Edithburgh Jetty South Australia's - Text and photos by Don Silcock - Indopacificimages
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Edithburgh Jetty
South Australia's
Text and photos by Don Silcock
15 X-RAY MAG : 104 : 2021 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS WRECKS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY TECH EDUCATION PROFILES PHOTO & VIDEO PORTFOLIO
travel Edithburgh
Located on the southeastern to become, at
tip of the Yorke Peninsula, one point, the
third busiest port
the small town of Edithburgh in South Australia.
is home to what is possibly The specific loca-
the absolute best of all the tion was chosen
many wonderful jetties of for its sheltered
location and prox-
South Australia. imity, across the
Gulf of St Vincent,
Dived on a good day with optimal to the state capi-
conditions, “Edith,” as it is known tal Adelaide. But,
locally in the SA dive community, is a unbeknownst to
stellar dive that ranks highly among the people who
the must-do dives in Australia. Plus, planned the jetty, DEPARTMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY / AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY 3.0 AU
if you can get there for a few days was the Great
during the week, there is a good Southern Reef and the rich seasonal science-project-like petri dish to dem-
chance you will have the place upwellings created by the Leeuwin onstrate to the world what they can
(well, underwater, that is) to yourself! and Flinders Currents that feed and do—and the results are truly stunning!
Built in 1983, primarily to facilitate nourish its superb biodiversity.
the export of locally produced salt For those currents, the structure, First impressions
around Australia and over to New shape and location of Edithburgh Yes, I know—first impressions are not Sponges, tunicates and invertebrates cover the pylons (above, top left and previous page) of Edithburgh
Zealand, the jetty allowed Edithburgh Jetty have provided an almost perfect always correct, but they do matter Jetty (in aerial view top right); Map showing Australia's ocean currents, gyres and eddies (left)
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travel Edithburgh
Brilliantly coloured invertebrates cover pylon at Edithburgh
Jetty (above); Horned blenny (top right)
and definitely create that initial and my thoughts
impression. With Edithburgh, your are always that it
first impressions will have been may not be the
formed by the three-hour-or-so end of the world,
drive out of Adelaide, which in but I should be
my case has always been vague- able to see it from
ly vanilla-like, at best, followed by here. It is neat,
a sharp left turn and the journey tidy and safe—
down the Yorke Peninsula, with its but if you need to
amazingly large and flat expans- eat after 8:00 at
es of fertile wheat fields—that is, night, bring your
until you realise just how much own food.
GOOGLE EARTH
natural vegetation and animal
habitat must have been cleared The jetty pylons story about what they have seen.
to facilitate it all. That said, those Life was hard and tough for the They can’t, of course, but what
local farmers work very hard original settlers of Edithburgh and they can do is stand as silent wit-
doing what they do—and the probably even harder for the nesses to the fecundity of those
world loves our clean and green “blow-ins” who came here to find Great Southern Reef currents and
produce, so let’s take that par- work. If those hardwood pylons the rich upwellings they create.
ticular discussion off-line. that underpin the jetty could talk, For the wide and low structure of
Sponge crab at Edithburgh Jetty Then, one arrives in Edithburgh, they would tell many an interesting the jetty has created an incred- Decorator crab (above); Map of the region with
location of Edithburgh and Adelaide (left)
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travel Edithburgh
Mating pair of pajama squid (above); Leafy seadragon under
the jetty at Edithburgh (left); Black angler frogfish (bottom left);
Map sketched by the author, showing where critters like frogfish
and seahorses were found around Edithburgh Jetty (right)
ible infrastructure for the temper- Iconic species Edithburgh is also a great place
ate water corals, sponges and While the pylons are indeed to see and photograph decora-
ascidians to thrive on an almost spectacular, Edithburgh is also tor crabs (Majoidea) as they are
biblical scale—yes, it’s that good! well known as a great place to common under the jetty and
When diving Edithburgh Jetty, see some of South Australia’s make great subjects, with their
the pylon growth seems rather iconic species—particularly the incredible stuck-on append-
sparse initially. Then, from about wonderfully serene and incred- ages. Plus, they will often remain
one-third down the 170m length ibly photogenic leafy seadragon motionless when approached,
of the jetty, it seems to double (Phycodurus eques) and the convinced they are invisible
and then triple in density, as equally photogenic striped pyja- in their special camouflage.
those nutrient-rich currents make ma squid (Sepioloidea lineolata). Among the fallen pylons and
their impact felt. The leafy seadragons are typi- other debris under the jetty is
Studies of the pylons have cally found most often during the also where you will find many
identified some 30 sponge spe- day in the large patch of cork- southern blue-ringed octopuses
cies, ten types of bryozoan weed to the north of the jetty but (Hapalochlaena maculosa) at
aquatic invertebrates, 20 species can also be encountered at the night, as they emerge to feed.
of colonial ascidian filter feeders, very end of the jetty. While the
nine solitary sea squirt species, pyjama squid are usually buried in Diving the jetty
nine tube-building polychaete the sand under the jetty during the In a nutshell: quite straightfor-
bristle worms and four species of day, they emerge at night to feed ward. There are excellent stairs
barnacles. and, if you are lucky, to mate! on both the northern and south-
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travel Edithburgh
Blue swimmer crab (above); Leafy seadragon under the jetty (top right);
Highly venomous blue-ringed octopus (left)
ern sides of the jetty near the and exit on the stairs will be mood shifts as its rays penetrate
parking area. So, once you are challenging at best, dangerous under the jetty. Midmorning,
geared up, it is a short walk at worst, and underwater vis- together with late afternoon,
and an easy entrance. Getting ibility will be greatly reduced as are my personal favourite times
out again is the reverse and the bottom is stirred up. to be in the water. But, if you
also straightforward, unless the Once in the water, it is time like critters and observing their
wind changed while you were to explore, and because of its behaviours, then after dark is
underwater. 170m length and 11m width when Edithburgh Jetty really
Edithburgh is best dived when on the main section, there is a turns it on.
the wind is from the west or large area to do that. Depth Those pyjama squid and blue-
southwest, as the jetty’s loca- under the jetty varies from two ringed octopuses that were bur-
tion means that it is nicely metres at the stairs to about ten ied in the sand during the day
sheltered by the bottom of metres, depending on the tides, are out and highly active at
the Yorke Peninsula, and you so you can easily spend a cou- night, as are a tremendous vari-
will have excellent conditions. ple of hours underwater. ety of other creatures. That said,
Conversely, when the wind be prepared for what could be
is from the east or southeast, Night dives a late night, as there is so much
don’t bother, as it blows in During the day, the jetty to see, and the shallow depth
across the Gulf of St Vincent changes subtly as the sun will probably mean a couple of
right onto the jetty. So, entry waxes and wanes, creating hours underwater taking it all in.
Edithburgh Jetty
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travel Edithburgh
Diver under the jetty (above); Pylon covered with invertebrates (right)
Logistics the Edithburgh Hotel and the other at
The nearest dive shop is in Adelaide, a Troubridge Hotel—but last orders are
couple of hours away, so you need to around 7:45 p.m. There is also a deli in
arrive in Edithburgh with everything you town which serves snacks and has a rea-
need. The local BP service station has sonable number of groceries, but the
a compressor, and you can get tanks nearest supermarket is 16km away in
refilled. There was a lot of online gossip Yorketown.
circulating about the quality of the air, but
I spent a week diving the jetty in February Final words
and had no problems at all. South Australia has, in my opinion, some
Weekends and public holidays mean of the best diving in Australia, and
lots of local divers from Adelaide, so there Edithburgh Jetty would have to be in
can be queues to get refills, and it also the top five dives in the state. Those
means that accommodation can get rich upwellings created by the powerful Downtown Edithburg during rush hour
booked out. There is a good caravan park Leeuwin and Flinders Currents have pro-
in Edithburgh with permanent cabins, but duced an incredible area of temperate underwater each time you get in. So, In more normal times, Don Silcock is
they are also popular with the “fisho’s” water biodiversity, concentrated into a you can really get to know the place based in Bali, Indonesia, but is currently
(Australian for “people who like to fish”), relatively small area, which can be eas- and understand where everything is. On hunkered down in Sydney, Australia. His
who are a permanent feature of the jetty. ily explored. a busy weekend, with lots of divers in the website has extensive location guides,
Personally, I used AirBnB and have had Getting to know it all over a series of water and fisho’s casting their lines, it is articles and images on some of the best
good accommodation every time. dives is what I really enjoyed about div- still good, but dive it for a few days during diving locations in the Indo-Pacific region
In the centre of town, there are ing Edithburgh. It is such an easy but the week, and it is a completely different and “big animal” experiences globally.
two pubs that serve food—one at great dive, where you can spend hours and very satisfying experience. Go to: indopacificimages.com.
Fisho's, or "people who like to fish," at the jetty
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