by Miguel Garrido
They say that third time is a charm and funny enough, they were right. Originally scheduled in April, our group of very, very determined divers finally managed to get a weekend down at South West Rocks early September.
They say that third time is a charm and funny enough, they were right. Originally scheduled in April, our group of very, very determined divers finally managed to get a weekend down at South West Rocks early September.
Three cancellations due to weather, six
months of anticipation, a ten degree drop in water temperature and we were
there, almost to our disbelief but boy was it was worth the wait. The dives,
(while on the colder end of the scale,) were fantastic. At 120 metres long, Fish Rock Cave
is well known as one of the largest ocean
caverns in the southern hemisphere, and home to some of
the last endangered Grey Nurse Shark populations worldwide. Shaaaaarks! Plenty
of sharks! So much so that Damien and Tim spent entire dives perched on rocks
in the gutters as the sharks would swim past to have their photos taken. Good
things apparently do come to those who wait as Tim Nguyen placed in the top 100
for his photo of grey nurse sharks(shown in this article) in the Australasia Underwater
Festival Shootout 2011. Congratulations Timmy!
The fun and excitement didn’t stop with the
sharks. Fish Rock Cave itself is a stunning underwater swim through which is
perfectly accessible to Advanced Adventure divers and above, no cave certification
necessary. For those that have done the HMAS Brisbane, Fish Rock Cave is about
as long as the wreck is from bow to stern.
Overall, as most dive trips are, it was a
blast. The sheer amount of fish life that gathers around the rock is
spectacular and the cave is amazing. South West Rocks definitely deserves its
place among the top 10 dive spots in Australia, a must-do for any diver.
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