Julian Rocks Byron Bay 13/14th of aug.

[ozzydamo]

Hi fellow Aquanauts,
Just got back from 3 dives at Byron. Julian rock Marine Park.
Viz was ordinary 5 to 8m opaque with particulate, better at rising tide however, but pretty much limiting dives to close up stuff.
Lots of fish life and Grey Nurse Sharks- be over a dozen GNS there, that are very approachable if you keep calm and don't move aggressively and respect their personal space- do this and you can almost bump into them without a reaction out of them.
The poor viz allows for a closer proximity to all the marine creatures, but please be weary of the Wobbegong sharks; as they can bite in a similar manner to stepping on a snake when bush walking.
I "caught" some reasonable photos from the trip- here's some of my favs-

byron bay14.8.12_122 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_116 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_109 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_152 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_164 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_035 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_047 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_043 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
byron bay14.8.12_037 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[ocdiver1]

love Julian Rocks! amazing you got to see Pineapple Fish

 

[ozzydamo]

love Julian Rocks! amazing you got to see Pineapple Fish

I have seen them also at the gold coast seaway, used to be common, even the poorer kids could see them skindiving, but unfortunately they keep getting taken by the Marine Aquarium collectors.

 

[Mantra]

Ah! We were supposed to be there on Sunday, but were warned off about potentially bad weather on Saturday so didn't make the trip. We're going this weekend instead. Great to know there is still good GNS action happening.

If anyone else wants to head down for Sunday, let me know. We will probably do the the 10:00 and 1:00 dives with Sundive if they go ahead. We could give a lift to/from Brisbane if anyone needs one.

 

[ozzydamo]

Ah! We were supposed to be there on Sunday, but were warned off about potentially bad weather on Saturday so didn't make the trip. We're going this weekend instead. Great to know there is still good GNS action happening.

If anyone else wants to head down for Sunday, let me know. We will probably do the the 10:00 and 1:00 dives with Sundive if they go ahead. We could give a lift to/from Brisbane if anyone needs one.

It looks like the forecast for Sunday will be extraordinary for diving.
http://wind.willyweather.com.au/nsw/far-north-coast/wategos-beach.html

 

[TSandM]

Thanks for sharing the photos. I sure would love to go back to Byron Bay -- we had a wonderful time diving there.

 

[ozzydamo]

I have to mention how experienced the "Jai" guy/dude is at Sundive! Dive Byron Bay Australia and the Julian Rocks with Sundive Byron Bay

He's poor eye sighted and knows stuff all about seabirds "hey is that a pelican???? over there??????"

But for a boatman he's terrific launch and retrieving the 8odd metre RIB into surf on the northern side of cape byron, also on the landcruiser 4x4 dumping the boat into the surf- can't find a better man! but not birdman!

 

[Mantra]

Ha.

My staff recommendation at Sundive would have to be DM Phil Buckland. All the DMs are good (it's a good team there) but Phil is in another league. He has this massively comprehensive underwater book he takes with him with that he has made, and it is a list of names of what must be hundreds of local species. He has been diving Julian rocks for over 30 years, is clearly in love with the place, and is the naturalist behind Julian Rocks - marine species identification . He seems to really enjoy finding stuff, including rare stuff, and pointing it out and then pointing to the book entry on it so you know exactly what you are seeing. He's not in your face about it, and you are welcome to do your own thing if he is responsible for you and your skills are good, but if you want to critter spot, he is totally into it and up for a good chat after. That level of intimate knowledge is just an awesome bonus in a good DM.

 

[ozzydamo]

I have held hands with the man on a dive myself- funny lill story to one.......

This is a little article about the site for those contemplating a dive there!
http://www.divetheblue.net/pdf/151artByron.pdf

Julian Rocks can be dived under most conditions. Around ‘The Rocks’ are
numerous dive sites from 6m to 25m. The Nursery is a shallow coral gardens
on the western side. In deeper water from here are a series of gutters known as
the Wide Trenches, popular with grey nurse sharks. At the northern end of
Julian Rocks is the famous Cod Hole, a large swimthrough cave always packed
with fish.
On the eastern side are more caves and gutters to explore at Cray Cave and
Gorgonian Hollow. To the south is Hugo’s Trench, a deep channel always
overflowing with fish, wobbegongs and turtles. At the southern end are more
gutters at The Needles, and another impressive channel at Elwood’s Trench,
plus more reef and bommies in deeper water.
In calmer conditions divers can also explore the nearby rocky reefs at Spot X,
Mackerel Boulders and Kendricks Reef. One of the most spectacular dives sites
in the area is Cape Pinnacle, a colourful peak in depths of 25m to 40m that
always has a lot of action.
Byron Bay also has a couple of good shore diving sites – right off the main
beach are several shipwrecks which sank when the Bay was an active port.
The Wollongbar is very broken up, but the Tassie II is always interesting as the
hull is full of wobbegongs and other fish and only 5m deep. For more
information visit Sundive at Dive Byron Bay Australia and the Julian Rocks with Sundive Byron Bay