Dive 82 – Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole

By pfuller

Oct

12

Dive Number: 82 12/09/2010 13.47 Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole

Wind: ????

Tide: 1hr after 2.26 high tide at Ballina

Conditions: Another fine day for diving…10-15knot winds but generally a nice day.

Bottom Type: Julians rocks is a large volcanic bommie rising out of the ocean about 2km from byron bay. As it drops off into the ocean theres a number of caves and and gullies formed. The cod hole is a cave teaming with fish, and the gullies deeper down are patrolled by Grey Nurse Sharks.

Visibilty: 10m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 53minutes

Max Depth: 20.4m

Air usage: 170bar/2500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: This second dive made me realise how a good guide/group/buddy can really make or break a dive. The guide on this dive seemed to have control issues and wanted everything done his way. To make matters worse we seemed to be swimming mid-water everywhere and into the current, which was making me very tired and not enjoy the dive as much as i should of. We still had some good Grey Nurse encounters, but it all seemed a bit rushed.

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report:

Dive 81 – Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole

By pfuller

Oct

12

Dive Number: 81 12/09/2010 11.36 Byron Bay – Julians Rocks – Cod Hole

Wind: ????

Tide: 1hr before 2.26 high tide at Ballina

Conditions: Another fine day for diving…10-15knot winds but generally a nice day.

Bottom Type: Julians rocks is a large volcanic bommie rising out of the ocean about 2km from byron bay. As it drops off into the ocean theres a number of caves and and gullies formed. The cod hole is a cave teaming with fish, and the gullies deeper down are patrolled by Grey Nurse Sharks.

Visibilty: 12m

Water Temp: 19c

Bottom Time: 47minutes

Max Depth: 22.1m

Air usage: 170bar/2500psi

SAC: ???? litres/min

Details: What an absolutely fantastic dive this was! Mark Gray was the instructor/guide on this dive, and coincidently i’d only been looking at his photography the night before. He promised me a good dive with some close grey nurse encounters if i stuck close to him and i wasn’t dissappointed. His best tip was to stay low on the sand so as not to spook them by drifting mid-water. Not only did this work, but it made for exciting diving. I’ve always thought that to be a good photographer you need to be a good hunter, and this felt like we were on safari. We were shark hunting, crawling on our bellies along confined gullies while grey nurses swam overhead. At one stage ther were 4 grey nurses all within 5 metres just exerting thier prowess in the water. This was all in about the first 10 minutes of the dive and that was enough to make it my favorite dive to date. But it didn’t end there, Mark then led us into the Cod Hole which teemed with fish and provided some fantastic photo opportunities. After leaving the codhole we started a gradual asecent up a shear wall where schools of batfish and some other massive fish cruised by. The path through this dive site just made it a magical experience, and i couldn’t help but shout out a few expletives as soon as i had the regulator out of my mouth. Local knowlegde and a patient passage through this site made it a dive to remember..so thanks a million mark!

Camera Details: Tokina 10-17mm , single SS200 strobe

Dive Report: