South West Rocks · Australia · Cave & cavern · Reef
Fish Rock Cave
One of the largest ocean caverns in the Southern Hemisphere
Photo: Photographer: Richard Ling <wikipedia@rling.com> · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fish Rock is a bare rock about 2 km off Smoky Cape, and a 120-metre cave runs right underneath it. Divers take the tunnel one way — in at the deep entrance, up a vertical chimney in full darkness, out into a blue-water opening on the far side where grey nurse sharks hold through most of the year. It is the dive people travel to South West Rocks for.
Where it is and how deep
30.9387° S, 153.1008° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You drop into the deep entrance at 24 m, over huge wobbegong sharks and a large bull ray resting on the bottom, with thousands of bullseyes hanging suspended in the mouth of the tunnel. It is worth a slow pass here before the daylight goes: clusters of live cowry shells sit on the rock, bryozoan lace coral grows off the walls, sea cucumbers work the sand, and a large Spanish dancer is a regular find.
From there the tunnel runs into the rock and the light disappears. You ascend one of the two vertical chimneys with only your torchlight piercing the darkness, and hundreds of painted crayfish follow your progress as glowing eyes at the edge of the beam. Higher up you pop into the bubble cave, an air pocket big enough for a quick word with your buddy, then carry on into the light zone.
The far end opens into blue water. Silhouetted in it are thousands more bullseyes, gorgonian coral fans, trumpetfish, black cod and plenty of other fish, and through most of the year grey nurse sharks hold in the opening. Work the walls on the way out for nudibranchs, bright orange zoanthids, moray eels and anemones with their clownfish; at the right time of year giant cuttlefish lay their eggs in the cave, and the large male flashes colour.
Background
Fish Rock is a small bare rock off Smoky Cape on the New South Wales coast, and a 120-metre cave runs right under it — famous as one of the largest ocean caverns in the Southern Hemisphere, and the reason divers travel here from around the world. The rock is also one of about a dozen places in New South Wales recognised as critical for the grey nurse shark, so fishing in the vicinity is restricted.
Marine life and season
- Sand tiger sharks
- Wobbegongs
- Stingrays
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows South West Rocks: Grey nurse numbers peak Jun–Nov; the Eastern Australian Current brings the warmest, clearest water Jan–Apr.
Know before you go
- The middle of the tunnel is fully dark and lit only by what you carry, so dive it with your own torch rather than sharing a buddy's light.
- The route runs one way from the deep entrance at 24 m up to the shallow opening, so gas has to cover the full 120 m of tunnel, not just the descent.
Photos from Fish Rock Cave
Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
Dive videos
Fish Rock Cave - South West Rocks · ginclearfilm on YouTube
Hammerheads at Fish Rock Cave @ South West Rocks · Ulrik Due Frøkjær on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Fish Rock Cave?+
The deep end of the cave is entered at 24 metres, and the tunnel runs about 120 metres through the rock, climbing from there via a vertical chimney to a shallow opening on the far side. The route runs one way, deep entrance to shallow opening.
Are grey nurse sharks seen at Fish Rock Cave?+
Yes. During most of the year grey nurse sharks are regularly sighted silhouetted in the shallow opening of the cave, along with thousands of bullseyes, gorgonian fans, trumpetfish and black cod.
How do you get to Fish Rock?+
By boat only. The rock lies about 2 km off the coast of Smoky Cape at South West Rocks, New South Wales, and the dive is run from a mooring on the rock itself.
Sources
- Dive Sites | Fish Rock Dive Centre — Fish Rock Dive Centre
- Smoky Cape — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- Grey nurse shark swimming through blue water at Fish Rock Cave by Photographer: Richard Ling <wikipedia@rling.com>, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Zebra lionfish with fanned banded fins resting on encrusting pink coral by Richard Ling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Silver teira batfish gliding through open blue water by Richard Ling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- White and yellow scripted paper bubble shell on red encrusting algae by Richard Ling, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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