Dive into the Governor Island Marine Reserve
To ensure that the marine area around Governor Island near Bicheno is preserved for the future it was declared a marine reserve in 1991. The marine life in this area is truly magnificent. You can find lots of fish here like the globe fish, smooth toadfish, cowfish, some leatherjackets, eastern stargazers, trumpeters and many more.
Bicheno is a nice holiday destination on Tasmania's eastcoast. There are beautiful sandy beaches and some national parks nearby. The main attraction off course is scuba diving.
Kelp forests
On the south side of the Governor Island marine reserve lies a very popular dive site. This kelp forest starts on a depth of around 18 meters and reaches all the way to the surface. You can visit these magnificent underwater forests in wintertime when the conditions are good. It's a bit strange at first, but after swimming a little while through the giant kelp plants it's becoming more fascinating by the minute. The space between the kelp plants is usually big enough to swim through without getting stuck.
There are some fascinating animals that visit the area around Bicheno from autumn to srping and with a little luck you can spot orcas,humpback whales, Australian fur seals, southern right whales and bottlenose dolphins.
Valley of the sponges
- Resource: www.tudc.org.au
In the same marine reserve as the kelp forests are two gigantic walls in around 36 meters of water. In between these walls is a valley that's completely filled with all kinds of sponges. This colourful display is very good visible with the use of a flashlight. There is lots of other marine life to be found such as perch, rock cod, goatfish,john dory, trumpeter, cowfish, gobies and some species of leatherjackets.
