Magic Garden is described by 50 Great Dives as the premier site in the Governor Island Marine Reserve, and Discover Tasmania names it alongside Golden Bommies as a highlight of Bicheno diving. It is a vertical granite wall that runs from the shallows down to 30 m or so, undercut at its base into a cave system, with boulder formations and swim-throughs beyond.

The 50 Great Dives entry describes incredible tunnels lined with an array of colourful, delicate marine life, and the older Mudgee Dive and Travel guide places the site in the 30-33 m bracket, with an undercut cave leading to boulders and swim-throughs. The wall itself carries sponges, sea whips, jewel anemones and yellow zoanthids, and the reserve's fish - butterfly perch, banded morwong, long-snouted boarfish, bullseyes - are abundant. Weedy seadragons are seen in the kelp at the top.

The dive has a natural shape: down the wall, through the caves and boulders at depth, then a slow ascent up the wall face, which gives plenty of time at safety-stop depth among the kelp. With visibility often exceeding 20 m in winter, the full height of the wall can sometimes be seen from the top.

It suits Advanced Open Water divers with some experience of swim-throughs, and photographers who want both wide-angle and macro subjects on one dive. The overhead sections are short but should not be entered in surge. Published details of this site are limited compared with The Castle and Golden Bommies, so follow local briefings.

Bicheno is on the Tasman Highway (A3), about 2 hr 15 min (180 km) from Hobart and 2 hr (160 km) from Launceston. Boats launch from the small ramp at The Gulch (Waubs Gulch), the narrow channel between Governor Island and the town foreshore off Esplanade; there is trailer parking beside the ramp and fishing co-op. The Governor Island sites are only 2-5 minutes' run out of the Gulch.

Tasmanian boat diving is almost always done as a live-boat drop and pick-up rather than at anchor. Magic Garden is on the Governor Island reef system, 3-5 minutes from the ramp. Divers are dropped at the top of the wall.

The Governor Island sites face east into the Tasman Sea, so easterly and north-easterly swell over about 1.5 m, or a fresh easterly/north-easterly sea breeze, makes them rough and surgy and can close the Gulch entrance. Westerly and north-westerly winds blow offshore and give the flattest seas; southerly swell wraps in and stirs the bottom, and a big southerly can drop visibility under 2 m for days. Winter (June-September) usually brings the clearest water (20-30 m) and most settled westerly weather; summer afternoons are often spoiled by the NE sea breeze, so dive mornings.

Descend the wall from the shallows to the undercut at its base, explore the cave system at 25-30 m, continue into the boulder formations and swim-throughs beyond, then ascend the wall slowly to finish in the kelp at 5-6 m.

No confirmed full-time commercial dive operator in Bicheno as of 2026: the long-running Bicheno Dive Centre was reported closed (Michael McFadyen) although some tourism pages still list it - verify before travelling. Sites are dived by club boats (Tas Uni Dive Club, Tasmanian Scuba Diving Club, Leven Scuba Club), the annual Combined Clubs Weekend each June, and occasional trips from Launceston (Tasmanian Divers) and Hobart (Go Dive Tasmania) shops.