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Diving the Illawarra: Bass Point
Bass Point is one of the premier shore diving locations in NSW, with a variety of sites that allow diving in almost all weather conditions, as there are dive sites on the northern, southern and eastern portions of Bass Point.
Located near the township of Shellharbour, the most popular sites at
Bass Point include the Gutter, Bushrangers Bay, The Loader, The Arch,
Tassie Holes, and Maloney’s Bay. There are also excellent boat dives
(departing from Shellharbour) at locations including Lou’s Reef, the
Pinnacle, the Arch, and Hole in the Wall, among others.On a fine weekend, there are likely to be dozens of divers out at Bass Point, mainly congregating at the Gutter and Bushrangers Bay, BBQ facilities providing an excellent location for a picnic, making it a perfect spot for a great family day.
The Gutter is named for the entry area, which is a cutting into the rocky shoreline. A giant stride begins the dive, with divers generally heading due north until reaching a bommie at about 11m, choosing there to either turn east and move to a sponge gardens in 18-22m, or continuing north to another sponge gardens in 25m. The former is perhaps the best spot I’ve seen for nudibranchs, with an incredible variety of types. You usually see lots of fish, including usual wrasse, gropers, bullseye, leatherjackets, pike and so on, and the vis is generally very good.
Bushrangers Bay consists of two entry areas, either a walk-in from the beach at the inner bay, or a giant stride from rocks at the outer bay. Either way, the diver will generally spend most of their dives in the outer bay, where an incredible variety of fishlife can usually be found in generally excellent visibility. Bushrangers Bay is a marine protected area, meaning any type of fishing is prohibited, as is taking of game. Rangers will confiscate scuba gear, so its best to leave this alone.
The Arch is located on the south-eastern side of Bass Point, not far from the outer bay entrance to Bushrangers Bay. This is a fantastic shore dive, but can only be dived in very calm conditions as it can be quite a dicey entry across barnacles into the exposed ocean. Best to dive the Arch in a westerly, and look for the white painted rocks to mark the entry point. Underwater the terrain is great, with a fairly sharp wall dropping from about 7m down to the sand at 27m. Follow the wall around to the Arch which is a massive swim through with great fishlife and sponge gardens. After visiting the Arch, you have three choices, surface and exit there (has to be very calm conditions), head north and follow the wall into Bushrangers Bay, or head south and exit near the Hole in the Wall. Only the second option is viable in anything but calm conditions. A truly great dive site, one of the Illawarra’s treasures.
The Loader is located outside the Bass Point reserve, on the left hand side of the road just before the gates. It is easily located, being a pier used to load ships from the nearby gravel quarry. An interesting site, it is shallow (no more than 11m) with a rocky bottom. Features include a large chain and anchor, and various wreckage from an old pier parallel to the current Loader, as well as from the wreck of the SS Kiltobranks. Around the pylons of the Loader a lot of fishlife can be found. This is a good second dive, and can be a fantastic night dive.
Maloney’s Bay is also located just outside the Bass Point reserve, on the right hand side just before the gates, and basically opposite the The Loader, and adjacent to the quarry. The walk from the carpark down to the beach is pretty much like that at Bushranger’s Bay, but perhaps longer! Once at the beach, walk in anywhere and then follow the bay along the eastern side (left). Its a shallow site with a sandy bottom, but the water here can be very clear. Similar fishlife to the Loader, but without the structure means that this is a last resort dive when the northern side is blown out. It can be an interesting dive, but make sure your car is locked and valuables are out of site, as many cars get broken into here. Personally, I’d head to Bushrangers most of the time.