Bushrangers Bay, NSW: Rock pools, snorkelling & diving

Just south of Shellharbour, Bushrangers Bay is a fantastic protected spot for snorkelling and diving. It’s the southernmost point where you’ll find several marine species in the Bushrangers Bay rock pools.

If you want to go to the beach, then forget about Bushrangers Bay, NSW. This bay is part of the Bass Point Reserve, just to the south of Shellharbour in the Illawarra region. But you’re not going to find golden sands here – just a rocky shoreline.

However, people don’t come to Bushrangers Bay to build sandcastles or surf. They come to dive and snorkel.

Diving and snorkelling at Bushrangers Bay, NSW

Bushrangers Bay is remarkably well protected from the ocean, meaning the water is usually fairly calm and placid. It’s not just humans that like this – marine life does too. There’s a remarkable biodiversity under the water’s surface here, and it acts as a nursery for several species in that sweet spot between the temperate and tropical zones.

This provides lots for divers and snorkellers to see, and usually ideal conditions for seeing it.

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Marine species at Bushrangers Bay

The big seagrass beds at Bushrangers Bay provide a home for species such as the senator wrasse, blue grouper, southern Maori wrasse and striped trumpeter. For many of these fish, this is as far south as the species is found.

The bay is protected by an aquatic reserve covering just under four hectares. Fishing and removing marine life from here is banned.

Bushrangers Bay rock pools

It’s also worth looking for life at the edge of this New South Wales bay. The Bushrangers Bay rock pools are intertidal, and multiple invertebrates hang out here. It’s also worth looking at the holes in the cliffs, where you can often spot sea urchins.

It’s a 117km drive from Sydney to Bushrangers Bay, while the Wollongong to Bushrangers Bay drive is 25km long.

Other Illawarra beaches around Shellharbour include Warilla Beach, Shellharbour South Beach, Killalea Beach and Minnamurra Beach.