Fish Rock Cave (South West Rocks) – Advanced, torch required
Fish Rock, about 2 km south-east of Smoky Cape and a 30-minute boat run from the Macleay River boat ramp, is cut by a roughly 120–125 m tunnel that operators call Australia's only true ocean cave dive. The deeper seaward entrance is at about 24–25 m, the shallower entrance at about 12 m is fringed with pink gorgonians, and two air chambers (bubble caves) lie inside at about 5 m. Grey nurse sharks are present year-round at the shark gutters and the deep entrance, with wobbegongs, bull rays and painted crayfish in the cave; outside there are sponge and coral gardens, the Aquarium and Colorado/Shark Gutters. About 80 m of the cave is out of the daylight zone.
Facts
- Region: New South Wales – Byron Bay to Eden (Australia)
- Area: South West Rocks (Fish Rock)
- Depth: 12–30 m
- Level: advanced
- Current: moderate
- Type: cave, reef, drift, wall
- Coordinates: -30.93923, 153.10024 (approximate)
- Highlights: grey nurse shark, wobbegong, bull ray, turtles, painted crayfish, pink gorgonians, air chambers
- Permit: No permit. Qualification: Advanced Open Water + Nitrox as stated in operator trip listings (not a CDAA cave rating); torch required. Confirm with South West Rocks Dive Centre.
- Tips: Qualification: operator listings for the Fish Rock trip state Advanced Open Water and Nitrox certification as a requirement; no formal cave-diver rating is stated in the sources I checked, but one listing disagrees, so confirm with the operator. Torch essential; the author recommends doing it as a second dive, comfortable with darkness and chimneys (two chimneys lead up into the main cave; the first is tighter). Do not touch the sea cucumbers (sticky secretion); a full loop enters at the deep entrance and exits at the shallow one in about 10 minutes. Position is the Fish Rock island waypoint, approximate. Visibility 15–30 m.