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AUSTRALIA DIVER

NIGELMARSHhas justvisitedone of

the most remote divedestinations inAustralia, to discovera collection of corals,fish and sharks thatblew his socks off

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FROM MY FIRST DIVE at theRowley Shoals I knew I wasexploring somewhere very special.

For a start, there were fish everywhere –colourful reef fish and large pelagic fish,plus a very healthy population of sharks.However, because these creatures see sofew divers at this remote destination, theyproved to be extremely camera-shy. Less shy were the corals – fabulous

gardens of hard corals, beautifulgorgonians and spectacular fields of softcorals. I hate to use the word “pristine”,as it tends to be overused and notappropriate to most dive destinations, butthis was the perfect word to describe thisunderwater smorgasbord.

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A marine park, Rowley Shoals consistsof the Mermaid, Clerke and Imperieusereefs. Each of these is oval-shaped andcovers an area of around 35sq miles. Thereefs lie 20 miles apart, and while all offerspectacular diving, Clerke and Mermaidare the most popular with visitingcharter-boats, as they have shelteredlagoons for safe overnight anchorage.Divers first started to explore the

Rowley Shoals in the 1970s, anddiscovered reefs very different to thoseelsewhere in Australia. They comprise amixing pot of species from both Australiaand Asia, with more than 230 species ofcoral and close to 700 species of fish. Only a handful of liveaboards visit

these remote reefs each year, and only inthe months of September, October andNovember, when calm conditions prevail.

ONE LIVEABOARD THATmakes the journey is True North, which

I joined for a six-night trip in September.True North is easily the most luxuriousand well-appointed liveaboard I havebeen on. The vessel is 50m long, and has large

spacious cabins spread over three levels,plus a huge dining room, comfortablelounge, bar, helipad, alfresco dining areaand a massive dive-deck. It operates

UNDERWATER SMORGASBORD�

Left: Pristine corals are afeature of the RowleyShoals.

Above: Soft corals andschools of five-linedsnapper at PlectropomaPass.

Below: True North mooredin Clerke Reef Lagoon.

‘I HATE TO USE THEWORD PRISTINE ASIT TENDS TO BEOVERUSED, BUT…’

First discovered by Anglo-Irish navalofficer Captain Josias Rowley (laterAdmiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet,GCB, GCMG) from the ship HMSImperieuse in 1800, the three reefs of theRowley Shoals lie 190 miles west ofBroome, off the northern coast ofWestern Australia. Like the wonderful Coral Sea Reefs

found off the country’s east coast, theRowley Shoals were once the peaks ofancient mountains, which slippedbeneath the waves after the end of the lastIce Age. Located on the edge of thecontinental shelf, these reefs rise fromdeep water and attract a great variety ofocean wanderers.

spiky soft corals because they have themost exquisite colours, and all around meat Blue Lagoon were red, pink, yellow,white and orange examples. Not only that, but the water was warm

at 27°C and the visibility was more than40m. Now I could see why divers ravedabout the Rowley Shoals.Blue Lagoon was typical of the dive-

sites we explored at Clerke Reef, becauseeach one had great corals, wonderful fishlife and numerous sharks.

Top: A whitetip reef sharkemerges from a cave atJimmy Goes To China.

Above: A black-blotchedporcupinefish surprised ona night dive.

Right: A blue-spottedlagoon ray shelters undera coral head at TheBommie.

Below, from left:Schools of fusiliers at TheBommie; colourful softcorals.

only a limited number of trips to theRowley Shoals each year, as it alsoventures to Kimberly and other parts ofAustralia, and makes trips to Indonesiaand Papua New Guinea.After a day spent seeing the sights of

Broome, I boarded the boat in theafternoon and met my fellow-passengers,a mixed group of divers, anglers andsnorkellers. I quickly discovered that thiswas a typical mix for a voyage on thisvessel, and more than half the passengerswere repeat customers. We were soon underway, enjoying a

glass of champagne as the sun set, andthen the first of many fabulous mealscooked by the threechefs.The overnight

crossing was verycalm, and the nextmorning we arrived atClerke Reef to begreeted by a pod ofmigrating humpbackwhales. Once mooredin the lagoon the sixtenders were launchedand we got ready toexplore.

OUR FIRST DIVE at Blue Lagoon setthe scene for four days of brilliant

diving. This was our check-out dive, butunlike any check-out dive I had donebefore. The site offered coral gardens and coral

heads to explore in less than 25m, and I was first impressed by the fish life –schools of trevally, barracuda, sweetlips,fusiliers and snapper, plus potato cod,coral trout, mackerel, wahoo, garden eelsand a great range of reef fish. I was also impressed to see numerous

sharks – several whitetip reef and greyreef sharks zooming around the reef. And finally, the corals made a big

impression. Healthy hard corals,gorgonians, sea whips, whip corals and,best of all, spectacular soft corals. I love

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AUSTRALIA DIVER

Another site with wonderful coralgardens was Plectropoma Pass, which hadan even better collection of soft corals,and I was surprised to see a gang of sixjuvenile grey reef sharks that were lessthan 50cm long. It was good to see so many sharks on

each dive, even if they were frustratinglycamera-shy. Whitetip reef sharks wereparticularly abundant, and several of thefemales were observed with fresh matingbites around their gills, a good sign for �

fusiliers. Our bottom time was way tooshort at this action-packed location.Each day at the Rowley Shoals we did

three to four dives – not hardcore diving,but balanced out with other activities and

Above: Broome is famousfor its oyster pearls.

Left: A broadclubcuttlefish encountered at Clerke Wall on the final dive.

Below: This Forstershawkfish was one of thefew fish that was notcamera-shy.

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the future generations.At other dive-sites we explored

dramatic coral canyons, but with ClerkeReef rising 390m above the surroundingseafloor, most dives were wall dives.Drifting along Clerke Wall there werewonderful corals to be seen – largegorgonians, sponges, whip corals, seawhips and more beautiful soft corals. Numerous reef fish were on show, plus

a constant parade of pelagic fish such asSpanish mackerel, trevally, dogtooth tuna,rainbow runners, wahoo and jobfish. I found myself constantly scanning the

bluer, hoping to see either a humpbackwhale – which we could hear singing onevery dive – or some other magnificentbeast of the deep. The anglers werefortunate to hook, and duly release, a sailfish, but we divers didn’t get to see

one of these incredible creatures. Also cruising this wall were grouper,

Maori wrasse, humphead parrotfish,turtles, whitetip reef sharks and grey reefsharks. The crew informed me that mantarays also appeared – we saw none whilediving, but quite a few feeding on thesurface, and managed to snorkel with two.On other wall dives at the Bommie,

South Park, Sheer Delight and MainChannel Wall we saw moray eels, stingrays, gropers, sweetlips, coral trout,schools of snappers and fusiliers. I didn’tsee that many invertebrate species, butconfess that I mainly used a wide-anglelens, so wasn’t looking that hard. I did see coral and hermit crabs, clams,

feather and seastars and a fewnudibranchs, and a night dive revealed anassortment of crustaceans and molluscs.

THE MOST EXCITINGwall-dive wedid was at the northern end of Clerke

Reef, at a site called Jimmy Goes toChina. Strong currents rip around thereef at this site, and we dropped down the wall to 40m to be surrounded by a dozen grey reef sharks and two largersilvertip sharks. This site also had wonderful corals and

schools of barracuda, snapper and

AUSTRALIA DIVER

a feast of food. Many of the divers alsoenjoyed the snorkelling and fishing, andwhale-watching was also popular, withmany pods of migrating humpbackwhales spotted each day. We also visited Bedwell Island, a long

spit of sand that is home to hermit crabsand nesting seabirds. The crew hosted sunset cocktails on the

island one afternoon, which led to a fewsore heads the next morning.Our final dive at Clerke Wall provided

a nice farewell to the Rowley Shoals.Drifting along the wall we saw the usualpretty corals, reef and pelagic fish and reefsharks, but right at the end of the dive wefound a fabulous broadclub cuttlefish. This wonderful cephalopod was

unconcerned to have three excitedunderwater photographers blasting it likea group of paparazzi, and flashed adazzling array of colours. After five minutes with this amazing

creature we reluctantly surfaced, sad to bedeparting the Rowley Shoals when we hadso much more to explore. But with only afew hundred divers getting to enjoy thesespectacular reefs each year, I felt I hadjoined a very exclusive club.

Broome is a very colourful town with a historyto match, and it’s one that many divers will findinteresting. It was established in 1883, afterpearl oysters were found to be abundant in thesurrounding waters. The area quickly grew tohave the largest pearl lugger fleet in thecountry. The pearl oysters were collected to be turned

into buttons, and were first gathered by Aboriginalfreedivers. Later Japanese divers arrived and usedstandard dress to collect the shells. Many died from the bends or drowning, and

today rest in the Japanese Cemetery. During World War Two, Broome was attacked on

four occasions by Japanese aircraft and not longafter the war the pearl-shell industry collapsed

when plastic buttons were invented.However, the town survived and is today famousfor its cultivated pearls. It’s one of the only places in the world where

pearl-divers are still employed to collect shells. Broome is located some 1400 miles north of

Perth and is a popular tourist town, with peoplecoming to see the pearl farms, the famous CableBeach and to explore the nearby Kimberly region.

FACTFILEGETTING THERE8Charter-boats visiting theRowley Shoals depart from Broome, which isregularly serviced by domestic flights in Australia byQantas and Virgin Australia.DIVING &ACCOMMODATION8True Northhas beentaking divers to the Rowley Shoals for more than 30years, www.northstarcruises.com.au WHEN TO GO8 Trips are generally offered only inSeptember, October and November.CURRENCY8Australian dollar. PRICES8A six-night Coral Atoll Cruise on True Northstarts from AU $5695 (around £3500 at the time ofwriting). Return flights London-Broome from nextSeptember from around £830.VISITOR INFORMATION8www.westernaustralia.com

Built on pearls