Jervis Bay, the area around Echo Point

Jervis Bay · Australia · Reef · Kelp forest

Echo Point

Kelp gardens and rock gutters, no deeper than about 13 m

Area photo: Dave Naithani · CC BY-SA 3.0

Echo Point is a shallow rock site on the Beecroft Peninsula, roughly 200 m from the Drum and Drumsticks. The terrain is very rocky, cut into gutters and swim-throughs, with kelp gardens and abundant sponges over the stone. Maximum depth is about 13 m, and it is catalogued as a beginner-friendly dive reached by boat.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Echo Point: typical dive to 13 m (to 43 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit13 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

35.0454° S, 150.8364° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The dive is a boat drop about 200 m along the peninsula from the Drum and Drumsticks, close enough that a boat working the rocks can shift here when the plan calls for something shallower. Nothing on the site is deeper than about 13 m, so the profile stays flat and gas rather than no-stop time sets the length of the dive. Access is by boat only; the listing records no shore option for this stretch of the peninsula.

The ground is very rocky, broken into gutters and swim-throughs that you follow rather than cross, with kelp gardens and sponges in quantity over the rock. The site is rated for beginners, and the shallow depth suits working one section of rock slowly instead of covering distance: staying inside a gutter system and looking through the swim-throughs is the way this one repays a long bottom time.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Echo Point
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodPrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Jervis Bay: Apr–Jul is clearest as summer runoff clears; seals are present through winter and grey nurse numbers peak in the cooler months.

Sources

  1. Echo Point, Jervis Bay — Zentacle

More dive sites in Jervis Bay

Juvenile fish over sand and rock groups, from 5 m to about 20 m

5–20 m · max 30 mbeginner

A boat-only deep dive to about 30 m on the Beecroft Peninsula

to 30 madvanced

Multi-level sponge reef, 10-30 m, with the Wandra wreck alongside

10–30 mintermediate

A self-guided shore dive over kelp and seagrass in 8-12 m

5–12 mbeginner

Boulder swim-throughs under a 100 m cliff, from 6 m to 35 m

6–35 mintermediate

Winter seals over boulder ground, with the bottom at 25-30 m

to 30 madvanced

Cave & cavern

A 60 m slot in the cliff, entered at 16-18 m and naturally lit

16–18 mintermediate

Cave & cavern

A true overhead cave running 70-80 m back into the cliff

16–30 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Reef

ABC Bay

Goat Island · New Zealand

Find it by the white letter B painted on the cliff

2–6 mbeginner

Reef

Shag Rock

Goat Island · New Zealand

A rock that shows at low tide and disappears at high

3–5 mbeginner

Reef

Yellow Sponge Garden

Goat Island · New Zealand

Yellow sponges on sand ledges at 8 to 9 m

8–9 mbeginner

Reef

Bait Reef

South West Rocks · Australia

A tennis-court-sized reef with resident green turtles

5–10 mintermediate