Jervis Bay · Australia · Wall · Drift
Stoney Creek
A wall from 25 m dropping past 50 m, usually dived as a drift
Area photo: Dave Naithani · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stoney Creek is a wall dive on the southern exterior of Jervis Bay, where the rock starts at about 25 m and drops away past 50 m. The area is prone to currents, so it is often run as a drift along the face, and gorgonian fans and sea whips grow on the ocean floor at its base. Depth alone restricts the site to experienced divers.
Where it is and how deep
35.1686° S, 150.7576° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Access is by boat only, on the southern exterior of the bay. You drop onto the top of the wall at about 25 m, so the dive has no shallow beginning, and the face then falls away past 50 m. The published figures do not agree on where it stops mattering: the Zentacle listing gives the site maximum as 128 feet, around 39 m, while the operator guide describes a wall dropping to 50 m and beyond. Where you level off is a decision to make before you enter the water.
The area is prone to currents, and that is generally treated as the point rather than the problem, since it provides the drift diving along the face the site is known for. Gorgonian fans and sea whips on the ocean floor at the base of the wall mean the deepest part of the dive is also the most rewarding to look at, which is exactly the pull a depth plan exists to resist. The operator guide notes the site is quite often done as a twin-tank or technical dive.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
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
- Stoney Creek, Jervis Bay — Zentacle
- Jervis Bay Dive Site Locations (2019 archive) — Deep 6 Diving Jervis Bay (Wayback Machine)
More dive sites in Jervis Bay
Reef
Juvenile fish over sand and rock groups, from 5 m to about 20 m
Reef
A boat-only deep dive to about 30 m on the Beecroft Peninsula
Multi-level sponge reef, 10-30 m, with the Wandra wreck alongside
Reef
Kelp gardens and rock gutters, no deeper than about 13 m
Reef
A self-guided shore dive over kelp and seagrass in 8-12 m
Boulder swim-throughs under a 100 m cliff, from 6 m to 35 m
Reef
Winter seals over boulder ground, with the bottom at 25-30 m
Cave & cavern
A 60 m slot in the cliff, entered at 16-18 m and naturally lit
Similar dives elsewhere
Blue-water swim-throughs at the lip of a 30 m drop
A sheer Pantar Strait face dropping to 90 metres
A 20 m-wide ridge to 60 m off Big Brother's shark-patrolled point
Near-vertical walls dived four or five times a year