Fish Rock Cave - New South Wales, Australia
I gazed at the diagram of Fish Rock Cave on the wall of the shop and wondered whether I was really biting off more than I could chew. I had heard a lot about it during the course of my journey around Australia, about the wobbegongs that lie at the bottom of the cave and the chimney ascent. Looking at the diagram on the wall in South West Rocks Dive Centre it looked so straightforward. Without wanting to commit myself I tentatively started to ask about diving the cave.
A family of brothers runs South West Rocks Dive Centre in NSW. They have lived and dived here all their lives and know the sites and waters locally inside out. I spoke to Peter the eldest brother originally, trying to explain that I really wanted to do this dive, but was very nervous! Whilst no cave diving cert is required, it can be a little daunting for those who do not do much diving in enclosed and overhead environments. However, the way the dive centre organised the days diving meant that whilst you may have booked to dive Fish Rock Cave you are under no pressure at all to do the dive. You can change your mind while you are out there and they will go and find another site. The guys were very reassuring and at no time made you feel inadequate for being nervous, they were quite used to people feeling apprehensiv
They explained that on the first dive they take people in the upper part of the cave (14m) where you would actually be exiting from should you do the whole dive. Although this gives you a reverse profile on your days diving i.e. the second dive is deeper, the depths involved are not huge. They take you right to the back of the cave and look down so that you can actually see where you will be coming up.
Back on board the boat you then made the decision whether you want to dive it or not. Although still nervous I felt confident about the group I was diving with. Peter would lead the way followed by an experienced couple that were also from the UK. Lastly myself buddied up with Scott who had done the dive on several occasions before. Watching the patrolling batfish as we descended we set off. There is one tricky bit where you have to go over a ridge which puts you in the way of the current but once over this and down the gully it’s a breeze.
You then enter the lower part of the cave. This is often a haunt for wobbegong who like to lie on the sandy bottom; it is also the bottom of the chimney so you need to take care with your fins!
As you ascend your progress is monitored by pairs of devilish glowing red eyes belonging to crayfish of just about every size perched in every nook and cranny they can find in the walls. The floor is littered with their discarded shells and shining a torch behind an empty shell is Peter’s usual trick for the diving tourists! Finally you emerge out and along the upper tunnel and have to more or less elbow your way past the hundreds of bullseyes that mill around the entrance to the cave.
The walls are covered with bright orange encrusting sponge, sweetlips and small groups of stripeys investigate the dark regions at the back of the cave. We had to duck out of the way of an incoming wobbegong who disappeared into the darkness from where we had come. Emerging into the light the rocks were covered with magpie and red morwong either lying on the rocks watching us or busily going about their business. By this time my nervousness had gone and I had found the whole dive so awesome that I decided to do it again the next day!
This time there were only four of us. Peter was leading and Kevin his brother bringing up the rear with his video camera while I was in the middle with Scott again. However, this time I have to confess to a moment or three of anxiety. We were ascending up the chimney when Scott, (unbeknown to me), instead of veering off towards the exit tunnel decided to go right to the top and stick his head out into the air space, switching off his torch just to see what it was like in the dark! It seemed as though he had just suddenly disappeared into thin air and with only the feeble light from the puny little torch that I had bought with me it suddenly seemed very very dark. I could make out Kevin’s light someway below me but Peter was out of sight having turned into the tunnel to exit. Even though visibility was good, in the darkness I was straining to see where the break in the rock was to exit along the tunnel. Although far from panicking ,the fact that I couldn’t see the exit made me anxious. Being very aware of how I was feeling I knew my breathing rate would automatically start going up and I would be getting through the air, which of course made me more anxious! However, it can’t have been for long before Scott returned probably not more than a few minutes but I have to confess to hanging onto to him for a moment or too for reassurance just till I had calmed down. Fortunately he guessed and didn’t think I was making a pass at him 24m underwater in a cave! We then continued on quite uneventfully down the tunnel towards the exit. This time being passed by a huge ray the wings of which nearly touched the sides of the cave. Where he came to rest I have no idea as he disappeared into the gloom at the back of the cave.
Despite my wobble inside the cave that second time, I felt I had really achieved something. Later I was to come across people who had elected not to do the whole dive through the cave after looking at where they would be coming up. So whilst it may be no big deal to people who regularly dive in caves and overhead environments, for me it was a big achievement and I was very glad that I had done it.
