The north-western side of Wedding Cake Island is the gentler face of Coogee's offshore islet and the side that operators dive when a southerly swell is wrapping the reef. Instead of the single wall of the south-east, the edge here is a staircase of ledges broken up by small boulders, dropping from 5 m beside the rocks to 8, 15 and 18 m and finally to clean sand at 20 m. Two gullies cut into the ledges north of the usual anchorage, the larger with a bottom at 17 m, and the ledge system continues south-west along the sand edge with small overhangs under most of the steps.

It is not as dramatic as the south-eastern wall but the fixed life is just as good: sponges, ascidians and soft and hard corals cover every ledge face, and it is a productive site for nudibranchs and other macro. The fish are typical of the island – bream, old wife, blue groper, combfish, black reef leatherjackets, one-spot pullers and bullseyes under the ledges – and the 5–8 m shallows against the rocks hold the same huge luderick schools as the other side. Because the island is a kilometre offshore and away from stormwater it is relatively untouched and the water is often clearer than at the shore sites.

Depths are modest and the layout is simple – keep the island on one side going out and the other coming back – so it suits Open Water divers as well as photographers wanting a long, relaxed dive with a shallow finish. It is best used as the first dive of a morning, followed by South Maroubra or Magic Point a few kilometres south. McFadyen first dived the island in December 1990 and continues to recommend both sides.

Boat only – 8.5 km north of Botany Bay heads or 10 km south of South Head, about 41 km return from the Cooks River ramp at Kyeemagh; 30–40 minutes from Rose Bay. Run to the GPS mark on the north-western side of the island and anchor in about 15 m on the ledge system north-west of the rocks, keeping a safe distance from the breaking shallows. This side is the choice when a southerly swell is running, as the island gives a lee; charter boats from Coogee, Bondi and Botany Bay all use it.

The north-west side is the lee of the island in southerly and south-easterly swell and is the operators' fallback, but the open-ocean run from either bay still needs seas under about 1.5–2 m. In a north-easterly the anchorage is on the weather side and uncomfortable; use the south-east side instead. At high tide the rocks are barely above water and swell breaks over them – stay clear of the shallows in any sea.

Mild current possible. Visibility good in winter and autumn, reduced after heavy rain and big swells.

Descend and head north from the anchor: cross a small gully then the larger one with a 17 m bottom, follow the ledge system south-west along the 20 m sand edge, then come back along the 10 m boulder contour to the island shallows before relocating the anchor at about 15 m. Good as a first dive before a second at South Maroubra or Magic Point.

Pro Dive Coogee, Dive Centre Bondi, Frog Dive, Abyss Scuba Diving and Sydney Dive Academy on weekends, usually chosen over the SE side in southerly conditions.