New South Wales offers sub-tropical and temperate diving in its waters. Major diving destinations include Byron Bay, Coffs Harbour, and the Solitary Islands, South west Rocks, Forster/Tuncurry, Port Stephens, Sydney, Shellharbour, Jervis Bay, Montague Island, Merimbula and Eden.
There is good all year round diving in New South Wales with the best months being April to August.
Sydney Harbour is the world's largest natural deep water harbour, but a diver should always watch the weather and sea conditions in this area. There are a number of good dive sites throughout Sydney both in and outside the harbour including Camp Cove, Shelley Beach and La Perouse.
Newcastle, 171km (106 miles) north of Sydney, has tremendous diving. Just off Newcastle itself are literally hundreds of shipwrecks, ranging from a paddle steamer lying in 35 metres of water to a completely intact World War II tank.
In Swansea Channel, a very popular shore dive, the remains of an old bridge in 15 metres of water is home to a huge array of marine life. Schools of bream and luderick constantly sweep through and groups of large kingfish are often sighted. The area also shelters fish usually found in tropical climates.
The gutters and caves of nearby Catherine Hill Bay and the wreck of the 'Bonnie Dundee' also provide excellent diving as do the reefs that run off Moon Island.
Port Stephens, 206 km (128 miles) north of Sydney, offers both good shore dives and brilliant boat dives at Broughton Island.
Broughton Island, with its large protected bays, provides great diving with visibility of approximately 15 metres. The Looking Glass is a huge split right through the middle of the island teeming with marine life. Two other popular dives are the Bubble Cave and the Sponge Gardens on the Northern side. The wreck 'Oakland', which sank in 1903, is almost in tact, and is easily accessible in just 28 metres of water.
Fly Point is an easily accessible dive within Nelson Bay. Its main feature is a 100 metre long ledge, in 10 to 15 metres of water, covered in sponge with schools of bream, luderick and Blue Groper. Marine life on the sea bed includes sponge crabs, sea horses and sea dragons.
Halifax Park, also within Nelson Bay, is a similar dive with an average depth of 20 metres. The water is often clearer here and the colourful sponge life more prolific and covering a wider area.
Tuncurry, 327 km (203 miles) north of Sydney, has everything from large plate corals and beautiful sponge gardens to granite like formations creating sheer drop offs. Latitude Rock is a famous bommie, or large coral outcrop under the water, where hundreds of blue groper and other large fish can be found. Taurus Reef is different again with beautiful Butterfly Cod, Crayfish, coral and sponge gardens. In the gutters of Seal Rocks divers can often see grey Nurse Sharks. Experienced divers can dive the wreck of the 'SS Satara' over 122 metres (400 feet) long and covered with marine life. The enormous prop is intact and many artefacts remain on board. The dive has a starting depth of over 35 metres and is not for novice divers.
South West Rocks, 496 km (308 miles) north of Sydney, boasts one of the largest ocean caves in Australia. Diving in this area can include sites such as Fish Rock, The Wall, the Aquarium, the reefs off Green Island, Black Rock, and the wreck 'Agnes Irving'.
Just past the opening of Fish Rock, the sandy bottom hides beautiful cowry shells, a narrow chimney leads deeper into the rock in almost complete darkness before the light of the exit is seen. The last 15 metres are spectacular as the walls are lined with gorgonia, crayfish, ascidians, sponges, starfish and shells all in rainbow colours. Air spaces trapped under the roof allow you to "talk underwater".
Near Fish Rock is a 50 metre deep wall where monstrous groper, cod, kingfish and jewfish constantly school. The brilliant 'Aquarium' is well known for the density of its beautiful tropical fish.
There is easier diving on the shallow reefs off Green Island, home of the shovel nosed ray. Black Rock is also a good dive for those who have not seen coral before and wreck divers can dive the 'Agnes Irving', a 19th century paddle steamer.
The Solitary Islands are located just offshore from Coffs Harbour, 543 km (337 miles) north of Sydney. Solitary Islands are a unique dive spot with a rare diversity of marine life resulting from a mixture of both tropical and temperate currents. The islands and reefs in the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve are commonly divided into two groups: the Northern Group and the Southern Group.
The more tropical Northern Group consists of one small and two larger islands, as well as a number of reefs and pinnacles. Popular dive sites in this group are Anemone Bay, The Mouse, Tall Timbers and Manta Mooring.
The more temperate Southern group is made up of five islands/shoals, three pinnacles, some shallow-water reefs and small kelp forests. The more popular dive sites in this area are Manta Ray Arch, Shark Gutters, Split Solitary (South Side) and Buchanan's Wall.
The best time for diving in the Solitary Islands is from January to April when the visibility sometimes exceeds 40 metres. The best time for seeing Manta Rays are the months of March and April, and Humpback whales are in the area from June to August.
Byron Bay, 813 km (505 miles) north of Sydney, offers the diver a host of different dive sites where hundreds of different species of animals and plants can be seen. Within the bay there are two kelp reefs, Wilson's Reef and Bait Reef, inhabited by thousands of yellowtail, whiting and herring.
Jervis Bay, 190 km (118 miles) south of Sydney, is another popular diving area. An abundance of marine life including sponges, sea ferns and fish, inhabit the waters of the Bay in waters that generally give visibility of around 20 metres. The underwater terrain contains huge boulders, caves and tunnels from the surface down to about 50 metres.
Bateman's Bay, 282 km (175 miles) south of Sydney, also offers good diving. Lighthouse Reef has a magnificent wall and the bottom is covered in sea sponge gardens, sea whips, gorgonian fans, hydroids and sea tulips.
Montague Island located 11km (7 miles) offshore from Narooma, 345 km (214 miles) south of Sydney, is very popular for its magnificent marine life. The island is a sanctuary and landing on the island is not permitted. Shark Gutter, a fissure running off the island into deep water is a popular site where grey nurse sharks are often spotted. Aughinish Reef, which lies 3km (1.9 miles) south west of the island, does not break the surface. It is home to the 'Lady Darling' ship wreck, a coal collier as well as an abundance of sponges, corals, reef fish and pelagic species.
Eden, 472 km (293 miles) south of Sydney, is a former whaling town on the shores of Twofold Bay. Twofold Bay and the surrounding ocean offers some of the finest temperate water diving with prolific invertebrate marine life and fish species, including schooling pelagic and terrain including caves and boulder covered sea beds.
The entrance to Twofold Bay has excellent shore and boat diving at Mewstone Rock off the northern entrance. The Steps, just inside the bay, is a popular shore dive.
Merimbula, 457 km (284 miles) south of Sydney, has excellent boat and shore diving. The wreck of the 'Empire Gladstone' is a short distance south off Haystack Rock. There is excellent shore diving at the old Merimbula Wharf, Yellow Rock, Short Point and Tura Head.
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