A Scuba Diver's Guide to Tasmania
Stuart HillTasmania offers amazing scuba diving sites and so much more.
Temperate waters beckon with kelp forests, sponge gardens, seals and more off this Australian island. And did we mention the craft beer?
1) Troy D
Resident cuttlefish on this 180-foot-long barge are always a favorite among divers. This wreck, which was scuttled in 2007 as an artificial reef, is in the center of Tasmania’s biodiversity, near Maria Island on the island’s southeast coast.
2) Penguin Parade
“Penguins bite toes” is just one of the things you’ll learn on a tour in Bicheno to visit a local colony of fairy penguins. (Best to opt for close-toed shoes over flip-flops or thongs, as the Aussies call them). Right around dusk — a good time to view — the penguins emerge from the ocean after a day of swimming and hunting, and return to their land-based homes.
3) Waubs Bay
Weedy seadragons, nudibranchs, stargazers, seahorses and cowfish are all regularly spotted by divers at this kelp-laden shore dive in Bicheno that bottoms out at just 45 feet.
4) Saint John Craft Beer Bar
Head to Tasmania’s second largest city, Launceston, for some of the best restaurants and breweries on the island, including this headquarters for hops, where international, Australian and Tasmanian craft beers flow.
5) Munro Bight
Diving through luminous blades of kelp is a singular experience. This boat dive off southeastern Tasmania is one of the island’s best remaining examples of a thriving giant kelp forest. (Climate change has not been kind to the kelp.) Look for lightning-quick seals from a nearby colony, darting through the towering strands.
6) SS Nord
Experienced divers shouldn’t miss Tasmania’s most intact shipwreck, the 290-foot-long cargo ship SS Nord, which sank to 137 feet in 1915 after hitting a pinnacle. Blanketed with sponges and anemones, the huge rudder and propeller are favorite subjects for photographers.
7) Freycinet National Park
The highlight of a visit to this park that juts out into the Tasman Sea is the chance to see the aptly named Wineglass Bay, a perfect crescent of white sand that you can hike down to or simply enjoy from a lookout on high.
8) Sisters Rocks
Easily one of the best wall dives Down Under, Sisters Rocks starts with a descent down vertical pillars to a seabed garden carpeted with sponges and sea whips that’s fishy beyond belief. Prepare to be awed as you get dwarfed inside a massive shoal of spotted butterfly perch.
9) Golden Bommies
Named for the two bommies (that’s Aussie for pinnacles) covered with sponges, crinoids and sea whips, this favorite Bicheno-area dive site off the east coast of Tasmania lies within the Governor Island Marine Reserve. It’s a deep one, bottoming out at 130 feet, and is considered the island’s finest sponge garden.
10) Museum of Old and New Art
This oddball museum that goes by the name MONA can be accessed by ferry from Tassie’s capital city, Hobart, and is not for the faint of heart (or stomach). Among the things you’ll see is a machine that mimics human digestion in a not-so-subtle way. It’s all very weird, yes, and also hard to look away from.
Divers Guide
Average water temp: From 50 to 60 degrees F
What to wear: 7 mm or drysuit
Average viz: From 30 to 100 feet
When to go: Year-round, but the winter months (June through September) bring the clearest waters
Contact: Eaglehawk Dive Centre
