South West Rocks · Australia · Wall
The Wall
A 40 m sponge wall with groper, black cod and cruising whalers
Area photo: Richard Ling · CC BY-SA 2.0
A 40-metre wall at Fish Rock, heavy with sponge growth and cut with hidden caves. Giant Queensland groper and giant black cod hold under the rock, big schools of fish including pelagics work the open water off the face, and whalers cruise past. The dive centre pitches it at the adventurous diver rather than the casual one.
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
The Wall drops to 40 metres, and the interest is in working along the face and looking into what it hides rather than in covering distance. The rock is covered in sponge growth and broken by hidden caves. Giant Queensland groper and giant black cod are here, large enough that they register as shapes before they register as fish.
Off the face, enormous schools of fish hang in the open water, pelagics among them, and whalers cruise through. The rest is the usual Fish Rock mix, with tropical, subtropical and temperate species sharing the same wall. The dive centre calls this a site for the adventurous diver, and the depth is the reason: it is a dive to plan properly, watch the gas on, and turn on time rather than on inclination.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| 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.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Wall at Fish Rock?+
The wall runs to 40 metres. The dive centre describes it as a site for the adventurous diver, so it suits divers already comfortable at that depth with a planned gas and decompression profile.
Sources
- Dive Sites | Fish Rock & South West Rocks — Fish Rock Dive Centre
More dive sites in South West Rocks
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A tennis-court-sized reef with resident green turtles
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The southernmost reef where plate coral grows this thickly
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Black coral on the gutter walls, then semi-trailer-sized boulders
One of the largest ocean caverns in the Southern Hemisphere
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Eagle rays over the two narrow gutters at the southern tip
Drift
A deep drift to 40 m with groper out of the shadows
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Flat rock at 14 m where hammerheads patrol in summer
Wreck
A 1950 motor lighter upright at 87 m, found only in 2009
Similar dives elsewhere
A 12-15 metre gap over a 40 metre bottom, stacked with stingrays
Near-vertical walls dived four or five times a year
Black coral from beyond 100 m, growing at recreational depth
A wall from 25 m dropping past 50 m, usually dived as a drift