1. The Apartments

The Apartments is the best Sydney dive site to see the Grey Nurse sharks. The Apartments has been a mating location for Sydney’s endangered Grey Nurse sharks for at least a half a century. The Apartments dive site is one if not the best recreational dive site for Sydney divers and not only has the largest Grey Nurse sharks in residence but tens of thousands of resident schooling Promfret fish, the Grey Nurse sharks can often be found located in or under these large schools of fish. Sydney Dive Charters dive guide will guide our dive group through the Apartments dive site to see the best areas with the marine life not only the Grey Nurse sharks, Promfret’s but Giant Cuttlefish, schools of Yellowtail / Yakka’s, Lionfish and the many large hard and soft coral or  colourful sponges, your dive guide with also take you through several large swim throughs depending on the individual divers preference. Sydney Dive Charters dive boat generally anchors in the shallow area of the Apartments dive site this allows our divers to start their boat dive off on the reef top in 8m of water before diving into the valley at 10m where we find the Grey Nurse, Wobbegong, Port Jackson or Crest Horn sharks and the schooling Promfret’s.  After exploring the valley your dive guide will guide to the area of the ‘Big Rock’ to dive though the ‘Cathedral’ swim through before moving in to the 16m area where we also commonly encounter the congregating Grey Nurse sharks.

The best time to see the sharks is in summer

Grey Nurse shark numbers increase from December and they peak around April/May, so diving in Sydney’s summer months is the ideal time to scuba dive with these amazing creatures.

The water temperature is a major factor for the Grey Nurse shark numbers and they’ll start to congregate in larger numbers when the water temperature reaches 20 to 25 degrees which is the optimal temperature range, even in the winter months we commonly see several Grey Nurse sharks not only at the Apartments but many of our other Sydney dive sites.

Grey Nurse sharks will let you know when they’re feeling threatened

Grey Nurse sharks will turn rapidly and give a sonic tail snap when they feel threatened, so divers will quickly realise when the shark determines they are getting too close. The resounding snap will be quite audible underwater as sound travels three times as fast as on land.

When not feeling threatened, the Grey Nurse sharks may get to within a few meters of scuba divers, particularly when encountered at the valley – an expanse where in some narrow spots you’ll be surrounded by small fish – which sometimes leads to exciting encounters when Grey Nurse sharks suddenly appear through the schools of fish.

2. Magic Point

Magic Point has been one of Sydney’s top shark boat dive sites – famous for its significant concentrations of Grey Nurse sharks. During the summer peak season, as many as 30 to 40 Grey Nurse sharks can be seen at the entrance to a cave or cruising the reef edge. The cave is located at the bottom of a wall that drops from 7m to 16m, our purpose built dive boat will anchor in the shallow area of the reef if able so our scuba divers can start their boat dive off in around 8m before setting off with our experienced dive guide for the shark cave. At the cave’s entrance, there is a large flat sand patch which the divers use as a viewing platform, once our divers have had seen the Grey Nurse sharks, schooling Yellowtail / Yakka’s Sydney Dive Charters dive guide will guide you down the reef edge to explore the sponge gardens to find the resident Weedy Seadragons, Bull Ray’s, or if were lucky the Pineapple Fish!  

Some ground rules for diving with grey nurse sharks at Magic Point

For everyone’s safety, including that of the sharks, all our scuba divers are asked to respect the following rules when diving at Magic Point.

First off, divers are not allowed to enter the cave and they must keep a respectful distance with the sharks. Grey nurse shark encounters take place along the reef edge. Divers will see them as they head down the boulder slope to the sand edge at between 18m to 23m

Pineapple fish on display!

Divers can also see pineapple fish in this area. These rare fish can be found along the ledges or small caves encountered on this dive. The pineapple fish’s skin has a white or silvery appearance with distinctive markings along their body.

Image credits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pineapplefish