Diving

The Leeuwin Current travels past Geographe Bay each year, and brings with it the warm waters of the North, and the tropical and sub-tropical fish species. This is one of the few places in the world, this far south, where you can such a wide variety of marine life.

Best dive sites include:

Busselton Jetty
Noted as one of Australia's top 10 dive sites in the January 2008 edition of Travelling in Australia Magazine, the Busselton Jetty is home to over 300 species of marine life!  This is a great recreational dive, as the water depth is a maximum of 9 meters, which provides you with some great bottom time.  The jetty has been around for over 140 years, and over that time a fantastic forest of coral has attached itself to the wooden pylons.  Remember, when diving on the Busselton Jetty to ensure you remain 10 meters from the windows of the Underwater Observatory.

HMAS Swan Dive Wreck
The HMAS Swan was a Royal Australian Navy River Class Frigate Destroyer built in 1967.  Costing a staggering 22 million dollars it was the most expensive warship ever built in Australia. After travelling around 800,000 nautical miles through Australian and Asian waters, she came to her final resting place on 14 December 1997.  Located 1.3km off Point Piquet near the popular town of Dunsborough, the HMAS Swan sits in around 30 meters of water and was the first Navy vessel to be sunk as a dive wreck.  At 113 meters in length and 23 meters high she is a brilliant dive for all levels of diver experience.  Today it is home to a wide range of marine life, and provides a fun and fascinating dive.

If you are interested in diving on the wreck, there are several local dive companies who conduct charters to the site, check out the tours page for details of local dive companies.  If you are equipped with your own boat and dive equipment, there are mooring buoys available in the vicinity of the wreck and an access permit is needed.  A small fee is payable with money raised contributing to the cost of ongoing maintenance of moorings, navigation lights and the site.  On purchasing your permit, you will be issued with the guidelines for the use of moorings and diving the site.  Please use the moorings that have been placed around the site; anchoring is not permitted for safety reasons.  Permits are available from the Busselton or Dunsborough Visitor Centres.

Four-mile Reef, Coral Gardens, Peppermint Beach and Wright Bank are all sites around the Geographe Bay area that provide a variety of diving. 

Snorkelers should check out Meelup Beach and the West Busselton Snorkel Trail.

For locations and directions, refer to our regional map.