Hey all.
I am a DM who has been diving with "Aqua Zero" Dive Centre for about 5 years. Their main dive site is the Swansea Bridge which is about 25 metres from the front door of the shop.
Swansea is about 100mins north of Sydney or about 30 minutes south of Newcastle. Its a nice day trip from Sydney.
The bridge is a easy dive maxing at about 12metres on a king tide if you dig a hole to put your depth guage in. Entry and exit is fom a boat ramp and its awesome for the novice and expert alike.
It is very tide dependent though. It must be dived at slack wate. Obviously during neaps(lowest high and highest low or small tidal range) the dives are longer and pretty short in springs (highest high and lowest low or largest tidal range).
Best check the tides before travelling long distances.
http://www.aquazero.com.au have a monthly calender with times for the bridge on it. All the other dives in the area can be done at any time but you dont want ot plan to do the bridge, drive up and find you ust missed it and the next slack water is at 9pm.
It has a great range of tropical and sub tropicals and you will see more variety of fish and marine life than you will be able to recall.
The Swansea bridge goes over the Swansea inlet which is the only link between the Pacific ocean and Lake Maquarie. So far as to say a sh*t load of water passes under this bridge twice a day as it fills and empties the lake. The vis is usually pretty good 10m+ and its easy to navigate with al the bridge pylons to keep you on track.
There are plenty of other dives to do in the area. Drop in to the shop and ask for some info and a fill. you wont regret it.
Tell em K1 sent ya
Contributed by Tod added 2005-05-30