Australia

Between the Royal National Park and Northern Beaches suburbs, no less than three river estuaries meet the south Pacific Ocean. In and between these, a mix of sandy beaches and dramatic sandstone cliffs shape the water’s edge, creating interesting underwater sceneries, and shelter from ocean swells. Aside from a handful of storms per year, this means there are always a few locations safe to dive. More than 30 dive sites are accessible from shore in good weather, twice as many from a boat (including wrecks) - there are just so many options!

Despite its latitude, Sydney’s waters are relatively warm, ranging from 12-15 degrees C in winter, to 21-24 degrees C in summer. This is a courtesy of the East Australian Current (EAC), which flows southward from Tropical Queensland, bringing in warmer waters. The EAC also carries larva from tropical species, such as longfin bannerfish, common lionfish, and even ornate ghost pipefish! While these may not survive the southern winter, they complement temperate critters only found in the southern half of Australia - friendly blue grouper, fiddler rays, weedy sea dragon, white’s seahorses, Sydney’s pygmy pipehorses, red Indianfish, and red-fingered anglerfish, to name a few. All-in-one, Sydney boasts a diverse marine life, with both large animals (wobbegong sharks, grey nurse shark, smooth stingrays, giant cuttlefish) and ‘bucket-list’ macro critters (three species of anglerfish, two species of seahorses, several pipefish species and 40-plus species of nudibranchs).

In terms of dive profiles, Sydney’s shore dives sit between 5m-25m depth, the majority shallower than 15m, while boat dives are found in any depths, with some wrecks in the 4050m range. Visibility varies depending on the site and weather conditions - ocean-facing sites tend to have clearer blue water than sites from inner bays, but this will really depend on the height and direction of swell, and recent rains.

All-in-one, ten to 15 metres visibility in Sydney is considered pretty good, five to ten metres is more standard, but with three rivers, many bays and some tidal currents, it really is location dependent. There is enough to say to fill a book, but for this article, I will focus on our five favourite shore-dives:

Access to great local diving was a must when Nicolas and Lena Remy relocated to Australia. They wanted to dive every weekend and have access to a diversity of sites and marine life, and so they ended up in Sydney. Four years later, Nicolas is convinced that Sydney boasts the best local shore-diving that can be found in any international metropolis, and here he explains why

PHOTOGRAPHS BY NICOLAS AND LENA REMY

KURNELL For local divers, ‘diving Kurnell’ refers to three sites (Monuments, the Steps, the Leap) located at the southern tip of Botany Bay. These sites are only 600 metres apart, and divers would often cover two in a single dive, drifting with tidal currents. Although currents can be avoided by planning your dive around slack, it is best to be reasonably fit, as each entry/exit point will either require climbing stairs or walking 300 metres (Monuments). These efforts will be rewarded by a diverse fish life and lush sponge gardens, covering boulders of various size, scattered on the seafloor. The seafloor gently slopes down, until a sand line which is where most divers will navigate. It is deepest at the Leap (21m), and gets progressively shallower as you go west, 1115m at the Steps, 10-12m at Monuments. Visibility is typically between five and ten metres, but may reach 15-20 metres, especially around high tide.

Weedy sea dragons are a common sight in Kurnell, and for skilled spotters anglerfish (red-fingered, painted), potbelly seahorses and pipefishes (Sydney’s pygmy pipehorse, red widebodies pipefish, upside-down pipefish). Many more species are commonly seen, naming a few - cuttlefish, blue grouper, scorpionfish (including dwarf lionfish), boxfish, leatherjackets, moray eels… the list really is too long to type! Sharks can also be seen (wobbegong, port-jackson, crestedhorn shark), and occasionally turtles.

BARE ISLAND Bare Island is located on the northern side of Botany Bay, opposite Kurnell. A 250-metre walk from free off-street parking (busy on weekends) leads to the entry point. Bare Island is a bit of a ‘choose your dive adventure’ place, with four named dive sites, spanning over 550 metres West to East, and 350 metres North to South. Reef patches and walls are more scattered than on the Kurnell side, so navigation requires more attention. It gets down to 18m in the South-West (the ‘deep wall’), but many interesting reefs are found between 7m-14m. The visibility is typically four to seven metres on the Western side, and a bit better on the Eastern side, however marine life is more abundant West. The Eastern side often has clearer water, but a less species. Tidal currents form in the West/South-West but wouldn’t prevent diving in the shallower areas (7m-12m). In terms of critters, Bare Island and Kurnell are similar, save for two emblematic species: the red Indianfish is found only in Bare Island and very rare in Kurnell, and vice versa for the weedy sea dragon. Bare Island also makes an excellent night dive, which isn’t an option in Kurnell (gate closure).

Sydney has some fabulous shore dives

Port Jackson sharks

CHOWDER BAY Sydney’s best muck dive is along the Chowder Bay jetty (3m-10m depth), bordering the Clifton Gardens park, in the heart of Sydney’s natural harbour. Expect poor visibility (two to five metres is typical), but critters bonanza: this is the best place to spot the rare White’s seahorse (sometimes we see ten during a dive), and various pipefish species. Indonesia’s famous hairy frogfish (striate anglerfish) is another regular, as well as painted anglerfish. Leatherjackets are everywhere, with fanbellies and southern pygmies, my favourite. Sabretooth blennies and species of wrasses are well represented. Cephalopods abound, we often see 20-plus cuttlefish per dive, and quite a few octopi. Under the jetty regulars include decorator crabs, porcupinefish and moray eels. Chowder Bay gets busy on weekends, so for a bit of privacy, why not visit the artificial reefs and small wreck in the centre of the bay (14m-16m), the atmosphere is a bit gloomy down-there and it is very silty, a few stingrays and sometimes numbrays can be seen on the way. We have also seen stripey, old wife, and kingfish schooling near the wreck. Clifton Gardens is great at night, with anglerfish more active, pajama squids, blue-lined octopi, toadfish, and some more nudibranchs wandering around. CABBAGE TREE BAY Off the Northern suburb of Manly lies Cabbage Tree Bay (CTB), which is best accessed from Shelly Beach. Twenty years ago, CTB held little fish life, but in 2002 it became Sydney’s only no-take aquatic reserve. Years of protection later, it turned it into one of Sydney’s best dives, abounding in marine life. Divers usually follow either the right-hand side or left-hand side sand-line, reaching 13m depth on the right side, and 6m on the left side, all within a four to ten metres visibility, very variable. Navigation is easy when following the rock/sand demarcation. The middle of the bay is essentially sandy with patches of seagrass, but we like wandering around there, in search for the unlikely. CTB is a great ‘wide-angle dive’, not for its sponge life, which is limited compared to other sites, but for the abundance of large fish and schooling fish (yellowtail, old wives, and sometimes salmon and kingfish). Blue grouper, stingrays, eagle rays, fiddler rays, dusky flatheads, giant cuttlefish, and wobbegong sharks are commonly seen. All these are mobile but on a single dive we counted nine wobbegongs. In winter, Port Jackson sharks aggregate in CTB to mate, and a dozen can easily be spotted on a dive. In warmer months, grey nurse sharks and juvenile dusky whaler sharks also occupy the bay. Occasionally turtles, Australian angelshark, and even dolphins are spotted. Smaller but fascinating habitants of CTB include weedy sea dragons and golden weedfish.

Healthy sponges and corals

TO START YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!

Nudibranchs of all shapes and sizes

SHARK POINT Like most dive sites called Shark Point, this one isn’t particularly a great for spotting sharks, but is a pleasant oceanic dive on Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Some divers would jump from the Shark Point rock platform, which can be dangerous unless the ocean is flat, so we prefer to enter via the sheltered Clovelly Pool, and swim for 300 metres before immersing ourselves. Swimming Eastward, the seabed goes deeper in marches, until it reaches a flat area 20-25m deep, where a succession of big boulders and walls are yours to explore. Shark Point is a scenic dive, with clearer visibility than inner bays (ten to 15 metres typically), dramatic topography, vibrant sponge gardens and a feeling of being on your own, with fewer divers visiting. Here we have encountered giant cuttlefish, Port Jackson sharks, eagle rays, scorpionfish, red morning, various wrasses, boxfish and schooling kingfish, catfish and salmon.

FINAL WORDS - A COMMUNITY Sydney diving wouldn’t be the same without its large, active and welcoming community of divers and snorkellers. Besides the dive centres and clubs, two Facebook groups bring the community together - the VIZ group (6,400 members), where divers and snorkellers share observations from their last dip, and the Sydney Dive Buddy Network (4,600 members), to find dive buddies, exchange tips and retrieve lost gear.

Finally, a shout-out to two generous individuals who make diving more enjoyable for all by sharing their knowledge - Michael McFadyen’s website has a description of all dive sites, and Marco Bordieri (Viz On Web) shares detailed underwater maps. n

For more images from Nicolas and Lena, visit their website, www.nicolaslenaremy.com or follow them on Instagram and Facebook @nicolaslenaremy