Sydney - Manly

Blue Fish Wall

Blue Fish Wall is the outer section of Blue Fish Reef. The wall reaches down to approximately 25 metres deep. It has many large boulders, overhangs, swim-throughs and drop offs that make this an exhilarating dive with lots to see and do. All along the wall you can see sponges, ascidians, sea squirts, nudibranchs and all sorts of other sessile life. The fish that frequent this site are cuttlefish, mullet, wrasse, leatherjackets, sea perch, bullseyes and goatfish.

If there is a strong southerly wind blowing or dive conditions are a bit harsh then you can opt to explore the inner reef. The maximum depth here is about 18 metres and you can see a nice assortment of kelp, sponges, boulders and caves. There is also the same types of fish here that can be found along the wall.



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Dee Why Wide

Dee Why Wide is one of Sydneys premier boat dives. It is located approximately 2.4 kilometers off of Curl Curl Beach. The bottom when you enter is 23 metres deep and there is an extensive reef that runs northwest.  You can get down to depths as great as 37 metres in some spots due to the large gullies and cracks in the rocky bottom that are accessible to divers. If you explore these there is a cave you can find around 28 metres. Here eastern blue devilfish and ladder-finned pomfrets reside in abundance.

Another attraction of this dive site is a massive anchor sitting on its side. The flukes of the anchor are easy to identify but the stock has been broken off. As you explore the channels in the rock you will come upon kingfish, leatherjackets, yellowtail, and seapike, perch, bulleyes, cuttlefish, butterfly and black-banded perch, sergeant bakers, red rock cods, and gropers. There is a prolific amount of marine life here.

Swim-throughs, boulders, and overhangs also provide great places to look for more timid fish as well as exciting areas to investigate. Gorgonian sea fans, southern corals, deep sea whips, sponges and zoanthids can be found here. This is an ideal dive site for advanced or deep divers.



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Fisherman's Reef - North Head Wall

Maximum depth around the 24-metres. Once on the bottom, follow the sand edge in any direction. The reef consists of small boulders and low walls. The sponge gardens are spectacular; sponges of all colours, bryozoans, sea squirts, ascidians and fixed marine life bring the colours to life. Fishlife is also good, expect to see bream, sweep, luderick and yellowtail. There are also a lot of leatherjackets and blue gropers. On the sand and around the kelp you can find weedy sea dragons and, possibly, red indianfish. Red indianfish are a rare treat but you will continually be surprised if you look closely under ledges and rocks. Source: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~diving/articles/publish.htm

Flagstaff

Flagstaff is an excellent shallow dive, starting around 5 metres and descending to 12 metres. Sandy bottom with rocks and boulders up to the shoreline. As you dive north you can see kelp, ascidians, sponges and all sorts of sessile life around the rocks. Octopus, port jackson sharks, rays, cuttlefish, schools of fish and nudibranchs can be found at this site. If you are really lucky, a fairy penguin might swim past you underwater as the colony is close by.


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Long Reef

These three sites are adjacent to one another and lie just east of Long Reef Point, a five-minute boat ride. The main site is located along a large rock wall and drops to 15 to 20 metres. This huge rock formation has a large swim-through running from east to west of the rock. The western side is always home to masses of fish; bullseyes, roughies, yellowtail, pike and tailor. The boulders themselves are covered in sea tulips, sponges and bryozoans. There were plenty of starfish, large cuttlefish, wobbegongs and Port Jackson sharks. The cathedral (name of massive boulder) comes up to about eight metres and often visibility gets much clearer during winter. Swimming north of the cathedral following the wall you come across large gutters frequented by young grey nurse sharks. Watch for strong currents.


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Magic Point

Magic Point is the southern headland of Maroubra Bay - about 14 km south of Sydney Harbour. It is a significant aggregation area for Grey Nurse sharks.

Despite their fierce appearance, Grey Nurse sharks are not considered to be dangerous to humans.They are a passive species with teeth designed for capturing prey such as fish, squid and crustaceans.

The sharks can usually be found in a cave about 15 metres below the surface. This cave is really a large undercut section of the cliff wall - it is about 15 metres wide and about 5 metres deep at the western end. Once on the bottom, head to the cave and stop about five metres in front of it. The bottom is very silty and the sharks love to lie around and cruise around this little 'patch'. Expect around 8-10 grey nurse sharks. The sharks are accompanied by enormous schools of yellowtail as well as remoras. The sharks are very tolerant of divers but you should not reach out and touch or poke any of these animals. Staying still and calm will often be rewarded with sharks cruising right over your head or very close by. Wild movements and noises are more likely to just frighten them away.

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Manly Bommie

This is a new dive site recently discovered off Manly.

Site details and pictures will be posted soon

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Old Mans Hat

A truly magical rocky reef dive accessible only by boat. Under the towering curve of Sydney Heads, the rocks jumble into the water and slowly give way to sponge gardens and a sandy kelp bottom.

Suits all levels of experience. The further out you go, the deeper it gets. At Old Man's Hat a depth of around 20-26m can be reached, further to the east it gradually drops to 36-38m. The area is rocky with a few sandy patches. Sponges and soft coral can be found on the rocky bottom.

Expect to see blue groper, cuttlefish, lizard fish, yellow tails, nudibranchs, pygmy leatherjackets, shrimps, ascidians, sponges, sea squirts and all sorts of other temperate marine life.

Source: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~diving/articles/publish.htm

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South Head

When the Sealife V visits South Head it pulls into a shallow area near the rocks. Divers get into the water and drop down to a rocky bottom at 8 metres.  From here you can make your way down to a maximum depth of 14 metres. Along the way there are a series of overhangs where you can normally find cuttlefish and lots of octopus. There is also the usual assortment of fish swimming happily through the waters. Its a great, easy dive for beginning and intermediate divers out on the boat.

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The Wreck of the Valiant

The wreck of the Valiant is a wonderful dive site which PRO DIVE visits every month. The ship itself is an old tugboat that was 22.5 metres long and 5.4 metres wide. It was commissioned it 1945 and was used during World War II.  The wreck was sunk in 1981 so it has had thirty years to let sea life accumulate around and inside of it.

 

When you dive the Valiant you descend down to 27 metres where the wreck is sitting upright. On clear days you can see down to the wreck from the surface. Once you get to the bottom you can swim around the wreck and view the heaps of soft corals and jewel anemones covering the ship. You can enter the wreck as well. The engine room, cabins, crew quarters, and bridge all are accessible and definitely worth a look.

 

The fish life that can be found in and around the ship include moray eels, gropers, yellowtail, white ear, bream, mado, stripey, bulleyes, sergeant baker, yellowtail kingfish, trevally, John Dory,  blue swimmer crabs, and giant cuttlefish.

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Wedding Cake Island

About 1 km off of Coogee Beach is a collection of rocks about 150 metres long and 50 metres wide. At high tide one can see these rocks poking out of the sea and as the tide goes down they get more pronounced. This is Wedding Cake Island.

As you descend you will see the reef drop off in shelves at 5m, 8m, 15m, 18m, and the rock sand line is at approximately 22m. The main wall is at the 15m mark and this is where heaps of sea squirts and several small gorgonians make their home. Along the wall you can also find overhangs and caves that provide shelter to the aquatic life.

Wobbegongs can be found here along with lots of other fishlife including yellow-banded seaperch, old wife, snapper, bream, the esteemed blue groper, combfish, six-spined leatherjacket, rainbow runners, kingfish, and schools of luderick that flock to the shallower waters. If you?re lucky you may get to see the magnificent eastern blue devil or cuttlefish. There are also many species of nudibranch.

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