Cuttle corner

Cottage Reef is a great shore dive halfway between Queenscliff and Pt Lonsdale. The reef is about 50m off shore with max depth of 8m.

You can reliably find cuttles and schools of old wives here and even sea dragons if you're observant.

This adolescent cuttle was just as interested in me as I was in him.




It's quite photogenic with colourful invertebrate growth under deep kelp covered ledges.

The rocky reef faces north so you can often shoot up into the sun with colourful sponges and gorgonians in the foreground.

St Leonards nudibranchs

I never look for nudibranchs these days. Seems I can't resist putting on the fisheye lens every dive.

But that doesn't mean the nudis aren't there, have a close look at the pink sponge in this shot of a pile.

Two tiny Noumea haliclona slugs snuck into the frame without me knowing. Didn't pick them up till weeks after I uploaded the shot to Flickr.

For such an un-assuming little fishing pier St Leonards provides wonderful photo opportunities, both macro and wide angle. 

Probably the best feature is that it's protected from SW winds, so when the ocean is a churning mess of swells this spot is a calm haven.