B
etween 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
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).
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NICOLAS AND LENA REMY
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