After our time on the Freycinet Peninsula we headed inland to Mount Field National Park, a two hour dive on progressively curvier roads outside of Hobart. The well worn track herds the majority of tourists towards the base of Russell Falls, but with a keen eye, and a little local knowledge, an old track cut into the valley wall can be found. This overgrown trail climbs to the middle tier of Russell Falls, where you stand in the mist created by the cascading waterfall and surrounded by the detritus of trees that have tumbled over the falls.

Late last year (2012) we had the opportunity to travel to Hobart for a week. Two hours north of Hobart on the Southwest coast of Tasmania is Freycinet Peninsula. Freycinet is known for its red granite cliffs, coloured by orange lichen and it’s pristine white sand beach at Wineglass Bay.

Mele Cascades, fifteen minutes by bus outside of Port Vila the road steepens suddenly, and whilst the Efate ring road traffic climbs skyward, the Mele river cascades back down over a series of drops. Walking through the dense jungle, you criss-cross the cascades, which are interspersed with sections of blue-green pools, lined with fine white soil. After fifteen minutes climbing up a somewhat uneven set of stairs the final cascade appears, a cliff of 20 meters, moss covered and, as the name suggests, water cascading down. Having no tripod to allow for a low shutter speed the resultant photographs aren’t as crisp as I’d like, but they still convey the beauty of this place.

A day with Sailaway Cruises involved two dives and two snorkelling sites. As I’ve mentioned previously, the GoPro camera had been working well in the depths, however the lack of red light in the spectrum left the tones a little muted. Closer to the surface however the results are much more vibrant.

Above sea level, the Golden Wing Trimaran was our ride for the day, cruising though crystal clear waters bounded by pristine white beaches and dense rainforest coating the sides of imposing hills.

Sailaway Cruises, based in Port Vila, served as the dive guides for the day. Promising two dives, and three snorkelling sites they didn’t disappoint. Word of mouth had suggested the diving was Coral Sea-esque, what was certain was the protected waters off Hat Island and those surrounding Poole’s Rock yielded largely undamaged coral. Infrequent boat traffic, and consequently less fishing, had left the marine life more prevalent, and far more inquisitive.

Bougainvillea Reef proved the GoPro’s mettle in 40 meters of water. With the red light of the spectrum diffusing in the shallower waters, and the available light decreasing I was still able to get some photos of the local marine life, and the amazing bright yellow stag horn coral formations, albeit looking less yellow than when under torch light.

The Konanda was rendered unseaworthy by the 1987 Cyclone Uma. She was sold to the management of Iriki Island and later scuttled dead upright in 26 meters of water as an artificial reef. Descending the mooring line, her mast comes into view at 12 meters, with the rest of the hull coming into view as you descend. I dived the Konanda three times during my time in Port Vila, each time exploring a little deeper, and a little further into the superstructure.

I’ve been a little quiet of late on this blog, so to get things moving again I’ve built in an instagram feed. Instagram has become my image sharing platform of choice due to it’s simplicity and speed, it’s the photographic antithesis of shooting with an SLR. Instagram has limited options, including it’s characteristic square frame, along with the required publication to a wide audience. Join the phone photography fun and follow @jamesdoherty85.