Rapid Bay · Australia · Reef
Lasseter's Reef
A 50 m limestone patch on sand, honeycombed with holes and crevices
Area photo: Peter Southwood · CC BY-SA 3.0
A low limestone outcrop on sand off the beach at Second Valley, roughly circular and about 50 m across, ringed by seagrass beds. The reef tops out around 3 m and the sand around it lies at about 8 m, with heavy kelp and seaweed growth over rock that is riddled with small holes and crevices. Reached from the beach or by boat.
Where it is and how deep
35.5084° S, 138.2187° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Get in from the beach at Second Valley, or drop straight onto the site from a boat. The reef is a low outcrop of limestone sitting on a sand bottom and surrounded by seagrass beds, roughly circular and about 50 m across, so once you are on it the shape of the dive is a circuit rather than a line — follow the edge where rock meets sand and you will not lose the structure.
Sand around the outcrop lies at about 8 m and the top of the reef comes up to roughly 3 m, which is the whole vertical range of the dive. The limestone is riddled with small holes and crevices like a sponge, and heavy growth of mixed kelp and other seaweeds covers it, so the interest is in working slowly along the rock and looking into the gaps rather than covering distance.
The offshore side carries the higher-profile structure and usually holds more fish, so it is worth spending the bulk of the dive there before crossing back over the top. The bottom is slightly silted and visibility drops locally as soon as it is disturbed, so keep your fins up and let anything you have kicked settle before you turn back through the same water.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime |
Season follows Rapid Bay: Seadragons are resident year-round; summer (Dec–Mar) brings the calmest seas and best visibility, while winter swell and cold make access harder.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Lasseter's Reef?+
The sand around the outcrop lies at about 8 m and the top of the reef is around 3 m, making it a shallow dive that suits long bottom times and repeat visits.
Can you dive Lasseter's Reef from shore?+
Yes. There is shore access from the beach at Second Valley, and the site can also be dived by boat. The reef is about 50 m across and surrounded by seagrass beds on sand.
Sources
- Diving in South Australia — Wikivoyage
More dive sites in Rapid Bay
Artificial reef
Stairs at the jetty end put you straight onto shallow pylons.
A resident leafy seadragon population lives under the old jetty.
Folded, weed-covered rock sloping off the point to sand at 9 m
Caves, overhangs and seagrass channels in 10 m of water.
Similar dives elsewhere
Find it by the white letter B painted on the cliff
A tennis-court-sized reef with resident green turtles
Shore-entry reef with a spring nursery of young tiger sharks
Ledges and swim-throughs in 6-9 m, straight off the car park