Photo of the week – Underwater at Ewens Ponds, SA

Ewens Ponds is a true underwater garden and one of the aquatic highlights of South East SA. This karst rising-spring system pushes incredibly clear water through a linked chain of three sinkholes, before joining Eight Mile Creek to terminate at the ocean about 2km south.

The ponds are up to 9m deep, and the glassy water carries light so well that plants can grow at much greater depths than usual. For a snorkeler or diver, visibility is so good that it can feel like you’re floating in air. It also gives a better chance of seeing some elusive creatures that thrive in moving water, including rare or threatened species such as lamprey, variegated pygmy perch, spotted galaxias, shortfinned eel and the Glenelg spiny crayfish.

The Underwater World at Ewens Ponds. By Jonathan Tuck