gemfyre | Free snorkel with every visit!

Well, if you've been anywhere near me over the past few weeks you will know that my latest hobby/obsession is snorkelling.

Of course it all started last year when I went on a snorkel trip at Coral Bay. Gliding over coral reefs and neon fish and chasing manta rays had me immediately hooked, and the great thing was, it was swimming and thus had zero impact on my knee, which I had dislocated 2 days prior. I got back to Perth and a few days later bought a snorkelling set.

Alas, due to my knee still healing - so entering the water from the shore was rather troublesome - and the fact that it turned cold not long after I got back, I didn't get much chance to use my new kit.

But now summer is with us again and I have 2 friends who also love a good snorkel - which is great because it's one of those things you don't want to be doing alone. I have been swimming out from Hamersley Pool - my regular swimming spot and Mettam's Pool so far, but I'd like to explore the whole reef from Trigg to North Beach and then go further afield to places like Cottesloe Groyne, Point Peron and Rottnest.

At Hamersley Pool I quickly discovered that just donning goggles and snorkel and making my way around the edge of the reef - where the water is only waist deep, I could see large fish just loafing in the shade of the reef - blowfish, whiting and Red-lipped Morwong - a pretty, striped fish that gets quite large. I knew I needed to explore further.

Upon Marie's advice I dug out a pair of long thermals and a long sleeved top to use as a "poor man's wetsuit". It looks ridiculous but works a treat. It just removes that contact with the rocks and weed on the reef and makes me a lot more confident swimming over the top of it. The snorkel holder on my mask broke - I bought a new one today for a measly $3. But my mask always fogs up for some unknown reason, so I usually borrow a spare set of Marie's goggles. I've also discovered my fins are marginally too small and give me pins and needles once I remove them (not to mention the hassle getting them ON). One of them now also has a crack across it, pretty much rendering it useless. :( Today I borrowed Craig's boots and fins and they were much more comfortable. I have my own boots too, but again, I think they are slightly too small. I think I might use the $100 I got for Christmas to buy a decent new mask and fins. My first set was bought without much prior research.

So yeah, all these beaches that I frequent, that are at max a 20 minute drive from my house, are absolutely awesome for snorkelling. Once you get out a bit there are huge drop offs and sandy patches and even the odd cave and the fish variety and numbers are amazing! I will have to start listing what I've seen soon, Marie has a field guide, but I think I'll got to the library tomorrow to see if they have one I can borrow.

Today I went out twice, in the morning with Marie and Craig. We swam quite far out over caves and fish nurseries - so many tiny baby fish out there! Then once we were back in we were treated to the antics of some Eagle Rays. One, which Marie has dubbed "Pale Ale" is quite tame and comes right into Hamersley Pool often. I didn't realise they were so huge! At least 1 metre across, with pretty mottled patterns on their backs. As we were walking up to the car we looked out over a sandy patch on the southern side of the point and saw 4 rays meandering about out there.

Marie had an afternoon appointment so we dropped her back home, then Craig and I headed back out for sushi and more snorkelling, this time we ended up at Mettam's Pool. Not far to the south of Hamersley Pool. One handy thing about Mettam's is the ramp right into the water - designed for wheelchair access. It also gives easy access into the water and a place to put all your gear without it getting sandy. We swam out past the breakers at first, and finally I started to feel like I was getting a workout, I was quite puffed by the time we found a calm spot. But then we just meandered about the place, and at that pace I think I could do this forever. At one point a large shoal of fish streamed into a deep area and hung about a rock pinnacle for quite a while, allowing us to swim over and around them for a while. Even swimming right over the shallows was interesting - full of large anemones, chitons and abalone.

I am now pleasantly tired. It's great because you're getting a lot of exercise, and most of the time you don't even realise it. I think this is going to become a regular weekend activity until the weather cools off again. Amazing stuff.