Phillip Island Cray Reef is the site Scuba Doctor lists off the south-eastern tip of the island where crays are there for the catching, and it is exactly that: a reef of incredible ledges and overhangs in 6–20 m that has been a favourite of Melbourne hunter-divers for decades. The structure is a series of stepped granite and basalt ledges running roughly parallel to the shore, each undercut to form long overhangs a metre or two high, with sand gutters between them. Those undercuts are the point of the dive.

Southern rock lobster sit well back in the shadows with their feelers out, and on a good day a licensed diver can take a legal bag without moving far from the anchor. The same ledges shelter draughtboard (swell) sharks, Port Jackson sharks, blue devils and conger eels, and the ceilings are coloured with sponge, zoanthids and jewel anemones, so the site is equally worthwhile for a diver who is simply exploring or photographing. The tops of the ledges carry kelp and coralline turf, with wrasse, morwong, sweep and leatherjackets above them and schools of bullseyes packed under the larger overhangs.

Because the reef sits on the point, it also sees passing pelagics – salmon, trevally and, in autumn, kingfish – and fur seals from the cape. The depth range means an Open Water diver can enjoy the shallower ledges while an Advanced diver works the outer line at 18–20 m. It is a dive for settled conditions with a gentle northerly and, as with all Phillip Island boat sites, it depends on a calm bar at Newhaven.

Recreational fishing rules apply: a Victorian licence, closed season for rock lobster from mid-September to mid-November, tail-clipping and bag limits, and no take of abalone or crays in any marine national park (none applies here).

Launch at Newhaven (Beach Crescent) and run south through The Narrows and down Cleeland Bight past Cape Woolamai Reef; the cray reef lies about 450 m further south off the very tip of the cape, roughly 6 km and 20 minutes from the ramp. Being right on the point it feels the open swell and the rip off the cape, so it is a calm-day site only; anchor in sand clear of the ledges in 15–20 m and check the anchor before leaving the line.

Scuba Doctor's advice is that it is best dived with minimal swell and a gentle northerly rolling through, and that summarises it: the reef is on the exposed tip of the cape and picks up swell from south-west through south-east. Anything over about 1 m makes the shallow ledges surgy and stirs the sand; a northerly or north-westerly wind flattens the water and holds visibility. Tidal flow off the point is real, so time the dive for slack in The Narrows if possible.

Diveable year-round on the right day; crayfish season runs mid-November to mid-September (closed 15 Sep–15 Nov) with size and bag limits and a licence required.

Descend the anchor to the sand at 15–20 m and work along the base of the ledge line into any current, torching the overhangs for crayfish and swell sharks. Turn at half gas, climb to the 8–12 m shelf and return over the top of the reef with the current, finishing at the anchor. Safety stop on the line; deploy an SMB if you drift off it.

No dive shop or dedicated dive charter is based on Phillip Island. Sites are dived by Melbourne clubs (VSAG, Melbourne University Underwater Club, Frankston/Peninsula clubs) and private boats launched at Newhaven or Rhyll; Mornington Peninsula shops (Dive Victoria Group, Portsea; The Scuba Doctor, Rye) run occasional Phillip Island days. Ocean Adventures Phillip Island (Cowes) runs seal-snorkel tours only.