Cape Hauy is one of the most photographed headlands in Tasmania: a narrow dolerite promontory ending in towering columns, with the slender Candlestick and Totem Pole stacks standing just offshore. Climbers famously rope across to the Totem Pole, and the Cape Hauy walking track brings thousands of people to the clifftop each year. Underwater, the columnar jointing that creates these stacks continues as vertical walls of hexagonal columns dropping to boulders and sand.

Kelp and brown algae cover the upper walls, where fur seals often swirl around divers, while deeper faces carry sponges, sea whips and jewel anemones. Banded morwong, boarfish and real bastard trumpeter are common, and rock lobster shelter in the gaps between columns. The site's appeal is as much the setting as the life: looking up from the wall at the stacks and the columns rising out of the water is unforgettable.

It is an exposed site where surge between the stacks can be strong, so it suits Advanced divers on calm days. Fortescue Bay ramp is just around the corner, making it an easy target for private boats. Treat depths as indicative – the wall bottoms out between 25 and 40 m depending on the drop point.

Boat access only. Most trips use the Fortescue Bay boat ramp (Arthur Highway to Taranna, then 12 km of gravel on Fortescue Road; national park pass required), which is the closest launch to Cape Hauy, the Hippolytes, Munro Bight and Cape Pillar. Eaglehawk Dive Centre and Go Dive Tasmania run from Pirates Bay at Eaglehawk Neck (or Port Arthur for Go Dive), adding 20-30 minutes each way.

There are no moorings on these exposed sites; boats drift or hover and run a live-boat pick-up. Carry full safety gear, a VHF radio and oxygen – the nearest help is at Port Arthur or Eaglehawk Neck and the chamber is in Hobart, about 1.5-2 hours away.

These are the most exposed dive sites on the Tasman Peninsula, facing the Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea with no shelter from southerly or easterly weather. Divers interviewed by the ABC said the Hippolytes need no swell and a westerly wind, and that such windows may occur only a handful of times a year; Easter weekend was noted as one. Anything more than about 1-1.5 m of south-easterly to southerly swell, or easterly winds, makes them undiveable.

Currents are strong and unpredictable, particularly around the Needle, Tasman Island passage and Cape Pillar; plan around neap tides and expect to drift. Late summer and autumn (February-May) offer the best chances; operators confirm on the day.

Drop in the lee of the stacks, descend the columnar wall to 20-25 m and work along it, avoiding the gap between the Candlestick and the cape where surge funnels. Ascend the wall and finish in the kelp at 5 m.

Eaglehawk Dive Centre and Go Dive Tasmania – visited on calm days as part of their Tasman Peninsula boat programs (Go Dive launches from Port Arthur or Eaglehawk Neck); private boats from Fortescue Bay.