to see two of the most interesting endemic fish of this region, the psychodelic coloured western blue devil and the equally colourful harlequin fish. Both are great subjects for photographers, though the spots on the devil will drive some digital cameras mad.
Breaksea Island sits on the outer edge of King George Sound and offers some of the most outstanding diving off Albany, with walls, caves and reefs in depths from 20m to 40m. The most popular dive site here is at Seal Cove, where you can dive with a colony of New Zealand fur seals. The seals are great fun to play with, and if you perform some somersaults and tumbles they will join in and stay around longer. Besides the seals there are a series of bommies here that are covered in some impressive corals; black coral trees, sponges, hard corals, soft corals and some huge gorgonian fans. This site is also a good place to encounter pelagic fish, Port Jackson sharks and southern eagle rays.
One very unusual dive site that Albany Dive.com regularly visit is also worth a mention, the Boneyard. Just off the old whaling station are several dumping grounds for whale hip bones, the Boneyard being the largest. The reef is 19m deep and the old bones are very hard to distinguish as they are now covered in cabbage coral. The hard coral coverage is so thick you would think you are diving in the tropics. Masses of fish swarm around the coral, including western blue devils, gurnard perch, sergeant bakers and boxfish. This is also a good spot to see nudibranchs, sea stars and some quite large cuttlefish.
The Leeuwin Current does not only influence the marine environment in the south west corner of Western Australia, as after only a few dives in this area you will find it hard to leave, like you are under a spell, under the Leeuwin influence.
