Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
NARRATOR>> Two kilometres offshore from Smoky Cape,
near South West Rocks, NSW, is Fish Rock.
This popular destination for divers has several possible dive sites,
and its most famous is a 125-metre cave, which cuts through the rock's centre.
Fish Rock Cave's deepest entrance is 24 metres, and from here,
you make your way through and up an area known as the Chimneys,
on through a still-dark 62-metre tunnel,
until finally reaching a 25-metre stretch blessed with ambient light.
The cave finishes with a cavern at a depth of about 12 metres.
I'm here today with South West Rocks Dive Centre,
and after an initial dive on the rock's outskirts and an hour's rest,
I follow dive guide Matt towards the cave's seaward side, its deepest entrance.
Before commencing our journey into the cave's confines,
we test our dive torches and make sure we have at least 150 bar of air.
And then it's time.
Following Matt and telling myself I can do this,
I enter the cave's narrow, dark reaches,
thankful that my powerful video lights return a much wider beam than a tiny torch.
Being underwater, in a situation where I can't just swim to the surface should something
go wrong,
is a bit freaky, I admit.
This is my first cave dive, and I do have to focus on remaining calm.
After rising from the Chimney into the Tunnel, Matt points out some crayfish.
I take a quick look, but I'm more interested in reaching the ambient light than observing
anything at this point.
Soon after passing a resting wobbegong shark,
a dim turquoise glow appears in the distance: the cave's end.
Seeing the light is reassuring,
and, finally, I begin to relax and enjoy this experience.
As we approach the cavern, schools of brilliant fish cloud the water.
And then I see the star of Fish Rock: the critically endangered grey nurse shark.
The rock is a critical habitat for this species,
and since the cave's waters are about one degree warmer than the surrounding waters,
they often swim here.
Kevin, one of the dive shop's owners,
said he's seen over 50 sharks here on more than one occasion,
and over 100 in the rock's deep end gutter.
Only a couple are swimming in the cavern this morning,
but that's enough to completely spellbind me.
I watch, awed by the power and grace of these beautiful creatures.
The grey nurse isn't the only shark species in this cave.
About a half dozen wobbegongs are nearly piled upon one another,
competing for space in these warmers waters.
Finally, we leave the cave and make our way back towards the boat.
This has been the most exhilarating dive I've ever experienced,
and, now, the thought of swimming through the cave isn't nearly as intimidating.
I relish the thought of pausing in its cavern again sometime
and observing the gentle majesty of those beautiful sharks therein.