Getting to Kangaroo Island is not difficult but it is time consuming. I traveled from Chicago via Los Angeles to Sydney which was followed by a flight from Sydney to Adelaide; all travel was via Qantas Airlines. It is important to allow a guaranteed interval between the Chicago to Los Angeles flight so that your bags will transfer even if your initial flight is delayed. As a member of Qantas club flying on American Airlines, I was allowed substantial baggage (4 checked pieces) at no additional charge. However domestic travel within Australia has very rigorous carry on baggage rules and your bags must fit within the guide form which is less than the American Airlines form; that does not mean close to fitting, it means fit. From Adelaide, Kangaroo Island is a 20 minute flight on Kendall Airlines. This flight is offered 3 times daily on small planes where excess luggage is an issue. To avoid problems, at Jim Thisleton's suggestion, I bought a second ticket and my four checked bags (three were heavy) all arrived safely at no additional charge.
Gum valley resort is a family owned "motel" run by Frank, Donna, and Pamela. Frank and Donna are the parents of three adorable children and Pamela is Donna's mother. Gum Valley has four comfortable rooms each with a bathroom, queen sized bed and convenient mini-bar for food for snacks. Meals are cooked and served by Donna and are quite good and presumably typical Australian fare. Gum Valley is a five minute ride from Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris the only dive operation on Kangaroo Island.
Jim and Josie Thisleton run Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris and they do a superb job of making their clients feel welcome and well cared for. Getting to the dive boat is a bit stressful as it involves travel in a vehicle that Jim calls "White Knuckle" an old but reliable army transport vehicle. Personally, I call the route to the dive boat, "White Knuckle" as it involves seemingly vertical travel during certain portions of the trip.
The dive boat is moored in an artificially constructed channel which is safe from the occasional strong winds that blow on the waters between Kangaroo Island and Southern Australia. Most diving is done on this lee side of the island as opposed to the side facing Antarctica which is gorgeous but swept by strong winds most of the time. Water temperature varies from 60 F (17 C) to nearly 72 F (24C) with warmest waters being found towards March, which is Autumn in Australia.
Jim is one of the most ethical men I have ever met. If you buy goods or services from Jim you always get at least what you pay for. To illustrate, there was one night that Jim was selling their version of lobsters. The customer purchased 8 kilograms and Jim weighed out 8.6 kilograms.
Lunch is served on the boat. It consists of water or hot tea, seemingly unlimited Australian Sandwiches, and cookies to die for. Fresh water is brought on the boat and used to rinse cameras and other gear.
Diving includes very unusual animals which are endemic to the area and if you are lucky (or if you ask for it specifically) you may have sea lions or New Zealand fur seals in the water with you. These animals love to play and interact with divers. Occasionally diving involves catching ones dinner as the area is prolific with abalone and lobsters.
The boat is a 28 footer which has all requisite safety equipment including oxygen, radio, dual engines, etc. It can hold 6 photographers but that would be cozy. Four people is comfortable. There is a shaded area if you are sun averse. Taking a nap during the short transit to dive sites is problematical as Jim likes to get places quickly.
Two species of sea dragons occur in southern Australia, the "common" or Weedy Sea Dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)and the Leafy Sea Dragon (Phycodurus eques). Both species resemble floating pieces of seaweed which can make them difficult to find in their natural habitat which has a plethora of kelp like macroalgae. Jim is an expert at finding sea dragons and is probably one of the worlds experts on their habits and environment. He keeps a log of their movements and growth annotating individuals by snout markings on the right side.
The Weedy Sea dragon is endemic to (i.e. they are found only in) southern Australian waters. Adult Weedy Sea dragons grow to about 46 centimeters in length. The small, leaf-like appendages of Weedy Sea Dragons come out from the body singularly or in pairs. While colors vary on live animals, adult Weedy Sea dragons are usually reddish with yellow spots and purple-blue bars. The "leaves" are often purple in color with a black border. The body has only a few short spines. The species of sea dragon are known to inhabit rocky reefs, seaweed beds, seagrass meadows and around any structures colonized by seaweed. While they have been found in depths of up to 50 meters, they are more often seen in shallow coastal waters. Sea dragons feed on plankton, larval fishes and small shrimp-like crustaceans, called mysids, sucking up their prey in their small mouths. Like the seahorses to which they are closely related, males of this species bear the unhatched eggs. Unlike seahorses, however, the eggs are not enclosed in a pouch but are clutched externally along the tail where the skin forms a cup around each egg. Reaching maturity after one year, weedy sea dragons typically breed during their second year, and may grow to a length of 17 inches. Like the Leafy sea dragon, their diet includes mysid shrimp.
Anyone who has seen a leafy sea-dragon cannot fail to make the connection between this tiny gossamer-like creature and the dragons of fairy tales. This rare and vulnerable relative of the sea-horse might be only around 45 centimeters long and live in an element foreign to its fierce mythical cousin, but in appearance it is unmistakably a dragon.
Sea-dragons actually belong to the same family as sea-horses (Syngnathidae)
but differ in appearance from the latter by possessing leaf-like appendages
on their head and body, and having a tail that cannot be coiled up. Unique
to the southern waters of Western Australia and South Australia, the leafy sea-dragon's
home is inshore areas of sea grass. Unfortunately these are under increasing
threat from pollution and excessive fertilizer run-off.
This is not the only danger faced by the sea-dragon. Although having no known
predators amongst the marine world, it has become the target of unscrupulous
'collectors' who have denuded the more accessible seagrass areas of this amazing
creature.
In 1991, the WA Fisheries Western Australia, concerned by the rapidly decreasing numbers of the leafy sea-dragon, declared it a totally protected species. The sea-dragon is poorly equipped for fleeing from those who wish to catch it. The outer skin or 'hide' of the sea-dragon is solid, limiting its mobility, and the only way it can propel itself along is through rapidly oscillating its ventral and dorsal fins. However, it blends easily with the background and is agile enough to be able to hunt down tiny mysid shrimp or 'sea-lice', its main quarry. For those creatures, the sea-dragon has all the appearance of a mighty hunter.
Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the leafy sea-dragon is that it is actually the male of the species which gets pregnant and gives birth. During mating, the female lays 100 - 250 eggs onto a special 'brood patch' on the underside of the male's tail, where they are attached and fertilized. This brood patch, consisting of cups of blood-rich tissue each holding one egg, is especially developed by the male for use during the breeding season of August to the following March. The bright pink eggs become embedded in the cups of the brood patch, receiving oxygen via the cups' blood vessels. During each breeding season, male leafy sea-dragons will hatch two batches of eggs. After a period of about four to six weeks from conception, the male 'gives birth' to miniature juvenile versions of sea-dragons. As soon as a baby sea-dragon leaves the safety of its father's tail, it is independent and receives no further help from its parents. For two to three days after birth, the baby sea-dragons are sustained by their yolk sac. After this, they hunt small zooplankton, such as copepods and rotifers, until large enough to hunt juvenile mysids.
The leafy sea-dragon is one of two species of sea-dragon found in Australia's southern waters. The common or weedy sea-dragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) is less rare and can be encountered all the way from Port Stephens, New South Wales to Geraldton, Western Australia.
Would I return to dive with Jim on Kangaroo Island? You bet!!