Poor Knights Oculina Point
DESCRIPTION
Site Review by Deralie Flower
Photos by Martin Wallis
This site is rapidly becoming a favourite of mine! I just had an absolutely spectacular dive here last weekend and can’t wait to get back there with my camera. I now believe it should be renamed ‘Leopard Anemone Point’ (or perhaps ‘Leopard’s Lair’?). I don’t know anyone who has actually seen Oculina (a rare type of coral) at Oculina Point, but the leopard anemones are FANTASTIC! The great thing is you don’t need to go deep to find them, but even with clear directions it took me a few dives to track them down!
Like most sites at the Poor Knights, this one site can enthrall divers of many levels of training and experience, and can be dived many different ways. Dive boats usually anchor in the bay just north of the point itself, in between Scary/Crystal/Isabella Cave and Oculina point. Those with the appropriate cave training will want to head towards Scary/Crystal/Isabella cave. This has quite a flattened horizontal opening that quickly narrows back into a tubular tunnel and is obviously NOT a place anyone should enter without the right training, experience and equipment. Those of us who haven’t seen the light (dark?) of the cave diving world should still shine a torch in as we go past, as there is usually a lovely golden snapper or two hanging around at the entrance.
The bay has a bouldery – kelpy bottom which gradually slopes down from about 10m. Stingrays and eagle rays often swim around here, and giant salps seem to get washed in here during the salp season too. Along the wall toward the point you will find the usual selection of nudibranchs and encrusting life. Your mission, however, should be to find the leopard anemones! Head along the wall towards the point. At some stage you will come across a big vertical crevice in the rock. On the left hand site (i.e. the side furthest from Oculina Point), at about 12-14m you will find at least two clusters of leopard anemones: one on the wall just outside the crevice, one just inside. The polyp of the anemone will not necessarily be open, so you need to look for the base of the anemone with its small brown spots. They are about 3-4cm in diameter. Please be careful not to touch them or accidentally kick them with a careless fin stroke! We only have a few for all to see at recreational depths.
Depending on the current and surge (sometimes it can be a bit exposed at this site), you might want to swim around to the point where there is some interesting rocky topography and nice swim-throughs. Watch your depth, as it does eventually drop off very steeply beyond recreational limits; and be aware that current often picks up quite strongly at the point – potentially taking you out of sight of the dive boat.
Trimix divers will be in heaven at this site. If you liked the leopard anemones above, are appropriately trained and want to see more of them….. head down the boulders and over a bit of a sandy area to some more large boulders at 45-50m forming a gorgeous sponge-garden. There are hundreds of leopard anemones (yes, hundreds – I had lots of helium so was NOT narked for a change!) growing on sponges and hydroids. Absolutely beautiful! Schooling splendid perch and pink maomao are common here and the visibility is often better at depth. Head over toward the wall at about 50m and you will find a lovely overhang with encrusting life. At this point it is about 60m to the sand. I haven’t seen any deeper than this, but I hear the beautiful sponges and boulders continue. Head back up along the wall to finish your deco in the sheltered bay near the cave, hunting for nudibranchs, triplefins and blennies.
Leopard Anemone Point: I’ll be back!
