Munro Bight is the long curve of coast between Cape Hauy and Cape Pillar, backed by some of the highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere – the dolerite columns here rise hundreds of metres straight out of the sea along the Three Capes Track. Its best-known dive is the wreck of the Nord in 42 m, but the reef under the cliffs offers excellent diving in its own right. Scuba Diving magazine describes Munro Bight as a boat dive with a thriving giant kelp forest where seals are regularly seen, one of the remaining stands on this coast after the widespread loss of giant kelp in eastern Tasmania.

Beneath the canopy, boulder slopes and walls step down into deeper water, with sponges, sea whips and jewel anemones on shaded rock, and schools of butterfly perch and bullseyes. Fur seals from the colonies at Cape Pillar and Tasman Island often join divers in the kelp. Rock lobster, wrasse, banded and magpie morwong, and leatherjackets are common, and draughtboard sharks rest in the crevices.

Because the bight is sheltered from westerly winds by the cliffs, it can be flat on westerly days even when the swell is small, but it is completely exposed to southerly and easterly swell and is one of the more remote dive areas on the peninsula. A typical day combines a deep Nord dive with a shallower kelp dive here during the surface interval. Kelp condition varies with marine heatwaves; ask the operators what to expect.

Above water the bight is part of the Three Capes Track landscape, and walkers on the clifftops sometimes watch boats and seals far below.

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.

Choose a drop point under the cliffs in the lee of the swell, descend to the kelp base at 12-18 m and explore the understorey, extending onto deeper boulder walls if gas allows. Ascend among the stipes and surface in a clear patch for pick-up.

Eaglehawk Dive Centre and Go Dive Tasmania – dived in combination with the Nord on calm southerly-coast days; private boats from Fortescue Bay.