Scuba Diving Sydney

Sydney Harbour has a lot of dive sites. Some of these are located a short distance from the Heads and others quite a way. Most of the sites normally visited by divers are up the main arm of the Harbor. There are only a couple up the Northern Harbor and Middle Harbor.

The Northern Harbor is basically the section from the Heads to Manly. In this area there are only really two sites that are visited. One is Little Manly Point and Fairlight.
Travel to Fairlight Crescent, Fairlight. This is off Lauderdale Avenue. If coming from the City, turn right at Hill Street off Sydney Road once you are heading towards Manly after the Spit. This turns into Rosedale Avenue and then joins Lauderdale Avenue. Take the second on the right into Fairlight Crescent and park as near as you can to the first intersection. On your left you will see an access that leads to the waterfront.

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One of Scuba Diving Sydney’s most popular, but also most ridiculed, dive sites is Camp Cove. Located on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, Camp Cove is a site that  can have extremely good or very awful conditions, mostly dependent upon the prevailing weather. Protected from all but cyclonic northern swells, the site is especially suited when southerly winds are blowing and the seas are too big elsewhere.

Entry and Exit is normally from beach at top
One drawback with the site is that because it is located in the Harbour, after periods of rain the visibility can drop to only one to two metres. Average visibility is in the order of four to five metres. Even in two or three metre visibility you can have a fantastic dive.
Situated at Watsons Bay just inside South Head, Camp Cove is a small beach only 250 metres long and as narrow as three metres at high tide. The beach is backed by luxurious homes that most of us can only dream about and either end of the beach is part of Sydney Harbour National Park.
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This Scuba Dive Sydney dive starts at the boat ramp mentioned above. Enter the water and drop to the bottom. It is about three metres deep. Head to the north-west and you will gradually get deeper. After 15 metres you will go over a small reef. Turn to your left and head south-west across the sandy bottom. After about five minutes you will reach the main reef. As you go you may see things like large flathead, numbray, small rays and flounder. The depth will be about five to six metres on the sand. Where you meet the reef (Point A) is the main section of the reef and you should follow the edge (on your left) as it goes first north-west and then west. Keep to the main higher reef and you will sort of swim through a gutter (large whitish rocks on left and a “wall” of kelp on right) with a flat rocky bottom. After about 25 metres you will cross over onto sand. The reef continues on your left and turns a little to the south-west.
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The second dive here starts from the back left corner of the island. After walking across the bridge and down the set of steps at the end, go out to the back of the island. In calm seas there is a good entry point closest to the open sea. After entering the water, swim a few metres off the wall and start the dive.

First go to the south until you drop over the wall. Examine this area for a while before turning left and following the wall to the east and north-east. The scene to your right will be a rocky terrain. After about 100 metres the wall turns to the north and you will be in the area where the cave is located. You can also head south-east once you enter the water and continue till you hit the sand. From here follow the edge south for a while if you are experienced or north if inexperienced.
By doing the first dive in reverse to the way it was described earlier, you will end up back on the mainland near the bridge. As mentioned, there are a number of different places to exit the water, depending on the tides. Pick the most suitable before entering the water.
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Bare Island is one of the best Scuba Diving Sydney sites and is great for day or night diving in almost all conditions. In moderate seas you can safely dive in most spots and in heavy seas you can usually dive the protected western side of the island.

BASIC DIVE
The first dive is a very leisurely one and begins on the mainland. Gear up and walk the down the bridge access road to the rock platform on the left of the bridge (but do not cross the bridge). A number of entry and exit points can be found here where you jump in and snorkel out towards the closest point of the island. Half way across, drop to the sandy bottom and find the edge of the rock shelf. It’s about six metres deep here. Follow the edge to the east and south-east (keeping the reef on your right) and you will drop slowly down to eight metres. There are some rocks and kelp on the sand to your left for the first part and then as you turn more to the south-east, just sand and a couple of isolated rocks. A lot of small overhangs are on the right.
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