Its not often that you come across a real ‘hidden gem’ like this one. There is a bit of a golden triangle with dive destinations, 1 quality of the diving i.e. is there awesome stuff to see? 2, number of divers visiting at one time, are you lining up with 10 other boats or are you the only ones? And finally 3, the cost of logistics like dive boats etc. Most of the time these factors change proportionally to each other, e.g a world class destination will see more divers and cost more. Areas that are not so much life hotspots tend to be less exciting but are quieter and easier on the wallet. Every so often though, you stumble on a shining jewell. A place that offers world class dives, is basically deserted, and is very good value. And oh my have I found one! Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania!
The location
The Eaglehawk neck is right down at the bottom of Tasmania, Australia. Set among beautiful bush and stunning limestone cliffs that form steeply shelving underwater formations, and eery cathedral caves. The dive shop at Eaglehawk doubles as a campsite or dorm rooms too so you can chill after dives and watch the alpacas next door or the wallabies hopping around the garden at dusk.
The Dives
I didn’t know what to expect from Tasmania diving to be honest. I had heard there were weedy sea dragons in the area, as well as kelp forests. But nobody I knew who had been to Australia had been diving there. I was in two minds whether to go all the way down there, with the extra ferry cost and the distance to drive down there… But something really drew me there, the mountains, the mysterious forests, and somewhere off the beaten path. So I planned to do spend a week there, do some mountain activities, and 4 dives. The water down there was cold! 16 degrees C! So I used my 6.5mm wetsuit with my surfing 4mm under it! I was very envious of the dry suit divers on board.
The first day we visited Cape Hauy. A lovely little bay carpeted in kelps starting at about 5m and dropping down to 30m in steps. All along the shallow side where the cliffs met the waters edge, fur seals were hauled out enjoying the sun. Others were in the water, and this was where we met them. They were cautious at first, but after we got down low in the kelp and waited, they came over to investigate us! This was the first time I’ve had this many seals around me in the water. They are a majestic animal underwater, in contrast to when on land! They would spend time at the surface on their backs with their heads back looking down at us. Then, they would in turn dive down and swoop and spiral at tremendous speed around us! After a while with the seals, I made my way deeper and explored the 15 – 20m range, looking for a sea dragon, I was treated to a range of fish species and small invertebrates in and around the short kelp, even spotted a draughtboard shark. But this time the dragons alluded me!
After some more time with the seals on the safety stop and the customary soup selection (seriously is this an Australian thing?) we headed to our next dive site Pattersons Arch. This area was at the base of the cliff face, the wall continued down to about 20m where we slowly explored a swim through, emerging onto a ledge covered in corals, sponges, and invertebrates. We explored along the wall, large amphitheatres of eroded limestone where we found a massive sting ray, and encrusted boulders until it was time to surface. Another fantastic dive!
Day 2 and we began with another trip to Cape Hauy, this was great because I was determined to find a dragon this time! On the way out there we were treated to something very special. In the distance we spotted a number of birds circling and diving into the water, getting closer we could see dolphins surfacing and diving, the seals were with them too. This was a feeding frenzy, a real ‘Blue planet’ moment! We quickly grabbed our mask, snorkel, fins and cameras and slid gently into the water. All around us were little bait fish, grouping together in defence, using us as cover it looked like. Then the pod of dolphins darted through them and us slapping the fish with their tails, splitting up the ball and then picking off the weak individuals. You could hear them communicating via clicks and whistles to coordinate their attack! Then fur seals working alone would come from underneath, zooming up into the ball and away in a spiral like a fighter jet. Meanwhile from above, diving birds were coming in fast, including an albatross! We just floated there watching the scene unfold before our eyes, it will go down as the most awesome thing I have experienced so far in my diving career! Check out my instagram for video clips!
Once the activity had died down, we continued to the dive site, all of us very excited from what we had just witnessed! The dive was spent searching the 12m contour for the weedy sea dragon, it had been spotted the day before by a group! We found it near a big kelp covered boulder when we saw another team looking excitedly at the weed. It took a moment for me to spot the exceedingly well camouflaged animal. But when I did, wow what a creature! about 20cm long very deep bodied but razor thin, with ragged ‘weeds’ coming out of its edges, long snout with a tiny mouth at the end, beady eyes watching you from all angles, and delicate fins that propelled it at a surprising speed. We hung around there taking some shots of him until it was time to head back to the seals and the boat.
Then we headed for Cathedral Cave, a massive archway cavern where you could work your way around the edges, looking at the sponges and anemones on the walls, and looking for crayfish under overhangs on the floor. Then move shallower up to the roof where sponges hung like stalactites! The sound was the strangest thing, where the swell was hitting the back of the caves and passages nearby, the reverberations could be felt in your chest like a low rumble inside you!
I had planned that to be my last day. But I was persuaded to stick around for another day, because this next site would be very special I was told!
We departed to Sisters Rocks early the next day, going in the opposite direction than the previous days. We pulled up to several granite pinnacles that remained after the soft limestone around had been eroded. We entered near these and descended down a kelp wall to about 20m where we were met with a cloud of butterfly perch then down a slope to 40m into a canyon. A forrest of sea whips spread out into the distance, beautiful sponges covered every inch of rock. We only had a few mins at that depth, so we took a couple of photos and a bit of video, feeling the narcosis! Then after too short a time, started ascending along the sloping side that went into the shallows like a ramp. On the way up we gained back time, so could enjoy a massive 10 x 10m wall of yellow cup corals and jewel anemones. We spent our final portion of the dive around the shallow kelp looking for small nudies, and even hearing dolphins nearby though they didn’t show themselves. It was indeed a special site!
For our 2nd dive we jumped into a shallow inlet at Waterfall Bay that sheltered some of the declining giant kelp forest. Starting at the fringe, we descended next to a kelp to 15m! It was another first for me diving in a kelp forest like this one. And such an environment! As we got into the thick growth , the sunlight dimmed and flickered in dappled shafts between the kelp fronds. The ecosystem inside was teeming with invertebrates large and small, with fish cruising through the stipes. Magical!
I’ve been blown away with the diving in Tasmania! People always ask me where the best place I’ve been diving is. I always say it depends on what you are looking for, reefs, wrecks, fish, invets, warm, cold etc. Tasmania will definitely be my number 1 cold water WOW destination!
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