Description

Taking a break in Wynyard, Tasmania offers an unusual array of laid-back excitement. This delightful seaside town offers the best of relaxation, while providing adventure lovers plenty of scope to keep their adrenaline pumping. Spectacular views from Table Cape offer year-round enjoyment, made even more exquisite when the region brightens up with colour during the Wynyard Tulip Festival.

Located at the tip of the Inglis River (345 kilometres off Tasmania's capital, Hobart) the little town of Wynyard -important agricultural city- is among Australia's popular diving destinations.

Diving in Wynyard:

The water temperature in this region is moderately cool partly because of its unique location so we recommend at least a 5mm suit but better with 7mm for your comfort.

The sparkling sapphire blue coastline of Tasmania's North West offers some distinctive, easily accessible dive sites suitable for both scuba diving and snorkelling. The shoreline alternates from rocky and rugged to white sandy beaches.

Thanks to its rich marine ecosystem Wynyard has a lot of diving sites to offer. And especially if divers for a variety of coastal reefs and are planning to engage in wreck diving, they should visit Wynyard.

Marine species common to the region include parrot fish, leatherjacket, puffer fish, sea sweep, sea stars, morwong and members of the ray family, just to name a few.

The whole of Wynyard area has a comprehensive collection of reefs just two to eight kilometres away from the shore.

Rocky Cape and Boat Harbour have the best scenic variety on the north-west coast with fringing quartzite reefs and deep, offshore bommies. The invertebrate life in this area is considered some of the best in Tasmania. The Rocky Cape area, located between Stanley and Wynyard, has many sites right around the cape. It can be dived into two sides and is accessible via the western (Mary Anne Cove) and eastern (Burgess Cove) boat ramps. The best side to dive is governed by the weather conditions on the day.

There is a lot of small boulders on the reef and these make homes for a lot of smaller fish. You can see a lot of leatherjacekts, wrasse, seapike and more. Various species of nudibranchs, cup sponges, zoanthids and basket stars can be spotted whilst the deeper areas host fish species such as butterfly perch, large boarfish, luderick as well as usual Bass Strait reef fish. Currents do run through the waters but are usually manageable and the water is calmest about 1.5 hours after the turn of the tide.

For the adventurous divers Wynyard gets its famous wreck: the SS Southern Cross, a diving site. It is said that this wreck has been on the Australian sea bed for over a century, and is mostly covered with kelps and algae. This site can be tricky, with its rusty relics, but it provides fun challenge for amateur and professional divers. Bushes of wild sea kelps also thrive on the surrounding area of this site, making it a haven for bullseyes and crayfish.

Other Wynyard diving sites include The Golden Canyon, the Boatharbour Island, Elephant Shark Rock, Outer Reef, the Sanctuary, the Somerset, and the Pickle bottle. All of which are situated along the Bass Strait and are rich in aquatic species.

Noticeable currents flow through some area so it is recommended that divers stay on the sheltered side and hug the bottom.
WDR.