Snorkelling at Coogee

The mercury was rising in Perth, which means hot easterly breeze perfect for an early morning swim.
Our adventure for the morning was based at Coogee Beach. With the re-development of this area, the beachfront is awesome.

We were there to explore the newly opened Coogee Maritime Trail, a dive and snorkel trail which begins at the Omeo shipwreck and includes an artificial reef, underwater sculptures and educational signage.




The Omeo is a protected iron steamship that was built in 1958 in Newcastle, England. The main function of this ship was laying the Bass Strait Telegraph cable, and the Overland Telegraph cable and linking Australia to Britain via Singapore. It was also used to transport intercolonial passengers and hauling cargo of coal and timber. In 1905, the Omeo ended it's life being driven ashore and wrecked at Coogee.

Our snorkelling adventure saw us swim along the shallower side of the Omeo wreck before checking out the Seal sculpture and swimming over several concrete pipes. We saw loads of starfish hiding in the sand and a variety of fish. The snorkelling was tiring work without fins or actual snorkels (the girls were using their swimming goggles!) so we aborted the deeper section of the trail instead opting to swim around the other side of the Omeo wreck. We heard people exclaim that the had seen two octopuses but we were too far away. However a fellow snorkeller was overjoyed in showing us a Sand Dollar, what looked like a disc shaped starfish. In fact post snorkelling research revealed a Sand Dollar was in fact a flattened, burrowing sea urchin.

It was a gorgeous morning for ocean adventures with friends and the perfect start to a 39°C day! We look forward to returning to this spot when everyone is a little bigger!