Bushrangers
“Slithering shadows cutting through the haze like fighter jets in stealth mode, mouth agape, teeth out. At first glance, nightmare fuel!”
Bushrangers Bay- dive with Greynurse Sharks in NSW, Australia
Images and Article by Federico Facchin
www.federicofacchin.com
The New Chapter
So I live in Sydney now.
A bit of a different lifestyle compared to what I was doing before. From snorkelling guide and underwater photographer to full-time researcher, photography is (temporarily?) swapped for papers, inductions, and meetings. I’m a PhD student in marine science at the University of Sydney, and to be fair, I’m embracing this new life in the concrete jungle. Sydney has a lot to offer, and after three months in the city, I’m finally starting to settle and find time to explore.
It’s Sunday morning and, as per the old tradition, the day starts with the most sacred of all questions: “How’s the vis? What’s the swell like? Worth a try?”.
My colleague Claudia, also Italian, marine biologist, and dive freak, is the designated dive buddy for the day. With many years of Sydney dives under her belt, she’s the one I ask. The forecast isn’t promising, and the bed is dangerously comfy. But I’m too eager to care, the sun is shining and that’s enough for me.
Somehow, I manage to convince Claudia to take me under.
GALLERY ABOVE: Sydney Opera House.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
Off we go! Driving south for an hour already feels like part of the adventure. Maybe because it’s my first time exploring New South Wales, or maybe because of the rattling little car we’re in. That little evil yellow “check engine” light shines brighter than the headlights, and the noisy exhaust drowns out the funky beats from the radio. All good, we keep driving.
Not sure how, but we make it to Wollongong, and now we’re in the nature reserve, circling the area looking for parking, like sharks hunting on a reef.
Just when we’re about to give up and embrace the long walk from the far lot, someone pulls out and leaves us the perfect spot for an easy entry.
A little win. A good man.
Cheers.
GALLERY ABOVE: Characteristic wildlife of New South Wales.
© Federico Facchin – 2024 – Australia
The Descent
We gear up. Suits zipped, masks fogged, tanks humming, the usual dance before the silence.
You can never be too careful while walking down the slippery, wet steps with tanks and weights strapped to your body and an expensive camera dangerously dangling from your wrist, so I stop a couple of times to check the spot. There’s some swell out in the open ocean, but the bay is calm, and plenty of families and kids are making the most of this sunny Sunday morning. Hard to believe what’s lurking underwater from such an idyllic view from the surface.
We jump in, and just like that, we’re below the waterline once more. Visibility? Better than expected. Temperature? Perfect. A soft greenish-blue warm blanket that feels like home.
IMAGES ABOVE: Diving over the barren reef (left) and the seagrass meadow (right).
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
We are welcomed by the characteristic communities of New South Wales’ rocky reefs, where small fish dart in and out of the dense, bushy kelp beds, making the most of the shelter they provide. Meanwhile, in the open water above, pelagic species gather in tightly packed bait balls, moving in synchronized swarms like a well-rehearsed dance. These schools seek safety in numbers, a defensive strategy that protects them from the larger predators lurking just beyond the shadows of the reef.
The underwater world here is a dynamic and bustling hub of activity, constantly shifting as each species plays its part in the ecosystem.
GALLERY ABOVE: Fish communities of NSW’s rocky reef.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
Bushrangers Bay, roughly 400 meters long and 100 wide, reveals itself underwater as a natural corridor with steep rocky walls, bushy seaweed, and a sandy runway down the middle.
It’s a shallow site, which never goes past ten meters. But the seafloor is teeming. Kelp sways, golden and slow, anchored deep but moving like wheat in the wind. Sargassum, Crayweed, Posidonia, the underwater garden is complete. Names that barely meant anything to me a few months ago now fill my inbox and shape my research questions.
And yet, I ignore it all. At least for now.
IMAGE ABOVE: Kelp forest (Ecklonia radiata).
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
The Encounter
Over the past few years, this bay has gained fame as a Greynurse shark hotspot. A resident group decided to make it their permanent address, and divers from all over come here for a glimpse.
And here they are.
It starts as a dark shadow moving slowly ahead. Even with a tank on my back, I catch myself holding my breath, not sure if it’s to avoid startling them with my bubbles or just nerves kicking in. Hundreds of dives, countless encounters, and still, every time feels like the first.
Slithering shadows cutting through the haze like fighter jets in stealth mode, mouth agape, teeth out. At first glance, nightmare fuel, but on second thought, it’s the whole reason we are here.
GALLERY ABOVE: Greynurse sharks swimming over the kelp.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
One becomes three. Three become ten. Then fifteen. Maybe twenty. The sharks keep coming and move in their usual elegance, slowly, precisely, ghost-likely, circling us in perfect silence.
Unlike whales and dolphins, sharks are voiceless, and I find that eerie every time. The only sounds are the hiss of the regulator and, inside my head, the squeaky voice of the kid I used to be, who still can’t believe this is real.
Joy, yes. But also reverence and respect as their presence demands.
GALLERY ABOVE: Greynurse sharks swimming over the kelp.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
There’s not much to do when you’re with sharks like these. The best thing is to sit quietly in the kelp and let them come to you.
Greynurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) belong to an ancient lineage, as sharks have roamed the oceans since before trees covered the land. They evolved so perfectly that they rarely had the need to upgrade their gear. Their gills can’t pump water like modern fish, so they must keep swimming, mouths agape, to stay oxygenated. That’s why they look so terrifying, with their jaws wide and teeth always on display, cruising past like prehistoric torpedoes.
But that’s just their biology. They’re not hunting. They’re just breathing. They likely hunt at night in the open ocean, using the darkness to their advantage, and spend their days resting in the calm, protected waters of the bay.
IMAGE ABOVE: Portrait of a Greynurse shark (Carcharias taurus).
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
The Locals
Since the dive is shallow, we have plenty of air left to hang out with another iconic resident of the bay: the eastern blue groper (Achoerodus viridis). Large, curious, clearly blue (at least the males), and oddly charming, they often follow divers around like puppies. Some can live for over 35 years, often in the same patch of reef their whole lives, giving you time to get to know them and their personalities.
IMAGE ABOVE: Male Blue Grouper (Achoerodus viridis).
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
IMAGES BELOW: The shell of a Port Jackson shark egg holding on the kelp.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
Their numbers are declining, but there’s hope: a recent three-year fishing ban declared by the NSW government is giving them a well-earned break. Like the blue groper, the east coast population of Greynurse sharks is listed as critically endangered under both NSW and federal legislation and this bay is one of their few sanctuaries left.
If you ever get the chance to swim with them, do it right. Keep your distance. Respect their space. They’re not here to perform. They’re here to survive, and we’re lucky just to be visitors in their silent, ancient world.
Bushrangers Bay – NSW
13-04-2025
Images and Article by Federico Facchin
www.federicofacchin.com
“BUSHRANGERS”
Print available on Premium Glossy Paper and Aluminium Panel.
© Federico Facchin – 2025 – Australia
Fun fact: my dive buddy Claudia and my colleague Tom got married right here, underwater!
Bushrangers Bay was their wedding venue, Claudia beamed as she showed me the “altar” like it was a sacred site. Which in a way, it is.
I couldn’t attend the ceremony, as I was on the other side of the world, but I’m happy to see that some guests are still around!
“I fell in love with this place a few years ago, because of its beauty, tranquillity and of course the amazing underwater landscape and its inhabitants. It is such a special little bay, no wonder Greynurse sharks chose it as their home! Going with friends to visit this dive site is always such great fun, we always leave Bushies with huge smiles.”
Dr. Santori Claudia
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