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Diving Jervis Bay: Bowen Island
Consisting of a vast number of separate dive sites, Bowen Island has all round good diving, and offers protected diving in all but the absolute worst of conditions. Specifically protected in a southerly, Bowen Island is the choice of all local operators when conditions don’t permit getting outside, and southerlies prevent access to the northern inner bay locations.Situated on the southern mouth to Jervis Bay, Bowen Island sometimes has the misplaced reputation of being only a back up dive site, as operators will aim to dive outside if they can, and dive Bowen Island in the event of a southerly. Truth is though that Bowen Island has many spots providing outstanding diving opportunities.
On the northern side, Bowen Island Swimthoughs provide a real mix of diving, ranging from a deep sponge gardens in 25-30m, where many weedy seadragons can be found, while working in towards the island, the depth gets progressively shallower, and as the site name implies, there are a large series of swimthroughs, overhangs and gutters in 8-18m. It was in a canyon in about 10m here that I saw my first grey nurse shark in open water, followed in quick succession by some eagle rays and large schools of yellowtail.
On the north west corner of the island, only 100m or so from the swim throughs is an extension of the same reef, known as the Bowen Island Wall. As its name implies, the feature of the site is a wall dropping dow from about 4m to about 15m, again with a sponge gardens out in deeper water. There are several overhangs and small gutters, as well as crevices in the wall and the plateau at the top. The plateau and the wall itself are fairly plain, but there is a myriad of life in the crevices, gutters and overhangs, including some decent gorgonia, sponges and even some hard coral growth.
On the western side of the island is a shallow site known as the Nursery. With a maximum depth of about 12m, and a combination of a gently meandering wall dropping onto a sandy bottom, the Nursery may sound like a fairly boring dive, but the amount of juvenile marine life to be found here is astounding. In late winter, the Nursery is home to literally thousands of port jackson sharks, and at all times wobbegongs and catsharks can be found by the observant diver.
There are many other sites around Bowen Island, but these are three of the most dived, and certainly demonstrate the diversity of diving to be found in a small area. I’ve had weekends where we’ve dived Bowen Island continuously due to other sites being blown out, and the diving has each time been spectacular.