There are so many reasons to love this idyllic location only 2½ hours north of Sydney with its blue water and fantastic land based activities.  Whether you visit as a family, couple or individual the Port Stephens region has something to offer everyone.

For divers, Nelson Bay delivers reliable conditions more than most other places.  It is completely protected from the prevailing Southerly weather and the large tidal flows ensure outstanding underwater life can always be found.

In early 2007 a group of keen Dive 2000 underwater photographers travelled to Nelson Bay for a weekend of diving and fun.  The diving in the area is exceptional, with the best shore dives in NSW as well as some great boat dives on the offshore islands.  On this occasion we focused on the fantastic shore dive locations of Fly Point and The Pipeline.  Halifax Marine Park is the third in the trio of Nelson Bay shore dives that should not be missed, but we just ran out of time and memory cards on this trip.

See the full photo gallery at http://www.dive2000.com/blog/Photos/TravelPhotos/NelsonBayGallery

Fly Point:  A short stroll down the stairs from the carpark and you can put your fins on in the protected shallow water (see photo below) prior to heading down over the rock shelves and kelp.  Its important to make it past all the life in 5-10m of water (which makes a great spot for a safety stop) down past 15m.  It is here that Fly Point reveals its true beauty with a colourful sponge garden that stretches as far as the eye can see.  Here you will find Wobbegongs, pineapplefish, moray eels, painted crayfish, nudibranchs and an array of schooling fish.  The sponge-life and soft corals around the 20-25m mark makes for some colourful images.
Once you are near the end of the dive you will find the safety stop full of octopus, sea hares, cuttles and nudibranchs.

The Pipeline:  Situated behind the fish co-op only a few hundred metres from the marina, this unassuming spot does not look like much of a dive site at first glance.  But walk down 6 steps to the water and your perspective will be transformed.  On this weekend the Pipeline was the star of the bay…a real critter paradise!

The old pipeline that runs into the bay is now surrounded and covered in sponge growth which is a haven for marine life.  In additional, just away from the pipeline is a forest of 1m tall pink soft corals which are home to even more macro subjects.  In just a couple of dives at the Pipeline we encountered;

·         Many different species of nudibranchs & flatworms

·         Blue ringed octopus (we saw at least 5)

·         Seahorses – especially beautiful on the pink soft corals

·         Tiger Pipefish – the biggest pipefish you will see!

·         Sponge Crabs – these guys are real home decorators

·         Cowries and spindle cowries that look great on the soft corals

·         Cuttlefish displaying all their wares in a courting ritual – Richard even got a shot of a cuttle munching on a crab

·         The amazing Small-Head Sole whose electric blue colouring and ability to mimic the swimming style of a flatworm really caught the eye.

The whole time was a macro photographers delight as you can see in the gallery put together from the weekend.

For those that have interests other than diving (??), Nelson Bay fits the bill as a destination.  Within 15 minutes of the dive sites there are;

·         3 top class golf courses (including kangaroo spectators)

·         A 30km beach which is great for 4WDing, dune buggy tours, horse riding, fishing, camping and exploring.

·         Great cafes, restaurants, and shopping.

·         Dolphin and whale watching cruises

·         Several wineries with tasting facilities

So why not join us on our next Dive 2000 weekend dive holiday to Nelson Bay...we know you will love it too.

Many thanks to our weekend photographers Richard Arnold, Peter Cave, David von Schill, Kevin Deacon, Eric Winters, Dave Young, & Brent Hedges.

See the full photo gallery at http://www.dive2000.com/blog/Photos/TravelPhotos/NelsonBayGallery