Good diving is available in aand surrounding Jervis Bay. This part of the east coast of Australia has wrecks, reefs, walls, dolphins, turtles, fish and invertebrates to see. You can go diving with the seals at Montague Island, or see whales and dolphins in their natural habitat. Click here to book a diving tour.
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Dive sites in Jervis Bay:
The Docks: Double Decker Cave:
One of the most popular dives sites, particularly for newly certified divers and open water students. The topography consists of kelp beds, large boulders, small caves, mini drop offs and swim throughs. Small sponge gardens are scattered throughout the sit, with one of the main attractions being a double-decker cave. Maximum depth on this dive site is 20 metres.
Slot Cave:
Slot cave is located on the Northern side of the bay and is protected from the North Easters that traditionally blow in Summer. Even though the site is called a cave it is not actually an enclosed overhead environment. The entry to slot cave is in approximately 16-18 metres of water. The slot extends back into the cliff face for about 60 metres. The environment offers very clean water and superb visibility and has plenty of natural light. Soft corals and small crusteans can be found on the walls of the cave and under small ledges. The area is wide enough for two divers to swim side by side.
Stoney Creek:
Stoney Creek is a dive not for the faint hearted. Depth starts in approximately 25 metres and the wall drops down to 50+ metres. Gorgonian Fans and Sea Whips on the ocean floor make this a spectacular dive. The area is prone to currents which provides some excellent drift diving. This particular dive site is for the experienced diver and is quite often done as a twin tank dive or technical dive. Stoney creek is on the Southern exterior of the bay.
Drum and Drumsticks:
Drum and Drumsticks is a dive site located outside of the bay heading North. It is approximately a 40 minute boat ride. There are a number of different areas to dive when you get to the drum. Depth ranges from 10 metres to 30 metres and are multi-level. Topography is mainly rocky reef with sponge gardens and soft corals. There is the wreck of the 'Wanderer' which is in 26 metres of water. Lion's Den you sometimes spot Lion Fish.
Spider Cave:
Spider Cave is a wonderful dive just South of Bowen Island. In front of the cave is great diving with a maximum depth of 30 metres, shallowing up to 16 metres against the cliff face. The cave extends back 70-80 metres and is an overhead environment. This site is best to do during Winter when the Westerly winds blow ensuring there is minimal or no swell when you enter the cave.
Seal Colony:
This is one of our favourite sites during Winter when the Seals migrate to a site South of St Georges Headland. The site itself is made up of large boulders and rock formations and has a maximum depth of 25-30 metres. Marine life here is not as abundant as other sites, the primary focus is on diving with the seals. These creatures are very inquisitive and playful. They will mimic your actions whilst underwater. This is one of those dives to do for the experience.
The Streets:
As the name suggests, you'll descend to find large boulders much the size of houses in an almost uniform pattern creating sandy streets and pathways between them. The boulders are covered with amazing sponge growth, gorgonians and sea whips line the sandy bottom. Wintertime the giant cuttle fish can be found, usually tagging along behind groups of divers.
The Labyrinth:
Located outside of the bay on the northern headland. This site can be described as a huge slab of rock covering an area suspended above the sea floor, which measures in height about one and half metres surrounded by small tunnels leading in and out from a central open oval chamber. An easy location for most divers. The Labyrinth has many exit points and swim throughs, making it an interesting little dive.
The Arch:
An underwater diving experience that should not be missed. For the advance diver, it drops down to 35 metres. The arch appears as a huge suspended rock formation, shaped much like an ancient stone bridge. Beneath the archway that rises more that five metres above the sea floor and spans a distance of 10 metres, wobbegong and port jackson sharks can be found covering the bottom. The arch is laden with small sprigs of gorgonia, white and orange anenomes, pink and blue solitary corals plus schools of silver pike and butterfly pike.
Bowen Island:
The Island located on the south side of the entrance to the bay has many different dives located all the way around it. One of the most frequented spots is The Nursery which is usually protected from the outside sea conditions. A great open water dive for beginners. Maximum depth 12 metres with a topography of sandy bottom and groups of rock formations throughout the site. Bowen Island is where you'll find schools of juvenile fish finding protection from larger critters. Oceanic Sun Fish (Mola Mola) have also been sighted here stopping off at the cleaning stations. Further around from the nursery there is a site which starts at five metres and drops over a wall to 15 metres and slopes down to 30 metres in the sand. This is an excellent multilevel site for all diver experience.
Ten Fathom Drop Off:
For the deep diver, this drop off definitely drops off! It starts in 19 metres of water and falls vertically to 34 metres. Visibility is usually 30+ metres and the edge of the wall is decorated by a wide variety of sponges and fixed growth. The wall runs parallel to the cliff face, then swings left for about 20 metres and to the right again for 40 metres. Along the ziz zag off are overhangs, swim throughs and cutbacks into the rock. Just seaward of Ten Fathom is a large boulder sitting in 40 metres and rising 12 metres from the bottom, it's covered in sponges and gorgonia sea fans.
Source: Exerts about the dive sights have been taken from ‘Scuba Divers Guide to Jervis Bay’, which is written by one of Australia’s most experienced divers, Tom Byron. Many thanks to Tom for giving us permission to provide you with accurate descriptions of each dive site.This is only a few of about 150 possible dive sites that Tom mentions in his book.
