With Daylight Savings over you may feel like your opportunities to go diving after work are also over. But some of us are super excited that it is now night dive season! Take this opportunity to experience your local sites in a whole new light!
You will be amazed at the changes that occur underwater after the sun sets. There is a definite changing of the guard as diurnal species head off to sleep and nocturnal species awaken and start their shift so expect to see something new on your dive.
We are often asked if night diving is scary?
The short answer is No –not if you know what you are doing.
Many divers will find night diving very relaxing as we tend to spend more time cruising along the reef and take more notice of what is directly in front of us.
You can experience a night dive as part of your PADI Advanced Open Water Dive Course or sign up to complete the PADI Night Diver Specialty Course.
Let there be light:
We do need torches to enjoy our night dive, to explore the reef and communicate with our buddy. It is recommended that each buddy team has a minimum of 3 torches, 2 primary torches and 1 secondary or back up torch. Your primary torch tends to be larger and has a wide beam to light up our surroundings which helps with navigation and reduces disorientation. Our secondary torch is often small enough to keep attached to our BCD is used as a back up to signal our buddy and end the dive if our primary torch fails.
So why do we dive at night?
Marine life! Nothing is doing quite what you would expect! Our favourite wrasse sleep along sand ripples or in the weed, Blue Moki put on their pyjamas to rest – the dark mottled colouration breaks up their outline to confuse predators. Other nocturnal species come out to forage so expect plenty of action along the reef with cryafish & crabs in abundance, shellfish on the move, squid, octopus and conger eels are hunting for dinner or is that breakfast?
But best of all – is bioluminescence! You will laugh at your buddy as they have their arms around before finding out you are doing it yourself – just to watch the bioluminescent plankton flow off your hands is amazing and can’t be described. It must be seen to be believed.
