One marine creature I have always wanted to see is the Leafy Sea Dragon. In December I had a free day while visiting Adelaide so organised a couple of dives with Diving Adelaide to see what this part of Australia was like underwater!

I can say it surpassed all expectations – the first dive of the day was to Bluff Reserve, an easy shore entry at a small beach, with the dive following a sloping rocky wall covered in kelp – a fun thing to see when you are from Queensland! And hidden amongst the kelp were the cleverly disguised leafy sea dragons – they are fascinating to watch, hovering in a relaxed manner in and out of the kelp, a quiet confidence perhaps in their camouflage.

We were lucky enough to see quite a few of these amazing creatures, including a juvenile that was spotted in the seagrass nearby, almost transparent and only a few centimetres long.

The Bluff:

Leafy Sea Dragon:

Video of the masters-of-disguise-in-a-kelp-forest: