Located six and a half hours south of Brisbane is a sleepy little seaside town called South West Rocks
which is home to some amazing dive sites, in particular, Fish Rock Cave. We stayed not far from the center of town at a motel conveniently attached to the dive shop. The 45 minute commute across the bar and out to the site was well worth the journey as we were rewarded with some spectacular scenery. After the usual briefing of the site we made our way down to about 30 meters. The landscape underneath was quite barren with little hard or soft corals growing on the rocky outcrops. Running along the base of the structure were a series of sandy bottomed gutters aptly named ‘Shark Alley’. Here the juvenile Grey Nurse sharks protectively swam up and down the gutters keeping their distance.
Another feature of the dive site was inside the cave itself. The deep entrance, at 24 meters, was home to some large Wobbegongs and an infamously shy cuttlefish. As you ascended up the tall ‘chimney stacks’ that led to the cave’s main cabin, you were watched by hundreds of beady-eyed Cray Fish lurking in the crevasses. Toward the shallow entrance at 12 meters is the bubble cave which was surrounded by pretty gardens of vibrant orange stony coral. Another awesome sight was upon exiting the cave where schools of bulleyes were silhouetted against the morning sunlight teaming through the water. Some lucky divers were mesmerized by a large school of Eagle Rays gliding majestically on their way to an unknown destination. Other marine life which was prominent throughout the dives were moray eels, egg cowries, lionfish, and black cod.
Once again, another wonderful trip planned by Snorkel Safari. The time of year was perfect with pretty good vis at around 15m most of the time and water temps at a comfortable 22°. I would definitely recommend booking this trip next year if you wanted to experience something just a little bit different not too far from home.
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