SOUTHERN DELIGHTS OF THE TASMAN PENINSULA

Tasmania has some of the worst weather in Australia. It can be cold and wet at any time of the year and it is nearly always very windy, due to the island sitting in the ‘Roaring Forties’. However, Tasmania also has some of the most spectacular temperate water diving in the world.
    Some of the best of Tasmania’s diving is located off the Tasman Peninsula, in the southeast corner of the island, around 80km east of Hobart. Diving on the Tasman Peninsula is centred around Eaglehawk Neck, where the Eaglehawk Dive Centre run daily boat dives to many of the wonderful dive sites in the area.
    The rugged Tasman Peninsula is covered in dense eucalyptus forests and has many picturesque bays with white sandy beaches. Dominating the landscape are towering sea cliffs that rise over 250m above the ocean making for a dramatic backdrop to many of the dive sites. The sea cliffs are riddled with caves and are reminiscent of the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand. The most famous of the caves is called Cathedral Cave, which is the largest sea cave in Australia.
    It only takes a few minutes to travel to the cave in the Eaglehawk Dive Centre fast dive boat. Rather than anchor at the site, the crew secure the dive boat between two of the cliff faces, a tricky operation, to hold the boat in place. The only sign of the huge cave below the surface is a small crack in the wall.
    We quickly geared up and descended into the blue water. Reaching the rocky bottom at 25m we looked up to see an immense opening in the rock wall. Entering the cave, the kelp that covers the rocky bottom quickly disappeared to be replaced with sponges, ascidians, anemones, bryozoans, zooanthids and other invertebrate species.
    Shining our torches about we could see a scattering of reef fish, leatherjackets, wrasse, bullseyes, morwong and bastard trumpeters. We also spotted sea stars, sea cucumbers, feather stars, shrimps, hermit crabs and quite a few crayfish.
    As we swam through the main tunnel, which is large enough to drive a bus through, we could see numerous dark side passages to our left. We had been warned before the dive not to go too far into these dark passages as it forms a labyrinth where it would be easy to get lost without a guide line.
    On our right side were a number of large openings to the outside, providing plenty of ambient light in the main cave. We swam out one of these side passages to find abundant reef fish darting about the kelp, including several long-snouted boarfish. We also spotted a brilliantly coloured weedy sea dragon hiding in the kelp.
    There is a great deal to explore in Cathedral Cave, with our one dive only giving us a brief introduction to this large cave system.
    Eaglehawk Dive Centre have countless dive sites on the long coastline of the Tasman Peninsula. Divers can dive with fur seals at Hippolyte Rocks and Tasman Island or explore the remains of the SS Nord, the best shipwreck dive in Tasmania, which rests in 42m of water.
    During our few days of diving the area we explored a number of rocky reefs covered in kelp and a couple of the smaller caves. However, one of the main reasons we had travelled to Tasmania was to dive the giant kelp forests.
    The giant kelp forest in Fortescue Bay is the only one left on the east coast of Tasmania, the rest having died off over the last twenty years due to warmer sea temperatures. We descending to the rocky bottom at 15m and all around us were large columns of brown kelp.
    We inspected the closest giant kelp to see the fast holds firmly gripping the bottom and all the gas filled floats allowing the kelp to rise to the surface. We swam around a number of individual kelp trees before entering the main forest. It was an eerie sensation entering the forest, having a complete canopy of kelp fronds overhead and very filtered light. We spent over forty minutes swimming in and around the giant kelp marvelling at this unique forest.
    The marine life in the giant kelp forest was quite impressive, we encountered a range of invertebrate species, especially crayfish and abalone. Resident reef fish included long-snouted boarfish, butterfly perch, morwong, globefish, weedfish, wrasse, leatherjackets and bastard trumpeters. A couple of banded stingarees, small stingrays, were also spotted on the sand patches. One of the most delightful fish in the forest was the Shaw’s cowfish. These small box-like fish are wonderful too watch and make for great photographic subjects.
    During the dive we also encountered two draughtboard sharks resting in the seaweed. These metre long sharks have the ability to swell up if threatened and also have quite sharp little teeth.
    At the end of the dive we swam within the canopy as we did our safety stop. The flowing foliage was easy to swim around and a great way to end an incredible experience.
    When not diving there are many other attractions on the Tasman Peninsula. Only 19km from Eaglehawk Neck are the famous convict prison ruins of Port Arthur. There are also many bushwalking trails and natural attractions to be seen along the cliffs. The Tasmanian Devil Park is also nearby, allowing you to get very close to these aggressive little predators. Unfortunately, these very unique Tasmanian animals are facing extinction from a mysterious cancer that has already wiped out half the population.
    Diving conditions on the Tasman Peninsula are generally good year round, and there is nearly always somewhere to dive no matter what the weather conditions. When we were there in December the winds were blowing 30knots from the northwest, while the seas under the sea cliffs were like a pond. Water temperature varies from a rather chilly 11C in winter to 16C in summer, while the visibility varies from 10 to 30m.

Article appeared in Dive Pacific No.96 Oct/Nov 2006

For dive trip information - Eaglehawk Dive Centre