Abyss Pictures with Ali Carle: In the Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia
The trip south from Sunset Cove Marina along the Fleurieu Peninsula cliffs is a spectacular one. And it’s a trip our skipper Pete Costello from Southern Dive and Brenton Dean and Carly Maple take regularly.
Many of the landmarks along the coast are both natural and man made - and some are epic in scale. But Brenton and Carly are in search of something hidden, fragile and unique.
“Carly and I have been to the Rapid Bay jetty probably a hundred times in the last year or so,” said Brenton. “We've been making a television documentary on Leafy Sea Dragons and they find a lot of protection around the jetty. There’s also a good food supply in the water too - plenty of shrimp and things like that. So it’s a wonderful place to come diving.”
As we prepare our diving gear, there's time to appreciate Rapid Bay - an eye-catching part of the coast with plenty of history. It's a beautiful bay that goes back to the earliest European settlement in SA. In the 1920s a young lad was exploring the nearby hills when he came across a large rock that was inscribed with "W.L. 1836". This was the first part of the South Australian mainland that William Light touched. It's believed the Colonel inscribed himself the rock himself.
He was here to explore the Peninsula but we're here to explore underwater and spy on a world that has changed dramatically since the Bay's second jetty was built in 1941.
For me there's an eerie, surreal quality to the dive as we descend among the jetty pylons. For Brenton and Carly it's just another day at the office as they’ve explored every inch of this watery world. As we swim among the pylons, steel struts and sea grasses we finally discover one of the famous and elusive residents… a Leafy Sea Dragon. It is simply stunning!
Brendan and Carly's documentary, "The Vanishing Dragon" is aptly named. Not only are these creatures extremely well camouflaged, they are also under threat because their habitat, the sea grasses are disappearing at a rapid rate.
Nevertheless, Rapid Bay remains one of the best spots in the world to find them.
“It was published a while ago as one of the top ten dive sites of Australia,” said Carly. “It is absolutely brilliant.”
The more you find out about this animal the more fascinating they become. They're extremely territorial and after a courting dance the female produces around two hundred and fifty eggs in her lower abdominal cavity. Eventually, they transfer the eggs onto the male's tail and it’s his job to do the rest.
While the Leafy has captured Brenton and Carly’s imagination, so too has the rest of South Australia’s marine life.
“One of our favourite diving spots is Pearson Island in the Great Australian Bight,” said Brenton. “It’s a big island made of granite and it’s surrounded by nice crystal clear blue water. You get lots of big fish and fur seals.”
“Probably the best place to see cuttlefish is at Whyalla during the breeding season between May and August each year.
“South Australia wildlife is so diverse. We even have the biggest sharks in the world off Port Lincoln.”
Through their company Abyss Pictures, Carly and Brenton know more about these fearsome creatures than just about any other film crew in Australia. They’ve spent days bobbing around in the Southern Ocean with shark expert Rolf Cyabayski waiting to film them strike.
These two divers two will go to extraordinary lengths to capture SA's marine life on film and have a range of stunning framed photos of Leafy's at Rapid Bay, New Zealand Fur Seals at Pearson and even Sub-Antarctic Penguins on Heard Island. Abyss Pictures has captured it all in stills and dramatic moving images.
“We've got nice clean big water here. Nice big fish too. It's beautiful and for documentary making it's ideal,” said Carly.
“I think we have a really untapped treasure here in South Australia,” said Brenton. “People don't realise how good the diving is. We really have a very much undersold resource. It's something that we could certainly develop a lot.”
Abyss Pictures is helping do just that. To order their "Vanishing Dragon" DVD or framed prints log onto their website or call 8267 1862. For dive charters contact Southern Dive on 8382 1322.
“The Vanishing Dragon” DVD or Framed Prints
Ph (08) 8267 1862Southern Dive
Roy Tce, Christies Beach
Ph (08) 8382 1322
