The 50 Great Dives entry for the Governor Island Marine Reserve singles out the wave deflection wall at Bicheno as excellent for snorkelling. The wall forms part of the old harbour works opposite Governor Island, next to the car park used for the Waubs Bay and Fish Rock shore dives, so it is the easiest water in town to get into.

The attraction is the shallow rocky habitat along the wall, where kelp and smaller seaweeds grow on the boulders. The reserve area nearby has been no-take since 1991, and the surrounding shallows attract the same fish seen by divers on the deeper sites: banded morwong, old wives, leatherjackets, wrasse and, in the weed, weedy seadragons. Seals and bottlenose dolphins are occasionally seen in the area, and crested terns nest on Governor Island in summer.

For scuba divers the wall is mainly useful as a place to check weighting, train new divers, or snorkel with non-diving family while others dive the bay. Depths are only 1-6 m, so it is best in calm conditions.

Published information on this site is limited. The exact extent of the wall and whether it is inside the reserve boundary should be checked locally, and snorkellers must stay out of Waubs Gulch, the boat channel between the town and Governor Island, where the Parks and Wildlife Service prohibits swimming because of strong currents and boat traffic. Visitors also need to remember that landing on Governor Island itself is prohibited from 1 August to 31 March to protect the crested tern colony.

Bicheno is on the Tasman Highway (A3), about 2 hr 15 min from Hobart and 2 hr from Launceston. From the main highway intersection head north along Burgess Street beside the park, then turn right towards the old harbour and the Gulch; park near the concrete breakwater, a few metres from the water. The wall is next to the car park; enter from the sloping rock on the bay side of the breakwater (the same entry as Waubs Bay).

The snorkelling is along the wall itself in 1-6 m.

Waubs Bay and the breakwater area are sheltered from southerly swell and from westerly winds, which blow offshore, so they are the fallback when the outer sites are rough. Easterly and north-easterly swell rolls straight into the bay and makes entry and exit over the rocks hazardous, and the afternoon NE sea breeze in summer chops up the surface. Visibility drops after big southerly blows and heavy rain.

The wall is very shallow, so any swell produces surge against the rocks.

Snorkel or dive along the base of the wall at 2-5 m, looking in the kelp and crevices, and return before reaching the Gulch channel. Keep well clear of the boat channel. Turn at a third of gas to allow for the swim back and a possibly harder exit, finish with a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m if the depth allows, and exit where you entered unless an alternative exit has been checked beforehand.

Independent shore dive; historically guided by Bicheno Dive Centre (status unconfirmed - reported closed). Club groups (Tas Uni Dive Club, TSDC, Leven Scuba Club, Combined Clubs Weekend) shore-dive here on Bicheno weekends, usually on the last afternoon.