Twelve months ago I completed my Open Water scuba diver’s certificate. It was something that I have wanted to do for many, many years, and I am very pleased that I finally did it.
![scuba diver with underwater camera, over seaweed bed](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-3-of-7-608x1024.jpg)
I recently had a chance to dive at Oak Park in Cronulla, Sydney. It’s a fascinating and popular dive spot that is relatively easy to access straight from the beach. I dove with a a local group and was “buddied” with a diver who, like me, was also a photographer. So we headed out and spent forty minutes on the bottom photographing the fish life off Oak Park Beach.
I am always surprised by just how “tropical” the fish around Sydney are. And the seemingly never ending variety is quite amazing.
![](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-7-of-7-1024x609.jpg)
The highlight of the dive for me was finally meeting some of Sydney’s famous blue groupers! These fish are HUGE. The males being the biggest, with a striking blue colour, while the females are smaller and a green/brown colour. They are quite comfortable around humans (due to being fed, which is not ideal) and when they spot a diver, will come to investigate and often hang around in the hope of a sea urchin treat!
![A male blue grouper hanging around, hoping for a treat of sea urchin](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-6-of-7-1024x629.jpg)
The fish life is so varied – most of which I have never seen, or even know the name of.
These fish stayed close to the rock walls at all times and moved in large highly synchronised schools. I have no idea what they actually are! And fish identification, I have found seems to be even harder than bird identification!
![](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-2-of-7-1024x683.jpg)
![](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-1-of-7-1024x719.jpg)
![](https://john-oh-escort.com/storage/2019/01/oak-park-4-of-7-1024x740.jpg)
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If you are a certified scuba diver – or you would like to get your Open Water certification – I am available for adventure bookings, whether it’s a day diving in Sydney, or a week on the Great Barrier Reef, or diving in Fiji. I can am very easy to travel with and will bring you home safe with loads of beautiful photographs of your trip – both above and below the water.
John