SIX DAYS IN TASMANIA
At the kind invitation of the AIPP in Tasmania, last weekend I spoke at the annual Photo Festival held at the Salamanca Inn in Hobart. After that, Tasmanian photographer Ian Wallace and I had a couple of days diving with Mick and Karen at Eaglehawk Dive Centre. This was my first foray into temperate Tasmanian waters, and I really enjoyed the 3 dives. The first day was a great introduction in good conditions at Deep Glen Bay, with gardens of bull kelp, some co-operative Weedy Sea Dragons and reasonable visibilty.

The second day we ventured into Fortesque Bay, hoping to capture the giant kelp forests for which the Tasman Peninnsula is famous. These once-widespread underwater forests, that can grow to a height of around 30m high in places, are in decline as waters warm, water quality changes and invasive species migrate into Tasmania. The area of forest in Fortesque Bay is much-reduced, and unfortunatley very low light levels and poor visibilty made quality shooting too great a challenge! I hope to return to Tassie in the cooler, clearer months next year, hopefully this will not be too late to see a Giant Kelp forest in all its glory.