The Nut, a 143 m-high volcanic plug, dominates the historic town of Stanley. The Marine Life Network guide rates the diving 6 out of 10 in 5-15 m: Godfreys Beach is shallow and swell-exposed and good only for snorkelling, while the eastern side near the breakwater is more sheltered and offers the best diving, with attractive bommies in slightly deeper water. It lists abalone in seaweed patches along the shoreline, delicate life on the bommies, large gorgonian fans, warty prowfish, weedy seadragons, ornate cowfish and banded stingarees on the sand.

The Leven Scuba Club lists Stanley Wharf as an excellent shore dive when westerlies have wrecked everything else, with giant sponges, skates and nudibranchs in 2-15 m, but warns of the long walk and the climb on the sea wall. It is a useful bad-weather option for divers based on the north-west coast.

Circular Head, the far north-west corner of Tasmania around Stanley and Smithton, faces the full sweep of Bass Strait and the tidal flows that pour between the mainland and the Hunter Group islands. Few divers visit: there is no dive shop or air station west of Burnie that can be confirmed, so divers bring everything with them, and the Royal Hobart Hospital chamber is around five hours away by road. The reward is clean, rarely dived water and marine life that includes species more typical of Victoria and South Australia, such as warty prowfish and weedy seadragons in the sheltered bays.

Stanley is on the Bass Highway about 50 minutes west of Wynyard (1 hr 45 min from Devonport). The best diving is on the eastern side of The Nut near the breakwater and wharf; the Leven Scuba Club warns of a long walk and a nasty climb down and back up the sea wall. Keep clear of the working port area.

Godfreys Beach, reached by a track on the north side, is shallow and suited only to snorkelling. Boats launch at the Stanley ramp.

The north-west coast faces Bass Strait: north-westerly to north-easterly winds and westerly swell make it rough, while southerly winds blow offshore and give flat seas - light airs and sunny days are relatively common from January to April. Easterly gales are common in the warmer months and close the eastern faces of Rocky Cape and Sisters Island. Tidal streams run along the coast (eastward on the flood), and several boat sites are only comfortable around slack water.

The eastern side is sheltered from westerlies - the Leven Scuba Club rates it an excellent shore dive when westerlies have wrecked everywhere else. Godfreys Beach is exposed to northerly swell.

Climb carefully down the sea wall on the eastern side, follow the shoreline over the abalone and weed patches, then move out to the bommies in slightly deeper water (to 15 m) and return the same way. Turn the dive at half gas (thirds where current or overhead sections are involved), deploy an SMB before surfacing for the live-boat pick-up, and complete a 3-minute safety stop at about 5 m where depth allows.

No confirmed commercial dive operator on the north-west coast as of 2026 (older guides mention dive services in Wynyard and Devonport - verify). Sites are dived mainly by the Leven Scuba Club (Ulverstone), other north-west club members and visiting divers with their own boats; Tasmanian Divers (Launceston) runs occasional northern trips.