rantFUJAK

Meanwhile, back in the west...
 
I've just come back from a weekend liveaboard around Rottnest Island, on Luke Nelson's boat (from Image Dive). 8 divers and 2 crew left Friday evening, early enough for a night dive when we got there. Nice spot, but don't assume anyone using a rebreather can navigate - it was a long swim back to the boat, and interestingly, there were again very few fish out at night around Rottnest.
 
The day dives were superb. The water is still 20C and the visibility ranged from 10m to 20m. The second dive on Saturday was the highlight, diving at West Patch on the SW end of the island. Its a large overhand and cave with 6-8 Grey Nurse Sharks in residence. As with all GNS, they were timid and thinned out while we were around. In the same area was the largest Pt Jackson I've ever seen and a large ray passing through. We dived the same spot on Sunday morning, but the surge had come in and it was murkier. The GNS were there but few came out to look at us.

The other dives were also good - a combination of anchored and drift dives. We did 3 dives each day, with night dives on Friday and Saturday. Rottnest has some great areas, such as Swirl Reef, full of swim throughs, fish life, and the occassional up welling. The weather was very kind to us (especially as it pissed down on Monday). The good thing is that its possible to find good diving spots and calm anchorage around Rottnest in most weather.

For those interested in the budget, it cost $385 with all food, soft drink and air fills - Nitrox is $12 a fill and alcohol is BYO. I do have some photos of this, including a short video of a GNS. However, this is the first use of the new camera - and the quality is not brilliant.

In summary, a great trip, so close to the apartment (2 hours from the last dive to the apartment by boat and car), good sites and on-board facilities. Its a shame Adelaide does not have an option like this.