The Steps / Inscription Point (Kurnell, Botany Bay)
The Steps, at Inscription Point in Botany Bay National Park, Kurnell, is a boulder field with sponge gardens where common sea dragons turn up on the sand at 12–15 m. From the car park you take stairs and a boardwalk to a rock platform and use the small inlet, the only safe entry and exit point. Sand lies at about 10 m, deepening to about 15 m to the east. Typical visibility is 10–12 m, 20–25 m on an incoming tide.
Facts
- Region: New South Wales – Byron Bay to Eden (Australia)
- Area: Sydney & Botany Bay
- Depth: 3–15 m
- Level: intermediate
- Current: moderate
- Type: shore, reef
- Coordinates: -34.0013, 151.2248 (approximate)
- Highlights: common sea dragons, pygmy pipehorses, nudibranchs, pipefish, Bare Island anglerfish (occasional), seals (occasional)
- Tips: Position is about 80 m north of the published GPS point (entry), approximate. Protected from southerly seas; do not dive if maximum swell exceeds about 1.0 m (exit too dangerous), reconsider above 0.8 m. Entering about an hour before peak tide gives the best visibility. Botany Bay National Park charges an entry fee and closes at night, so no night dives.