Southern Australia Scuba Diving

A tyre reef, sand hopper and a barge sunk approximately 6 km (4 miles) west of Glenelg provide divers with magnificent artificial reefs. Both vessels and the tyre reef are now homes for many varieties of reef fish.

Aklinga, 43km (27 miles) south of Adelaide, provides a most spectacular dive on Aldinga Reef. Less than a kilometre from shore, it drops off from 5 to over 20 metres, and is a mass of caverns, crevasses and overhangs. Fish of almost every kind, gorgonia coral and soft sponges make this a photographer's paradise.

The south east of the state offers divers the opportunity to explore both a rugged coastline and the tranquil, crystal clear waters of famous sinkholes.

The main sites near Robe, 350 km (218 miles) south of Adelaide, are the reefs just offshore and south of Cape Dombey. A pass with an echo sounder almost anywhere up to 1km (half mile) from the shore will reveal massive crevasses ranging from 5 to 15 metres deep. Apart from Crayfish, the colourful sponge growth and normally clear water makes this a good area for photography.

Godfrey Islands and The Black Pigs, 8km (5 miles) north of Robe in Guichen Bay, provide diving up to about 6 metres in depth. Once again the main interest is the crayfish, but the area has patchy reefs and sea grasses home to numerous varieties of reef fish and shells.

The area around Mount Grambier, 468km (312 miles) from Adelaide is well known for its freshwater sinkholes, the most famous being Piccaninny Ponds which descends more than 60 metres into the earth. Inside, tall strands of algae are a habitat for freshwater crayfish, eels and other fish.

A permit system exists to ensure that divers visiting the area meet necessary experience and equipment standards.

Port Lincoln, 662km (411 miles) from Adelaide is situated on Boston Bay. The Bay is mostly sandy, but good diving is available at Cape Donnington and nearby Donnington Island. The wreck of the fishing vessel 'Degei' is located 100 metres from the southern end of the island.

Port Lincoln is popular for game fishing and cage diving with white pointer sharks and a number of operators in the vicinity offer this type of diving experience.

Turnby Bay, 45km (28 miles) north of Port Lincoln, is a good base from which to visit the Sir Joseph Banks Group of islands.

Coffin Bay, 40km (25 miles) west of Port Lincoln, offers two types of diving. The inner harbour is well protected and is good for scallops and oysters. Some shallow reefs extend from two islands known as The Brothers. Venturing out of the inner bay, there is stunning diving at Point Sir Isaac. Depths are around 10 metres and the area abounds with many varieties of fish, including large grouper. The area can be accessed by 4WD vehicles as well as boats.

Most diving along the Eyre Peninsula takes place on the east coast, particularly between Whyalla, 396km (246 miles) north of Adelaide, and Port Augusta, 317 km (197 miles) north of Adelaide.

The two most popular dive locations are Point Lowly, 42 km (26 miles) south of Port Augusta, and the old iron ore jetty at Whyalla. Point Lowly offers an excellent shore dive, dropping 18 metres within 200 metres of the shore. A tyre reef has been established in 18 metres depth with lots of fish and scallops. The old Whyalla jetty drops to 10 metres depth and the pylons and bottom are heavily overgrown with marine life.

Kangaroo Island is the third largest island off the Australian coast and is 113km (70 miles) south west of Adelaide. Access to the island is by sea from Cape Jervis and Glenelg or air from Adelaide.

Driving around the jetty at Penneshaw on Kangaroo island is worthwhile both as a day or night dive. Although only about 5 metres deep, the jetty is covered with many colourful varieties of sponges and corals.

Further west, reefs of up to 20 metres can be found at Cape D'Estaing and Cape Cassini. As well as the usual reef fish, snapper and salmon can be found in these locations. These areas are best visited when based on the island using larger boats.

Kangaroo Island has over 60 wrecks along its rugged coast, but access to most of these is difficult. The 'Lock Vennachar' and the 'Portland Maru' at the western end of the island are two of the most famous. A limited number of dive tours visit the 'Portland Maru' but most visitors are limited to reef diving.