Coffs Harbour - Snorkelling with Whales and Southern Cross Aquarium

So I know I'm going off brand as Coffs isn't exactly Sydney and not quite snorkelling but over the past few months, I have done a few trips along the coast that were a bit of fun.

During the Easter break, I got the pleasure of going on Jetty Dive's (http://jettydive.com.au/whale-swim-at-coffs-harbour/) first ever whale swim trip. Basically, after a half hour of wet-suiting up, you go out on one of the whale watching boats and jump in a few times with the hope that a whale will be curious enough to come check you out. 

We had plenty of luck seeing them from the boat but the first few times we jumped in we must have scared them off and were left bobbing for a few minutes before getting back on the boat.

However, just when we were about to give up we jumped in with a female Humpback Whale and her calf and were lucky enough to have her swim directly under us.

This experience was definitely one to tick off the bucket list, so if you are ever in Coffs in whale season give it a go. My only warning is that it can feel a little daunting once you have been dropped in the ocean a few km out and seeing the boat head off to a safe distance, though they do give you a shark repellant anklet. 

On this same trip one of my mates who is currently doing his PHD in Marine Ecology gave me the opportunity for an after-hours tour of the Solitary Islands Aquarium (http://solitaryislandsaquarium.com/) again something that I would highly recommend. Sorry for the quality of the photos as I was just shooting on my iphone.

Loved the colours on this fella.

Spend awhile watching this Fiddler Ray too 

Lion Fish checking himself in the reflection.

 Though my favourite was definitely the large octopus.