Fly Point is the benchmark shore dive of Port Stephens, a parallel-ledge reef just inside the harbour at Nelson Bay that has trained more open-water divers than perhaps any other single site on this stretch of coast, thanks to the near-ideal combination of easy concrete-step access, a genuinely interesting reef and enough shelter from ocean swell to be diveable on all but the roughest days. The site's defining structure is a series of parallel ledges running out from the point, their faces and cracks thick with sponge growth, and an old deck winch left over from earlier harbour use has become an accidental landmark that most local divers use for navigation. Depths range from a shallow four metres near the entry to twenty-two metres further out, giving both training dives and more adventurous exploration room to work within the one site.

What makes Fly Point more than just a convenient training ground is the density and variety of its marine life: pineapple fish shelter in the ledges by day, wobbegong sharks lie motionless on the sand and rock, flathead sit half-buried waiting for prey, and seahorses turn up regularly enough that local guides know roughly where to look. Nudibranch numbers are excellent, and the kelp beds fringing the shallower sections support their own distinct community of fish and invertebrates. The one non-negotiable factor governing every dive here is the tide: Fly Point sits on a genuine tidal channel into Port Stephens, and the current away from slack water is strong enough to make the site dangerous rather than merely inconvenient, so every local operator and experienced diver plans strictly around the tide tables, generally favouring the high slack window for both safety and the clearer water it brings.

Night dives here are excellent and popular, taking advantage of the shelter and revealing a very different, more active side of the same reef.

From Nelson Bay township, follow Government Road/Victoria Parade to the Fly Point car park on the hill above the point. Concrete steps lead directly down to a small entry platform at the water's edge, removing the need to carry gear across sand or rock. Because the site sits inside Port Stephens on a tidal channel, the dive must be timed around slack water — high slack tide gives the best visibility and the safest, current-free entry — so check tide times before planning a dive here.

Fly Point sits inside the sheltered waters of Port Stephens, so ocean swell is not a factor, but the site is on a tidal channel and currents run VERY strong outside the slack window — this dive must be planned around slack water, ideally high slack tide, both for diver safety and for the best visibility. Outside slack, the current can be too strong to dive safely. Rain in the Karuah/Myall catchments reduces visibility for a few days afterward.

Enter down the steps at high slack tide and follow the parallel ledges out along the point, exploring the sponge gardens and the old deck winch relic, watching sandy patches for pineapple fish, flathead and seahorses and the kelp beds for macro life, before returning the same way well before the tide turns and current picks up.

Feet First Dive (Nelson Bay) uses Fly Point extensively for training and guided shore dives; easily independently diveable by certified divers who plan around the tide.