Only an hour south of Sydney, the Illawarra region offers some of the best temperate water diving I’ve ever experienced. Above and below the water, the Illawarra has some amazing scenery. For wreck diving enthusiasts, the highlight is the wreck of the SS Bombo, a 20th century collier that sank off Wollongong, as well as the Ships Graveyard at Bellambi Reef. Off Bass Point we have several wrecks, mostly broken up, but well worth a look.

The wrecks of the SS Undola and the SS Tuggerah off the Royal National Park are also within range of Illawarra boat dives, with departures from Wollongong or Bellambi, or from Dolan’s Bay (Cronulla). Because these two wrecks are “in-betweenies”, they are described in the Diving Sydney’s Wrecks page.

For fish lovers, Toothbrush Island, Martin Island, Pig Island, Bass Point, the Pinnacle, Lou’s Reef and Bandit Reef all offer amazing encounters with everything from large schools of yellowtail, groper, kingfish, wrasse, wobbegong and Port Jackson sharks, and so on.

As for shore diving, Bass Point provides what is, arguably, some of the best shore diving in NSW. With sites like the Gutter and Bushrangers Bay, I’d have to agree that it would be hard to top. Kiama also offers a range of fantastic shore diving with options for most weather conditions.

For those with a taste for deeper diving, Bandit Reef, the Pinnacle and Wollongong Reef offer suberb diving down to 40m, and beyond, with frequent encounters with Pelagic fish and several types of shark.

SS Bombo

Bandit Reef

Martin Island

Toothbrush Island

Pig Island

Bass Point