south west rocks dive centre

Diving at Fish Rock Cave with South West Rocks Dive Center is one of the top diving experiences I've had, from the GBR to Galapagos to Cozumel to Tierra del Fuego.SITES:Fish Rock Cave is about 105 meters long in total, with one tunnel leading into the cave at 12 m depth, and at the other end of the cave is a pair of chimneys leading down to a second tunnel at 24 m depth. Depending on sea conditions, you may enter one tunnel and exit the other.When I went, the surge was quite strong and we entered the 24-meter deep tunnel, swimming with the swell and grabbing on to the sides of the tunnel so as not to get sucked back out, before swimming up the chimneys into the belly of the cave. I quite liked this approach, as it was exciting to work to get into the cave and then gradually emerge from the darkness and see the light silhouetting fish at the mouth of the cave. A bunch of wobbegongs were hanging out on the rocks at the entrance of the cave.In early July 2014, surface temperature was about 21C / bottom, 19C. I wore a 3 mm shorty under a 7 mm full with a 5 mm hood. Visibility was about 5-8 m.Outside the 12-meter deep tunnel is Shark Gutters, which is a trench that is home to a bunch of grey nurse sharks (probably around 15 when I was there, but the staff said sometimes they get scores).STAFF was professional and friendly. Thorough dive briefing, clearly explaining the approach to the cave, where to go, etc. Thanks to the DM, Nate, for a great experience!GEAR was all in good condition as far as I could see.I only wish we could have stayed in the cave longer!

I just came back from South West Rocks after 3 days diving with South West Rocks Dive Center, and I only have excellent opinions about them. Dive sites are fantastic, highly recommended.The dive center is really big, with a lot of staff, really friendly and nice guys, and very professionals under water. The center has very nice rent gear, in excellent conditions, absolutely everything is tagged and maintained perfectly (which is how it should be, but not all centers do that). All tanks are nitrox, tagged indicating %Ox, max deep and month or revision (it is your responsibility as a diver to check the % of oxygen, which the center offers).The center also has accommodations (private rooms and bunks), very clean, with common areas also perfectly maintained and offering toasts/juices/coffee/tea..... Check in advance since they have packages dive+accommodation, and even if you could stay somewhere else (the city is not big) I prefer to wake up, grab a coffee and go downstairs to the dive shop so I can sleep as much as possible.I saw three different boats, all clean and well maintained.There is a high concern about safety as you can see with the nitrox tanks, life jackets when crossing the bars, not having a big group of divers per guide (we were around 7-8 per boat with 3 guides in each so it makes a good rate guide-divers), if a dive has to be cancelled (which we were close to it) because of sea conditions it will be cancelled. There briefing before diving is correct, indicating what to do in case of missing the guide, etc.....The cave and the sharks were an absolutely amazing experience, which for sure I will repeat in the future. Thanks to South West Rocks Dive center for an amazing 3 days.

I have dived with the team at South West Rocks Dive Centre about five times now and I can say that each time I have been there I have had a fantastic time as have the friends I manage to bring along. While the weather can be changeable the service, friendliness and professionalism of the staff is the best I have experienced anywhere in Australia or the Pacific region. The dive sites are really as good as the other reviewers have said so I wont go there. Simply I would like to state that if you want to have a great weekends diving at one of the best dive locations anywhere then you need to go here !!

With a few thousand dives from around Australia and overseas under my belt I still rate Diving Fish Rock with SWRDC some of the best diving I have ever done. Fish Rock is a small island offshore from the beautiful township of South West Rocks. This Rock is the home of Grey Nurse Sharks which congregate in often large numbers as they move up and down the East coast of Australia. These sharks have a fierce look to them but they are harmless and have been given the title of "Labrador of the Sea". Fish Rock also has the longest sea cave in Australia which goes straight through the Rock. The cave dive is a must do and provides a truely unique experience as you swim the 120m cave with often Rays, Wobbegongs, Turtles resting. Fish Rock also recieves visits at certain times of the year by Humpback Whales. This is an awesome experience to have Humpback whales brenching near the boat when your on your surface interval.The staff at SWRDC cater for all levels of experience from those wanting to try a introductory dive (no experience) to those hard to please underwater photographers such as myself. The staff do all this in a relaxed easy going manner but with utmost importance of safety with the goal of providing the best possible dive. The staff have done thousands of dives out there and want to give you the best dive to the conditions as possible and it is important to listen to the brief no matter what level of experience you have. SWDC also provide free Nitrox (32%) which is an added safety feauture to both inexperienced and experienced divers alike.The Dive centre has accomodation above the shop in both private rooms and dorm style which is great value especially for those travelling up and down the East Coast on a budget. Next Door to the SWRDC is a supermarket and takeaway outlet which is great for convenience and price. The rental gear is in great condition and they provide steel tanks in great condition with decent fills and clean gas/air. Peter (one of the owners) is very meticulous with his compressor, tanks, and Nitrox and this is shown with his attention for detail. SWRDC provide genuine down to earth service with a great sense of humour with the ultimate goal of giving you the best and safest dive possible at one of the Australia's best dive sites.

A cave, sharks, rays, turtles, crustaceans, schools of fish...extremely cool dive site. Accommodation is nice and clean with a big common room and free breakfast. Free nitrox which is sweet, and although I only rented a wet suit, the rental gear looks to be of solid quality.In addition to the diving, what really makes this place are the staff...it's a picturesque small town and they make you feel right at home. Very helpful and organized, yet super laid back and personable. Cheers to all of them, with special thanks to Kevin, Sonny, Brooke and Nathan. It's also not THAT hard to get to if you're a traveller...just bus it to Kempsey on the East Coast between Sydney and Brisbane and they'll pick you up. If you like very cool dive sites and very nice people, go there; you will be happy you did. Hope to return in the future!

We had the pleasure of doing our dive on the 7th of Feb. It was fantastic got within around about reaching distance with the sharks and plenty of other surrounding fish. When we arrived they assumed we had dived before, which caused a bit more of planning on their end. We couldn't go into the fish rock dive, needless to say they catered to us and we could dive around the entrance where the sharks were anyway, it still turned out to be a great day. If I had any advice just let them know if you have or haven't dived before.

WOW !! Where do I start? Everything was fabulous! Diving: We were amazed! Sharks, sharks and sharks...right there you could almost touch them, of course you don't!! But the ones I saw were getting closer and closer, I was sure they were trying to sniff me! Sensational!! Also saw mantas, turtles and plenty of other fish. The cave is like no other I have done before... and I smugly thought I had done quite a few. That put me back in my place ;) The boat journey out to fishrock is a bit choppy but with all safety precaution in check there is no reason to be alarmed. If you get sea sickness take your tablets! BTW impressive navigation skills in those waters, well done captain Pete!! I actually loved the journey!Kit: After a quick check-in the guys in the shop kitted us out with great gear. Everything looks and is in good condition! If you tend to feel the cold like me (even in tropical climates) ask for a shortie to wear under the full with a hood cause it's pretty dam chilly down there. The guys will ask you anyway ;)Accommodation: Purrrrrfect!!! You wont need anything else. I love the communal areas where you can meet fellow divers and exchange shark hunt stories, photos, videos or contact info over a few brews or vino. It's close to town if you want to head in for some dinner, and next door to a super if you prefer to buy dinner and make it in the kitchen. All areas are clean, the bed comfortable and breaky is self serve so make yourself right at home! Tip: bring an eye mask as it gets light pretty early.People: Now, with this Dive team it's no wonder I gave them 5 star! Even when a dive centre offers top class everything else, it just wouldn't score at the top if it weren't for the great people. The level of care from all the team at South West Rocks Dive Centre give this diving experience a massive cherry on top!I want to give my super special thanks to Pete, Brooke, Kevin and all the other members who made our diving experience fantastic and memorable. Cant wait to come back!!I'm wearing my souvenir hoodie with pride!

I did an intro dive out at fish rock with SWR dive, and had an absolute blast! I have done a few intro dives now, so this was not the first, and I had only done a dive at another location the day before, so didn't really get the chance for SWR dive to teach me too much, they just did a quick refresher to make sure I knew what I needed to, and watched a video. I liked that it was one on one with these guys though, as all of the other ones I have done have been done in a group of two to four. I do understand why it is needed out at fish rock to go one on one though, as this was definitely one of the harder ones that I have done, needing to cling to and climb rocks in a current to get to the entrance to the cave, but it was all well worth it! Seeing all those big beautiful sharks in their natural environment was amazing, and I will be back when I am certified to swim through the cave!

This was our 4th time to stay and dive with these guys. We normally stay in the backpackers syled accommodation, but this time we thought we would try the private rooms. It has a full kitchen which was really useful. However, with 8 adults sharing one bathroom, it became problematic when we all needed it at the same time every morning to get up and to the dives. There is room to convert a space for another bathroom to make life easier for the divers when it is full.The diving was great, as to be expected with these guys. Nathan was an excellent DM who gave us a thorough dive brief and catered for everyone's abilities and desires. The first day however, with Mike, the dive brief was non-existent and we needed to stay as a group which didn't allow us, with a camera, to have time to explore the area for the little things, or to hang quietly to enjoy the sharks. Loved the free nitrox and although we had our own gear, the hire gear is new and well maintained.

we drove down from Bayron Bay, and decided to have an over night stop and dive fish rock cave, the dive center has rooms to let right above the shop.The accommodation was perfect for the occasion, we were 5 and there were 6 bunk beds, the toilets and showers are not in the room. The place is clean and well looked after.Including a kitchen, tv, free wifi and sofas. There is common food, cereals and milk for breakfast. The IGA supermarket right outside is a great plus. The restaurant area of town is a 10 minute walk.The shop is great and well tended too, with top of the line gear, and great staff.We had 4 hours on the water with 2 dives, the dive masters were excellent, friendly and knowledgable, very helpful to beginners. The dive was the best I've ever done, got to see, Sharks, turtles etc.Must go back.

This is our 3rd time diving with South West Rocks dive centre. We have found them always to be a very professional, well run team. Each dive was different and exciting with loads of fish life, grey nurse sharks, turtles and this time the added bonus of 2 hammerheads.The boat rides to the dive site are fast and exciting on there own.We will definitely be back to enjoy another outing with them.

I'm going to call this the double edged sword....have been diving for 12 months now and have been loving all the sites around Sydney. Until I dived Fish Rock at SWR! The dive got postponed in the morning as the conditions were rough but we made it out just before lunch and the diving was SUPERB! I've dived magic point in Sydney plenty of times and watched the grey nurses swimming in the cave but nothing like this where you swim amongst them. Absolutely magical! The second dive through the cave is insaaaanely fun! As I'm a huge fan of swim throughs, I couldn't begin to translate how much I enjoyed it. Our dive master Steve was fantastic throughout both times and assisted my wife whenever required as she is fairly new to the sport. Book with swr dive! You certainly won't be let down!

New rental equipment and staff that know what they're doing made me feel safe when diving with South West Rocks Dive Centre. Very professional staff from the moment we entered the shop until we left. I would definitely recommend this dive centre to my friends!

I had two great dives with this crew. Diving around the rock was a great experience, even though the viz wasn't that great on that day. Then came the dive in the Cave. that was a lot of fun. Had a close up experience with a few Nurses and nearly high 5'd them..... so yes I would recommend this dive experience. .... so close to the shore... so If you want to experience Grey Nurses, these beautiful laid back sharks, come here......

Thank you for taking the time to write a review. I am glad to hear that you had a great experience with the South West Rocks Dive Centre. But I am sorry to hear you had an issue with one of our Dive Masters. Mike is an experienced Dive Master with well over 2000 dives and has been leading dives at Fish Rock almost every day for the past 8 years. In all that time I have not had a complaint about Mike's professionalism only praises about his great nature, sense of humor and skills as a Dive Master. So I am very surprised by your comments. Just to address a couple issues you had during your dive. Part of the brief given before each dive is 'if the Dive Master has a problem with someone in the group i.e. low on air and must leave the group, that you are to stay where you are, monitor your air / no deco time and wait for the dive master to return for a reasonable amount time or until you are low on air." Mike had to take a diver back to the mooring line (about 15m from where you and your buddy were) because they were low on air and returned a minute later but you had already moved away. Mike spent the next few minutes searching for you then surfaced and found you and your buddy safely on the surface next to the boat. Mike followed protocol, as stated you are both experienced divers and surfaced safely together. The other issue about weighting, Mike may have failed to properly explain that if you normally use 6 weights with an aluminium cylinder the equivalent is 4 weights with the steel cylinder you were using and he always carries a couple extra just in case. Thank you again for diving with the South West Rocks Dive Centre and I look forward to diving with you again in the future.