Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th April saw me assisting with a PADI Advanced Open Water course in Sydney. Saturday was at Clifton Gardens, a shallow inner harbour pier dive where I hung around while the four guys on the course did their navigation and underwater naturalist dives. The netting which hangs from the pier legs is covered in encrusting life which has grown up in the two years since the net was replace. The pier legs are similarly covered. There is also a healthy population of seahorses and plenty of small critters that make the site a macro photographers dream.

Sunday saw us picked up at Mosman Wharf for the short trip to Colours, just off of South Head, for the deep dive. The water was pleasantly warm down to the sand at 30m, and the vis was an acceptable 8m, if a little green. Not much of a 'real' dive as I was tasked with keeping an eye on the students and carrying the instructor's 'nark toys'. Still saw a couple of Giant Cuttlefish, some of the usual fish life and plenty of the fixed stuff that gives the site it's name. The less said about the anchor recovery exploits of another passenger the better...

Dive two was in the Sponge Gardens just inside South Head, grubbing about over the scattered wreckage and small boulders that are to be found. An unspectacular but pleasant dive in shallow water. PLenrt of usual suspects, th highlight being a frogfish hiding under a verl low ledge.