Boondelbah Island lies straight out from the Port Stephens heads. There are several sites that can be dived around the island. At the southern end of the island there is a steep sided inlet, called “Safety Bay”, which is protected from northerly weather. The bottom in this bay drops away in a steep gutter and shelters the usual variety of temperate reef fishes. On the Western side of the island the walls of the island are made up of a jumble of round boulders dropping down to a sandy bottom at 15m. The sand is barren towards the Northern end of the island but there is a nice little sponge garden at the South-West corner which has a good selection of low growing sponges. The sponges harbour lots of nudibranchs, including the Doughnut Nembrotha nudibranchs more famously associated with Cabbage Tree Island. The sponges also seem to harbour a large number of spotted wobbegong sharks, and a good selection of temperate fish. The rock walls also teem with fish life making for an interesting and varied dive. The Northern end of the island consists mostly of urchin barrens and I have yet to dive the exposed Eastern side which drops away much more steeply to a bottom at greater depths. For more information have a look at Tom Byron’s book “Scuba Divers Guide to Northern NSW”