How to get there - This small bay, the next one south of the boat ramp at Mosquito Bay, can be reached by following Iluka Avenue. Take the first turnoff from George Bass Drive towards the sea on the southern side of the boat ramp and drive to a small carpark just behind the beach at Garden Bay.
Conditions - The bay is fairly exposed in north-easterly and easterly winds and waves can break over submerged rocky ridges if there is any swell.
What’s there - The folded rock formations of the headlands continue underwater making gutters and overhangs where bullseye fish like to hang out. NCMG saw a pair of large cuttlefish here one winter.
Facilities - Garden Bay only has picnic tables. The nearest toilets are at Mosquito Bay boat ramp.
How to get there – South of Malua Bay, turn off George Bass Drive into Illabunda Drive just before you get to McKenzies Beach and follow the road to the pump station on the reserve above the beach. You can park here and enter the water from the beach.
Conditions - The southern side of this bay is good to explore if the breeze is from the south as it is relatively sheltered by Pretty Point. If seas are calm and you have dive boots or similar you can walk along the rocks at the base of the headland and enter further out.
What’s there – Near the beach the rocks are covered in kelps. These give way to urchin barrens further out. While both Garden and Pretty Point Bays have the common fish sometimes you come across a real surprise. Nature Coast Marine Group found a small blind shark on one of their visits.
Facilities - The nearest toilets, change rooms and cold showers are at Malua Bay in the reserve opposite the shops.
How to get there - Parking is limited so best to go during less crowded times of the year. From Burri Pt Rd turn left into Beach Pde and near its end turn right to the carpark. This is sanctuary zone.
Conditions – Guerilla Bay is quite sheltered but you still need calm conditions to snorkel enjoyably. A gravel spit extends from the carpark to a rocky island. On the northern side of the spit is “the pot”. Depending on the tide it can be difficult to get across the jagged rocks to the water but it is worth the effort. A sheltered bay lies on the southern side of the spit.
What’s there - The pot is a deep hole with ridges of rock rising from the bottom. The ocean sides of the ridges are covered in growths such as encrusting sponges of various colours. On the far side of the pot is a small “cave” that you can swim into and surprise the numerous small crabs. There are usually several species of fish, some being visitors that have become trapped as the tide recedes.
The southern bay has seaweed-covered rocks on both sides and the crevices between them offer shelter to a wide variety of fish species such as mado, sweep, rock cale, blue groper, crimson banded wrasse, senator wrasse and luderick. It is not uncommon to come across octopus or stingrays.
Facilities - There is a picnic table beside the parking area. The nearest toilets are close to the Tomakin boat ramp at the end of Kingston Place.
How to get there - Drive to the carpark at the base of Melville Point then walk down the short track on the Tomaga River side of the hill. Or go first to the lookout on top of the point for a birds-eye view of the cove.
Conditions - Tomakin Cove is another relatively sheltered spot that is good for novice snorkelers. The sandy cove is almost completely surrounded by rocky outcrops that shelter it from most directions.
What’s there - Sometimes schools of small whiting, mullet and baitfish can be seen feeding over the sand and small stingarees and eagle rays bury themselves on the bottom. On the seaward side of the cove the dense cover of kelps shelter many small fish and garfish are common in the deeper gutters near Melville Point.
Facilities - The nearest toilets are close to the Tomakin boat ramp at the end of Kingston Place.
How to get there – Turn off George Bass Drive down the dirt track that runs on the Guerilla Bay side of the Barlings Beach caravan park.
Conditions - This spot is sheltered from north-east winds and so is a good option for summer afternoons. A spit of rocks and sand, that is underwater in most tides, runs out to the island.
What’s there - On the Tomakin side of the spit the bottom is sandy and shallow. Schools of bait fish and mullet can often be seen there. Nearer the island is a bed of strap weed seagrass and rocks covered with low growing seaweeds. Also on the rocks are many large pinkish sea squirts. Small urchins can be found in hollows and crevices. Further around the island is an underwater rock scree covered with large seaweeds above and bare rock below low tide mark. The bare rock, or barrens, is deceptive as most of the rocks are covered with pink encrusting coralline algae, the only plants that can withstand the grazing of the numerous large black-spined urchins. If the tide is covering the cunjevoi they will be open filtering plankton from the water.
The other side of spit can be more difficult to enter as it is rocky. Once near the island the scene is of vertical rock faces, covered with seaweeds and encrusting animals, with deeper channels between.
Facilities - The nearest toilets are close to the Tomakin boat ramp at the end of Kingston Place.
How to get there –From the main road through Broulee turn south into Heath St, then left into Bayside St. Park at the end of the street and walk about 200m along the track to the beach then along the beach to the island. The Island is a Nature Reserve.
Conditions - In a south or south east wind the north side of Broulee Island can still be good for snorkeling if there is little swell. It is a longer walk from the nearest carpark. Broulee Island is a sanctuary zone so no fishing or collecting is permitted.
What’s there - The shallow sheltered corner where the beach ends is a sandy habitat with a few rocks. Small fish tend to congregate near the rocks and porcupine fish can usually be seen here.
Further around the island the rocks enclose two shallow sandy lagoons with seagrass. One has the larger, greener strap weed. At higher tides these lagoons are perfect for littlies learning to snorkel.
Shellgrit Bay is bit further around. Drifts of kelp tend to mass near the shore and it can be a bit unpleasant, though harmless. The bay has a large stand of strap weed and if you look hard you may see the seagrass inhabitants. To either side of the bay past the seagrass there are seaweed-covered rocks. Frequently seen there are long-finned pike, luderick, yellow-finned bream, drummer, red morwong, rock cale and various wrasses.
Facilities - Toilets and showers at the Broulee Surf Club, Heath St.
How to get there - When the peak of the holiday season is over, seas are calm and rock-fishers less numerous, the drop-off along the rock platform at South Broulee is a great place for snorkeling. Park in the Surf Club carpark at the end of Heath St and enter the water at the corner of the beach. Take great care if entering from the rocks at the edge of the rockshelf.
Conditions - There can be an outgoing rip current near the rocks but there are several safe places to get out if you need to avoid it.
What’s there - Near the beach shallow sandy areas are interspersed with seaweed-covered rocks. You will usually see schools of small fish such as mado and sweep, and larger fish hiding amongst the weed.
Further out the edge of the rock platform has broken off into huge underwater boulders topped with kelps and cunjevoi. Spengler’s tritons, which prey on cunjevoi, are frequently seen dining. Deep crevices between the boulders house black-spined urchins which have grazed the rocks to barrens where no plants grow except the pink encrusting coralline algae. Small territorial fish such as white-eared and girdled parma also live in the crevices, their colourful juveniles looking like tropical fish. Red morwong and schools of yellowtail, scad and luderick are often seen near the rocks, and tailor are seasonal visitors.
Facilities - Toilets and showers are available at the Broulee Surf Club and picnic tables are also near the club.
How to get there – From the main Broulee road turn south into Heath St, left into Bayside St then right into Harbour Drive. Park at the end of Harbour Dve. Walk 200m along the track to the beach.
Conditions - When the north-east wind makes other places too choppy for snorkeling at least one side of Shark Bay is often perfect.
What’s there - The side of the bay nearest to Broulee Island has unusual beds of seagrasses both eel grass and paddle grass. In summer these may have seahares and the tangled egg strings they lay. With luck, you may spot a catfish in the seagrasses.
Along the edge of the rock platform the boulders drop quickly to the sandy bottom. It is worth looking closely and duck-diving to look under overhangs. You are likely to see fish such as ladder-finned pomfret, bulls-eyes and old wives. If you are very lucky you may spot a wobbegong lazing on the bottom. If so, look but do not go too close or provoke these large sharks as they can become aggressive.
The western side of Shark Bay offers a completely different underwater scene. Near the rock platform is a shallow submerged plateau of boulders interspersed with sand. It has a great variety of seaweeds from large kelps to delicate fronds of red algae and bright green cactus like species. Urchins and turban snails love this habitat. Probably the most numerous fish are rock cale, or rock cockies as they are often called. White-eared and girdled parmas of all ages, mado and sweep are common and you may be lucky enough to come across a fiddler ray resting in one of the sandy hollows.
Near the beach the plateau becomes a sandy lagoon great for kids. It often contains small bream, juvenile luderick, mullet, goatfish and numerous toad fish.
On the bay side the plateau drops off suddenly to a sandy bottom and this edge is thickly covered in seaweeds. Senator wrasse, eastern blue groper and the brown females and juvenile gropers seem to prefer this area. It is also home to colourful male crimson-banded wrasse and the reddish females speckled with white. Herring cale are usually seen disappearing among the weed. The brown female is well camouflaged but the dark male with his two irridescent blue tail stripes is quite noticeable. A school or two of the tiny colourful hula fish is likely to be hovering nearby.
Facilities - Toilets and showers are available at the Broulee Surf Club, Heath St.
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Snorkeling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling
Snorkeling
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View snorkeling sites: Potato Point to Narooma |
