South West Rocks · Australia · Reef · Drift
Green Island
Eagle rays over the two narrow gutters at the southern tip
Area photo: Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
A small island of rocky reef and sponge-encrusted overhangs off Smoky Cape, dived on the northern and eastern sides where the ledges hold wobbegongs, blind sharks, bull rays and the island's resident loggerhead and green turtles. Spotted eagle rays fly past the southern tip, and the island has been critical habitat for the grey nurse shark since 2002.
Where it is and how deep
30.9150° S, 153.0880° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Green Island sits just north of Smoky Cape Lighthouse, south of Gap Beach in Hat Head National Park, close enough in that you can pick it out from the lighthouse car park. Average depth is 14 metres, varying from 6 metres at the northern end to 18 metres at the southern end. There is usually a north-to-south current, so the local operator runs it as a drift and collects divers off the southern end rather than having them swim back.
The most popular ground is the northern and eastern sides, rocky reef with overhangs and ledges encrusted in colourful sponges, and it is the ledges that repay a slow look: a resting loggerhead or green turtle, both residents here, a large black stingray, or a very large wobbegong tucked underneath. Explore the boulders on the way past for cuttlefish, blind sharks and more wobbegongs, and watch the open water for spotted eagle rays flying overhead.
The eagle rays are often seen right on the southern tip of the island, where the wall becomes sheerer and two very narrow gutters cut in — a good place to finish before the pickup. Schooling fish work the same water, with bonito, jewfish and kingfish moving along the reef, and grey nurse sharks are part of the picture here as well.
Background
Green Island is a small island just north of Smoky Cape that has been categorised as a critical habitat area for the grey nurse shark. The listing took effect on 1 December 2002 and covers the island in addition to Fish Rock, part of a chain of aggregation sites along the New South Wales and Queensland coasts where the species gathers and is given special protection.
Marine life and season
- Wobbegongs
- Sea turtles
- Stingrays
- Eagle rays
- Sand tiger sharks
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Trevally & jacks
| 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 current normally runs north to south and the boat picks divers up off the southern end, so drift with it and keep track of your position rather than swimming back up the island.
Questions divers ask
Can you dive Green Island from shore?+
No. The island is only a little way off the shoreline north of Smoky Cape Lighthouse, but access from the mainland is difficult, so the dive site is only accessible by boat.
How deep is Green Island?+
Average depth is 14 metres, varying between 6 metres at the northern end of the island and 18 metres at the southern end, where the wall becomes sheerer and two narrow gutters cut in.
Sources
- Dive Sites | Fish Rock Dive Centre — Fish Rock Dive Centre
- Grey nurse shark conservation — Wikipedia
- Smoky Cape — Wikipedia
More dive sites in South West Rocks
Reef
A tennis-court-sized reef with resident green turtles
Reef
The southernmost reef where plate coral grows this thickly
Reef
Black coral on the gutter walls, then semi-trailer-sized boulders
One of the largest ocean caverns in the Southern Hemisphere
Drift
A deep drift to 40 m with groper out of the shadows
Reef
Flat rock at 14 m where hammerheads patrol in summer
Wreck
A 1950 motor lighter upright at 87 m, found only in 2009
Reef
Grey nurse sharks cruising a sand gutter at 24 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Grey nurse sharks on the rock from July to October
Nature-reserve island with wobbegongs in the rocks and stingrays on the sand
A protected colony of endangered grey nurse sharks
Stingrays in numbers at Sting Ray Alley, the deepest site here