Albany · Australia · Cave & cavern · Reef
The Caves
Beginner and intermediate caves in stone, down to 28 m
Area photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Caves is a small site in King George Sound built around stone structure, with caves at beginner and intermediate levels and a bottom at 28 m. The fish are the ones endemic to Western Australia's Great Southern coast - Western blue devil, groper and breaksea cod - and Port Jackson sharks are on the list of what may turn up.
Where it is and how deep
35.0459° S, 118.0504° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a compact site rather than a long swim, and the interest is the structure: a set of caves, some of them straightforward and some asking for more comfort in an overhead. The bottom is at 28 m, so the deeper parts get worked first and the shallower stone is left for the back half of the dive, which keeps the ascent gradual and the gas margin sensible.
The fish are the endemic Great Southern set - Western blue devil, groper and breaksea cod - and Port Jackson sharks show up here too. A light is worth carrying: with caves as the point of the site, it is the difference between looking into them and actually reading what is on the walls. Ending the dive over the shallower stone leaves time to go back through anything you rushed.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Albany: Charters run year-round; December to March is the dry, warm half of the year, June to August the wet half with July the wettest month, and the whales are in the Sound July to October.
Know before you go
- The caves are an overhead environment: even the easy ones want a light, a clear route out and enough gas in reserve to turn around, and the site bottoms out at 28 m.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Caves in Albany?+
The site goes to 28 m. The caves themselves are described as beginner and intermediate level, but the depth alone puts the dive past open-water limits.
Sources
- The Caves (Scubago) — Scubago
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