Our local diving locations in Port Stephens, only 2.5 hours drive from Sydney...
People travel all across the world to access beautiful dive sites. So much so, that the magic of spots close to home are sometimes often overlooked. We hope that this information about our favourite dive sites in the area helps to both paint a picture of these special places, and inspires you to get out and explore.
We can't wait for you to join us in experiencing the magic of Nelson Bay!
Nelson Bay & Port Stephens
An ocean lover's paradise
Situated on the Coast of NSW, just 2.5 hours drive north of Sydney, sits the stunning Coastal town of Nelson Bay in the Port Stephens area.
We live and breathe (or rather, not breathe) the ocean! We genuinely believe that the dive sites we run our freediving courses and boat trips at, are some of the best and most stunning locations in Australia, and are home to some incredibly diverse marine life. Here’s where we run our sessions, and a little insight into why this place holds a special kind of magic in the water!
Photo: Shaun Woodford | @shaunwoodfordofficial
Fly Point, Little Beach & Halifax
Shore Dive Freediving Sessions
We run our shore dives for our courses and depth training sessions out of a beach called Little Beach. It is a protected bay within Nelson Bay, meaning that swell and (most) winds don’t affect the dive site at all, leaving it to be a calm, relaxing place to learn to dive or sharpen your freediving skillset! It has a mostly sandy bottom, with small patches of wrecks that are starting to become reefs with sponge corals, fish, Blue Groupers, seahorses and nudibranchs!
Just a 50m swim out from the shore, you have 15m depth, and just a 80m swim out from shore, we have access to 21m of depth, year round (and not in a busy, murky boat passage like some dive sites in Sydney!)
Port Stephens & Barrington Coast Local Islands
Boat Dive Freediving Sites
We are so lucky to have 5+ Islands just a short boat ride away from Nelson Bay. For most of our diving, we visit Cabbage Tree Island and Broughton Island. Where we dive at both of these Islands are Marine Protected areas, meaning there is no fishing or spearfishing allowed, and so there is so much fish life to see! Keep reading to learn more about these 2 locations.
Photo: Shaun Woodford | @shaunwoodfordofficial
Cabbage Tree Island
port stephens, NSW
A stunning temperate rainforest Island located just a 10 minute boat ride out of Nelson Bay. The Island is home to the rare seabird, the Goulds Petrol, and hasn't been touched in over 30,000 years.
The Island is an insane backdrop for our line sessions that are part of our freediving courses, and has a beautiful protected bay where we run the first dive sessions of our Boat Freediving Courses. There is also a shipwreck sitting in 10-12m depth depending on the tides, that makes for a really, really juicy photo for instagram or your parents fridge.
There are beautiful kelp forests which are home to an array of marine life, and it’s not uncommon to see turtles, Ray’s, friendly Blue Groupers and loads of fish life.
Photo: Shaun Woodford | @shaunwoodfordofficial
Broughton Island
Barrington Coast, NSW, Australia
Just a 35 minute to 50 minute (weather depending) ride out from Nelson Bay, this big and beautiful island sits out of the ocean with it’s stunning granite cliffs, white sandy beaches and bluewater. Where we dive is just next to The Looking Glass Isle, which is a passageway (around 5-7m wide) that cuts through the island, with light streaming through it’s openings at the top.
Inside the Looking Glass, it drops down from about 5m to 13m in depth and is almost always filled with the local Grey Nurse Sharks! This is one of our favourite dive sites in the whole of Australia, and weather permitting we always spend some time exploring in here, so that you can put all your new skills to the test, and dive with these beautiful creatures!
Port Stephens Annual Humpback Whale Migration
MAY - NOVEMBER
Above the water, the coastline of Port Stephens is also one of the closest and best spots in NSW to view the annual Humpback Whale Migration which happens every year from May through to November. Up to 40,000 whales swim past during these times and it’s incredible to witness both mother whales and their newborn calfs, making their journey either North or South, depending on the time of year.
During these times it is almost guaranteed we will see Whales on our trips out to the islands!
Our dive boat is available for private whale watching/snorkel/freedive charters if this is what you were looking for.
Photo: Shaun Woodford | @shaunwoodfordofficial