Off the western Australian coast south of Perth, Shoalwater Islands Marine Park offers a delightful combination of reefs exploding with marine life, pristine beaches, submerged shipwrecks, excellent snorkeling trails-- and such inhabitants as dolphins, sea lions, and penguins. Anyone who enjoys marine life is in for a special treat at Shoalwater Islands, but if you’re a recreational scuba diver, you will be thrilled to discover the wonders that await below, as well as above, the surface.
Island delights
Shoalwater Islands Marine Park covers an area of around 6545 hectares, including areas of Shoalwater Bay, Cockburn Sound, and Warnbro Sound. It provides protection for a huge number of marine creatures, on land, in the air, and in the sea. Safe and family-friendly beaches, rollicking surf, safe waters, and crisp breezes encourage sunbathers, surfers, swimmers, and wind-surfers. Before you even take your first dive here, you may discover such treasures as Little Penguins, which breed in the burrows of aptly named Penguin Island. Breeding colonies of silver gulls, fairy terns, and other marine birds also fill the beach and air with their soaring air dives.
Once you hit the water, be on the lookout for bottlenose dolphins in the area. (Dolphin tours are available if you don’t want to leave sightings to chance.) Or you may spot a member of the colony of sea lions who fish and swim in these waters, particularly around Seal Island. This Australian breed is the rarest of its kind in the world. With their natural curiosity, they’ll often swim right up to you. Don’t tease them, though, as their bites can be unexpected and painful.
Diving the reefs
Once you hit the reefs surrounding the islands, you’re in for some excellent diving. There’s a designated dive park area in the marine park, known as West Coast Dive Park. It’s located off the Rockingham coast, less than an hour south of Perth.
The reefs in this area are abundant with mollusks, urchins, sea stars, and great varieties of fish species. The islands themselves are composed of limestone and provide an unusually rich marine environment for both temperate and tropical species. The reefs are filled with caverns and swim-throughs, creating enjoyable discoveries and challenges for divers. Over a dozen ship wrecks are also available for exploration.
Much of the sea floor in this area is covered with seagrass, which serves to protect juvenile fish that hide there until they reach maturity. The beds of seagrass also stabilize the sandy ocean floor.
Maximum diving depth in most of the Dive Park is around 25 meters.
The Saxon Ranger
The highlight of any dive trip here is the submerged wreckage of the Saxon Ranger, a fishing vessel that was sunk here in 2003. Built in the early 1960s in England, it worked as a side trawler in the North Atlantic. The boat, formerly known as the Atlantic Seal, was 37 meters long and weighed 400 tons. The vessel was said to suffer from continuous “bad luck,” including broken moorings and engine breakdowns. Because it was considered to be jinxed, the vessel was deliberately sunk nearby other wrecks on the floor of the dive park. It lies there today in approximately 25 meters of water. A dive permit is required to dive this site.
If the idea of diving in protected waters, in a setting of diverse and abundant marine life, is one that really appeals to you, Shoalwater Islands Marine Park is worth a visit. It’s a great choice for groups with non-divers, too, as there’s really something for everyone, from swimming with the dolphins to bird-watching and nature photography!