Flat Rock, at North Bendalong about a kilometre north of the village, is a distinctive wide rock platform – about 130 m across – whose seaward edge is recommended locally as a good snorkelling and fishing spot. The rock formations shelter small reef creatures, and the water off the edge drops to typical South Coast rocky reef.

The platform edge gives access to kelp, ledges and cracks where luderick, bream, drummer and blue groper feed, along with rock-pool fauna such as crabs, sea stars and small fish.

The main hazard is the platform itself. Flat, wide rock platforms are notorious for waves that wash across them unexpectedly, and rock fishers are regularly caught out on this coast. Only use the site in calm seas at low to mid tide, wear solid footwear, avoid fishing lines, and never snorkel alone. When conditions are right it is a pleasant, uncrowded place for a snorkel, and it can be combined with the sheltered Washerwomans Beach nearby. The Walter Hood wreck site lies further north along the coast. There are no facilities on the platform, and mobile coverage can be patchy, so let someone know your plans. For divers based in the Bendalong area, organised scuba diving is available through Jervis Bay operators at Huskisson, about an hour's drive north. Bring fills with you, as there is no air in Bendalong.

From Bendalong village drive about 1 km north to North Bendalong and the Flat Rock Beach access. Park at the beach access and walk out onto the wide, flat rock platform; enter from its seaward edge only in calm seas and at low to mid tide. Carry only light snorkelling gear or a single cylinder – the platform is wide and slippery – and identify an exit point before getting in.

An open rock platform exposed to swell from the north-east through south; waves wash across flat platforms with little warning, so it is only suitable in genuinely flat conditions at low to mid tide. North-easterly sea breezes build on summer afternoons, and a southerly change can arrive quickly and raise swell within an hour, so watch the forecast.

Enter at a sheltered point on the platform edge, snorkel along the rock face looking into cracks and ledges, and exit at the same point, watching the surge.

No operator; local snorkellers and rock fishers.