Vertical reef, drop-offs and sponge-covered walls: Port Phillip Heads, the Tasman Peninsula, Osprey Reef, the Ribbon Reefs and the granite coasts of the south.
181 sites · the first 48 shown as cards, the rest listed by state below
Jervis Bay · NSW
A sheer-walled dead-end gorge dropping to 50–55 m, packed with colourful deep sessile life.
A deep sea-whip and gorgonian garden at 37–50 m in 25–35 m visibility – one of NSW's finest deep dives.
Shoalhaven Coast · NSW
Remote offshore banks with walls to 50 m, pristine colourful sessile life and pelagic sharks including hammerheads.
Sydney South & Botany Bay · NSW
An immense deep reef of walls, swim-throughs and sea-whip gardens 5 km off Cronulla, named for its wandering anemones.
Sydney Northern Beaches · NSW
Deep rocky shelves and valleys in 36–45 m of clear offshore water east of North Head – a technical-depth reef few have…
Pristine vertical wall at 30–39 m with pineapplefish, blue devils and anemone-draped sea whips.
Port Stephens · NSW
A 40 m boulder wall beside the Looking Glass, with caves holding the rare eastern blue devil fish and dense sponge…
South West Rocks · NSW
A sheer 40 m wall with dense sponge growth, hidden caves and some of Fish Rock's largest resident fish — groper and…
Lord Howe Island · NSW
Deep pinnacle with schooling spangled emperor, huge kingfish and Meredith's and conspicuous angelfish.
Zig-zag wall from 19 m to 34 m with overhangs and swim-throughs, a sponge-covered boulder at 40 m and 30 m visibility.
An underwater stone 'bridge' at 37 m in a deep gully, with a 100 m vertical wall, 25–30 m visibility and winter Port…
Narooma & Montague Island · NSW
Deep sponge gardens with large sea fans and pelagic schools beside the seal colony.
Deep southern reef paired with Gower Pinnacle – big kingfish, spangled emperor and rare angelfish.
A true wall from 30 to 36 m with the richest sponge and gorgonian growth on the Northern Beaches and big pelagics on…
A clean north–south wall from 28 to 33 m with pygmy pipehorses and pomfret, 350 m from Voodoo.
Hundreds of sea whips each hosting tiger anemones beneath a 100 m wall at the pyramid rock.
Pinnacle and deep plateau with tunnels, swim-throughs and walls – big black cod, Japanese boarfish and…
Deep walls and plateau of Tenth of June with black coral trees, gorgonians and big black cod.
An exposed island wall with sponge-lined gutters known for cobia, snapper, whaler sharks and summer eagle rays.
Grey nurse sharks in rocky gutters on the northern side of Montague Island, with seals passing through.
Sydney's most colourful deep wall: 22 m reef top dropping to 30 m+ under blankets of sponge and gorgonian, with schools…
Merimbula · NSW
Described as Merimbula's prettiest reef dive, with sponges and sea fans on stepped ledges.
Wollongong & Kiama · NSW
Sheer deep wall to 34 m with swarms of mado and carpets of tiny feather stars.
Five pyramid rocks above a steep boulder slope from 5 m to 34 m riddled with caves and swim-throughs.
Sheer walls, boulder swim-throughs and cave after cave at 26–31 m, blanketed in gorgonians and sea squirts with 30 m…
Central Coast · NSW
A remote deep wall 6 km south of Norah Head with a distinctive boulder formation (The Seven Apostles) and two secondary…
Compact deep reef with seals on most dives, up to six giant cuttlefish at a time and a large low cave – circumnavigable…
Huge dog-leg sea cave with an ocean entrance and a sheltered exit into a small bay.
Ulladulla · NSW
Deep wall with black coral trees, dense gorgonians and vivid sponges; boulder caves at the base and the elusive 'hole'…
A big sponge-and-gorgonian-covered vertical wall and steep boulder slope with dense schools in the shallows.
Long north–south wall with arches, swim-throughs and prolific sponge and fish life off Cape Baily, running past 32 m.
Batemans Bay · NSW
Big cliffs from 32 m to 10 m south of the Tollgate Islands, known for pelagic fish.
Colourful sponge-covered wall off Cape Baily Lighthouse with boulder gullies and prolific fish, from 20 m to past 32 m.
Sea whips carrying clusters of tiger anemones – rare in southern Sydney – plus pineapplefish on a compact 29 m reef.
A long, sponge-covered north–south wall from 21 to 27 m off the North Bondi headland; excellent nudibranch macro.
A versatile island offering both a sheltered training bay (Safety Bay) and more demanding wall, swim-through and cave…
A wall-and-slope profile for every level, with a chance of sunfish at cleaning stations.
Stepped, colourful wall to 30 m below the Burrewarra lighthouse, often with the clearest water near Batemans Bay.
Gullies 30 m long and six-plus cave systems on the seaward side of Botany Bay's northern head – 'the equal of any dive…
Sponge-covered walls, long gullies and blue devilfish on a clear-water offshore reef, with an abandoned ship's anchor…
The deepest and richest of the North Head reefs – walls and swim-throughs above sponge gardens at 26–30 m at the tip of…
A 20–26 m wall with overhangs and boulders under the national park gun emplacements, 700 m north of Cape Banks and…
A 22–27 m wall with a big rock swim-through and an isolated reef 'island', found by St George Scuba Club in 2008 and…
Winter fur seal encounters on a colourful sponge and gorgonian wall only 15 minutes from Port Kembla.
Deeper wall with tunnels and cracks through the fringing reef, black coral trees and schooling pelagics.
Coral walls, boulders and swim-throughs where the Admiralty Islets meet underwater, with Galapagos sharks and good…
Steep coral wall on the Admiralty Islets with Galapagos sharks, fusiliers and rare angelfish in 30 m visibility.
Coral drop-offs and boulders at the southern end of the Admiralty group, good for macro.
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