The Monuments is the sheltered dive of the Kurnell trio, named for the Cook obelisk and flagpole on the rise above the entry, and it is where Sydney divers go when a southerly is blowing everything else out. From the small inlet beside the bronze humpback whale sculpture a short swim north over kelp and boulders reaches the sand edge at about 12 m, and here a decent wall drops onto the sand. Dived as a drift on the incoming tide, the route follows the main wall, which runs almost exactly west and stands about three metres high with overhangs and small cave-like formations, then a second wall of similar height heading south with more overhangs, before a sand gutter lined with seagrass leads west to the beach.

The alternative at slack or high water goes east along the sand at 12–13 m past a small wall of large boulders that fades into scattered rock, returning shallower over the reef. The sponge gardens on the walls are among the best in Sydney, with sea fans, tube worms, ascidians, lace coral and sea squirts crowding the overhangs. Common seadragons are the draw – pregnant males are reliable in late winter and spring – and the site is also good for pygmy pipehorses, painted and Bare Island anglerfish, nudibranchs, cuttlefish, moray eels, schooling catfish, stingrays and flathead.

Hawksbill turtles and grey nurse sharks have both passed through. Visibility is the compromise: five to seven metres counts as a good day. The Monuments has been called that since about 1997, though some operators now use other names; it sits within the Captain Cook's Landing Place section of Kamay Botany Bay National Park, with barbecues and toilets in the picnic area, which makes it the natural second dive after The Steps or The Leap and a comfortable site for Open Water divers with a guide.

Drive to Kurnell via Captain Cook Drive, enter Kamay Botany Bay National Park (vehicle entry fee, gates lock at night) and park in the clearly signed Monuments car park – not Sutherland Point, and get there early because spots go quickly on fine days. Gear up in the car park and walk 50–100 m to the small inlet beside the bronze humpback whale sculpture below the Cook obelisk. For the drift, enter here on the incoming tide and exit on the beach to the west via the seagrass sand gutter; for the slack-tide dive return to the same inlet.

Barbecues and toilets are in the picnic area.

One of the few genuinely protected sites in Sydney – it is especially good in very strong southerly winds, when the Kurnell cliffs shelter the whole southern shore of the bay. It is blown out by north-easterly swell over 1–1.5 m rolling into the entrance, when even the small inlet entry becomes hard. Dive One (the drift west) is only done on an incoming tide; Dive Two (east along the sand) at high or slack water.

Visibility is usually never great – 5–7 m is considered good – and drops further on the ebb and after rain. The park gates lock at night so night dives are not possible from the car park.

Drift (incoming tide): from the whale-sculpture inlet head north or north-north-west to the sand edge at 12 m, drop over the wall and follow the main 3 m wall west along its overhangs, then the second wall south, and take the seagrass sand gutter west to the beach. Slack-tide dive: head east on the sand at 12–13 m along the boulder wall and return shallower over the reef to the inlet.

Abyss Scuba Diving, Pro Dive Cronulla and Coogee, Sydney Dive Academy and Frog Dive run guided shore dives and courses here most weeks, usually as the second dive after The Steps or The Leap; heavy independent use.