Bushrangers Bay is one of the classic training and photography dives of the NSW coast and the centrepiece of the Bushrangers Bay Aquatic Reserve, where it is an offence to take or kill any marine life. The bay is a figure-of-eight shape, about 75 m wide and 200 m long, facing east with a small opening to the sea. Its rocky walls form an amphitheatre full of cracks and ledges, and the floor steps from 3 m near the entry to 6–8 m in the middle and 15–18 m beyond the mouth, reaching 20 m further out.

The protected status shows in the fish life. Schools of bullseyes, luderick, bream, yellowtail, one-spot pullers and white-ear crowd the reef, leatherjackets are everywhere, and silver drummer patrol the open water at the mouth. Squid and giant cuttlefish are common, small rays rest on the sand, and the kelp and weed around the edges are prime habitat for weedy sea dragons and the tiny Sydney pygmy pipehorse, which draws macro photographers from Sydney. Since about 2018 grey nurse sharks have appeared seasonally, usually in April to June, sometimes lingering longer.

The dive is easy to navigate – follow one wall out and the other back – and depths allow long, relaxed dives, making it ideal for newly certified divers, training and night dives. Kelp has become thicker in recent years. The main costs are the steep stairs (a good set installed in 2002 replaced a rough track) and a narrow window of conditions: easterly swell turns it into a washing machine. Picnic lawns and toilets at the car park make it a pleasant day out.

From Sydney take the M1/Princes Motorway south past Wollongong (about 105 km, 1.5 hours), take the Shellharbour exit and follow Shellharbour Road to the Shellharbour Workers Club, then turn right onto Boollwarroo Parade into Bass Point Reserve. Follow the road through the reserve to the second (eastern) car park, which is closest to the bay. A good set of stairs leads steeply down to the water – about 100 m of carry with a stiff climb back up at the end.

Enter straight ahead of the stairs and put fins on in the shallows. Toilets are at the car park.

The bay opens east through a narrow gap and is protected from moderate southerly and northerly winds and seas, but an easterly swell over about 1 m surges straight in and ruins visibility. Best in westerly weather, especially late autumn and winter. The shallow sandy inner bay stirs up easily, so visibility is best after calm spells.

The stairs make gear carrying hard work in summer heat; morning dives avoid the north-easterly sea breeze.

Enter at the stairs and follow the northern side of the bay out through the first loop, descending to 6–8 m in the middle. Continue through the second loop, exploring the corners and crevices, then return along the southern side. Experienced divers in calm seas can cross the ridge at the mouth to 15–20 m before returning.

Shellharbour Scuba and Photography Centre runs guided shore dives and training at Bass Point most weekends and regular social dives; United Divers (Wollongong) and many Sydney clubs and dive shops also bring groups. It is one of three core Shellharbour Scuba guided sites (with The Gutter and the Gravel Loader) and a regular snorkel-tour venue.