When we got to the car park at Shelly beach we found that we were the only ones there. It had rained over night and there were neither divers nor other beach goers around. What a pleasant surprise! We took time gearing up and held a short brief at the map before hitting the water. The temperature was 17 degrees, agreeable for me with a semi-dry suit and a hoodie, but my poor friend was freezing in her rental gear! Nevertheless, it was obvious that not much diving activity had happened over the past few days as we had the most amazing encounters. I have dived shelly often but never before have I seen an abundance of sea life such as the one on that day. Huge swarms of small zebra striped fish surrounded is, sometimes interrupted by a blue groper or another larger creature. Even better was the second dive for which we went out on the left side towards Fairy Bower. A celebration of small and plentiful fish who were nothing but curious to take a closer look. It made us forget all about the freezing ears!
by user bkassab, July 2009
