Australia

Long Term Test

Jervis Bay

Jonathan Mueller waxes lyrical about the attractions – both topside and underwater – of Jervis Bay on the South Coast of New South Wales

PHOTOGRAPHS BY JONATHAN MUELLER

As the water splashes around me after my giant stride entry and I bob back to the surface, I look back at the boat and signal all okay. I’m excited. From the boat when I looked over the railing, I could see a school of yellowtail right below the boat. As my group gathered and signalled our descent, I made my way to the shot line and began my decent to the white sandy bottom below. And when I say white, it’s white - this area is known for the whitest sand in the world and, even on my decent, you can see the light really coming out because of the sand.

Normally on a dive, it’s when you get to your depth that you start to experience the site, but on this occasion the descent led us through the school of yellowtail and as we started to get beneath them, a large grey nurse shark casually came close by the group. It’s been under a minute and this dive site is starting to deliver and exceed my expectations for mid-temperate water diving. You might be wondering what this amazing dive site is. But those that frequent diving in Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast will tell you that every day, The Nursery gives you something a little bit different. Today’s boat diving adventure is a triple dive on a boat departing from Huskisson, a beautiful coastal town that hugs the coastline on the shores of Jervis Bay. If Jervis Bay sounds familiar to you, it might be for a few good reasons. For one, it boasts the world-famous Hyams Beach which, as already

mentioned, is famous for the whitest sand in the world (that being said, all the beaches in the area

feature the same sand and offer up amazing blue azure water and white soft sand, but don’t tell the locals I told you!). Or it could be that Jervis Bay is home to the Australian Navy Base HMAS

Nothing beats heading home to hear about all the experiences that everyone has had because a destination actually delivered on the effort

Creswell and when diving around the bay, you will find out that many of the dive sites are named after the bay’s military history. If you’re looking for a destination dive trip that not only meets your diving passion but also meets your family’s idea of a weekend away, then Jervis Bay ticks all the boxes. For one it’s got easy access from Sydney (2.5hrs) or Canberra (2.5hrs). There’s an abundance of accommodation options from hotels to B&Bs and, of course, camp areas either in Booderee National Park (bookings made online) or in the township of Huskisson, which offer anything from cabins through to tents. It’s in a protected bay and marine park, meaning that water activities (diving included) operate all year round and in a variety of conditions. Jervis Bay holds a charm that’s attractive to all generations. It’s a location that appeals to many.

While you’re out experiencing what’s under the water, your family can be snorkelling off the shore of Hyams Beach, or experiencing a whale-watching / dolphin boat tour that departs from the Huskisson Wharf. When you get back from diving there’s a large number of restaurants and cafes to suit all tastes and budgets and, better yet, it’s got a small coastal town feel, so you’re never feeling like time is running away from you. Nothing beats heading home to hear about all the experiences that everyone has had because a destination actually delivered on the effort.

For me, the thing that really makes this a destination worth visiting is that the diving is phenomenal. I’ve been diving the waters of Jervis Bay for over three years and every time I visit sites I’ve been to before, I see something unexpected and always surprising. Which brings me back to where we started. Today I’m lucky because I’m diving with my mates, normally I’m leading some dives in the area and introducing the beautiful bay to new people. But today we have our cameras and set ourselves the goal for our first dive site of looking for nudibranchs.

As you might know for nearly all divers, finding one of these beautiful coloured creatures creates a great conversation post-dive and creates a longing to be back in the water on the hunt for a new one. They do come in all shapes and sizes and so when you find one you’re

not expecting, it really is super exciting. We all had put on a macro lens and decided that we would

slowly follow a ridgeline to north looking around various outcroppings for nudibranch.

This dive also presented a very friendly small reaper cuttlefish, which was just as fascinated with me as I was with it, and a blue grouper that followed me around more than my dog does at home

I chose to run a slightly wider macro for the day and had a 50mm 1:1. If something other than a nudi showed up, I might be able to get a shot!

If the start of the dive was anything to go by then what we found as we dived really took the cake. I found two nudis that I’d never seen before of a total of 13 during the dive. One, this awesome chocolate brown one on a white rock, and the other one I named the ‘purple spaghetti’. You will soon pick up that I’m not very good with scientific names, so create my own easier-to-remember names. This dive also presented a very friendly small reaper cuttlefish, which was just as fascinated with me as I was with it, and a blue grouper that followed me around more than my dog does at home. After 60 minutes at 15m, we began our ascent back to the boat and all I could think about is what will the next dive site might show!

Jervis Bay Cuttleflsh

Being a triple dive, our diving was confined to two afternoon dives and single night dive at our second dive location. Our second dive location wasn’t far from our first and was called The Wall for, you guessed it, a large rock wall that cuts its way down the side of Bowen Island. This site is open to the ocean and is more prone to surge and swell, so it’s a site best experienced by advanced divers, and has a max depth between 24-28m. The thing about this site that’s exciting is that it’s home to weedy seadragons! If you’ve never seen one in the water, it’s an experience that you need to have. These large seadragons are one of the most-graceful creatures under the water despite their name.

When we descended to our starting depth of 24m, we began to explore the boulders and weed bed that make its way along the bottom. It wasn’t long until we found what we were after. Casually moving through some weed a beautiful weedy seadragon was waiting for us to take the perfect photo. It wasn’t until the second dive, our night dive, that I actually got the shot that I wanted.

2.5hrs from sydney!

Local accommodation! over 50 dive sites!

dive jervis bay

Based in Huskisson, Jervis Bay on the South Coast of NSW and only 2.5hrs south of Sydney. We have a diverse marine environment that can be utilised all year around. With 2 dive boats, on site accommodation on the main street of Huskisson and over 50 dive sites we can meet all your diving needs. With everything you need to get started in diving or for that next dive adventure, we’re ready to get salty and show you what’s in our backyard.

boat diving

Take a tour through the pristine underwater environment of the Jervis Bay Marine Park. We have some of the best temparate water diving in Australia. Our boats depart twice a day and include 2 dives.

dive with seals!

Get an experience unlike any other. Explore the underwater landscape at one of our two permanent seal colonies. Be immersed as seals dive with you and have an interaction you’ll never forget.

Learn to scuba dive

If you’ve always wanted to learn how to scuba dive, this is where it starts. The PADI Open Water Diver course is the world’s most popular scuba course, and has introduced millions of people to the adventurous diving lifestyle.

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The beautiful colours expressed on a black background. The other thing that really stands out is the amount of colour that the Wall offers. From large fans through to a variety of fish as we made our way back up towards the boat and explored the various levels that the wall offers, we continued to find more areas that we will need to come back to photograph. As we motored back to Huskisson, we were treated with a view of the Milky Way that jumped out at you. It could be me, but Jervis Bay is a pretty amazing place.

All in all, it’s fantastic diving. And I only really skimmed some of what the bay has to offer. In fact, there’s a permanent seal colony at the dive site Drum and Drumsticks, other sites like The Docks that need exploring, not to mention that you can now also have a swim with whales encounter out of Jervis Bay. It really does deliver on all counts. Actually, all this writing about the Bay is making me want to go, I wonder what I have on for the weekend? Perhaps the missus needs to spend an afternoon on a beautiful beach while I fill up my camera’s memory card underwater… n

Everyone loves Jervis Bay!