South West Rocks

One of my most memorable dive trips to date has been at Fish Rock - South West Rocks in NSW.

It is claimed to be the only true ocean cave dive in Australia and runs 125m through Fish Rock. There is an unreal amount of fish, wobbegongs and rays that live at the Rock, however for me, the biggest draw was the abundance of Grey Nurse Sharks.

As one of my favorite species of Shark I was pretty eager to get underwater and when I did I was far from let down. At any one time we could see over 10 individuals of Grey Nurse, you do a 180, and there's 5 more. For anyone who is reading this and has not done a dive with Grey Nurse then add it to your bucket list, it is by far the most comforting yet invigorating experience I have had this far.

Furthermore, the cave itself (which was my first) is pretty epic. We entered from the deep entrance (24m) and almost instantly its pitch black. Its single file and quite tight in some areas and with wobbies below you and creepy crawly crustaceans on the cave walls you tend to want to keep your hands to yourself!

At about half way through the cave, light penetration hits, the guide leads us up into what they call a bubble-cave, which is an air-pocket in the cave, and as simple as it seems, it is pretty remarkable to essentially be underwater and able to have a chat to your dive buddy.

As you begin to come out of the cave, the silhouette of a couple of sharks dotted with hundreds of fish is a mental image I won’t easily forget – nor do I want too.

Have a look at the Video from one of our dives.

Fish Rock - South West Rocks from kieren curry on Vimeo.

Sarah Shark