The colours of the water were a surprise.  It presented differently at various locations; from shades of aqua into deep emerald green and elsewhere to slippery slate grey.The clarity of the water let us see sandy bottoms sometimes 9 metres deep. The kelp bundles waved clearly below the surface. The water and its environs seemed startlingly pristine.  Then, from recent reading, I remembered that the marine environment has been changing and that in half my lifetime what was in existence when I was a child is no longer there.  Only 5% – yes five percent – of Tasmania’s kelp forests remain; the consequence of rising average water temperatures and the changing ecosystem with an influx of marine animals and vegetation travelling south from mainland Australia.  You can read more here and here.

The kelp we saw did not constitute a forest, only a fringe.The blues were clean colours.

The emeralds were rich and deep.

The slight wind on the surface and clouds overhead created slate grey water further south.

Experiencing these colours was profoundly cleansing.