Diving & Travel Guide to Tasmania – Peninsulas

About Tasmania – Peninsulas

The Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas in southeastern Tasmania offer some of Australia's most dramatic and spectacular diving, centered around the towering sea cliffs of Eaglehawk Neck and the rugged coastline of the Tasman Peninsula. The vertical dolerite cliffs, rising up to 300 meters above the waterline and extending deep underwater, create an extraordinary underwater landscape of walls, caves, pinnacles, and gutters encrusted with vibrant invertebrate life including colorful sponges, soft corals, and sea fans. Eaglehawk Neck is the gateway to world-class sites including Cathedral Cave, a massive underwater cavern accessible to experienced divers, Waterfall Bay with its dramatic walls and kelp-covered pinnacles, Pirates Bay with its exposed ocean diving and pelagic encounters, and Deep Glen Bay offering sheltered kelp forest diving. The Tasman Island lighthouse, perched atop 300-meter cliffs, provides a dramatic backdrop to diving at the island's base where the nutrient-rich currents feed spectacular sponge gardens and schooling fish. Fortescue Bay, on the Forestier Peninsula, offers more sheltered diving with excellent kelp forests and the possibility of encountering the elusive weedy sea dragon. Cape Hauy, The Sisters, and Shipstern Bluff provide exposed ocean diving for experienced divers seeking the thrill of diving in the Southern Ocean's powerful currents. Port Arthur, the historic convict settlement, adds a cultural dimension with Point Puer and Harvey's Reef offering diving within the heritage-listed site. The region's raw natural beauty, combined with the Port Arthur Historic Site and the extraordinary coastal scenery, makes it one of Tasmania's most compelling destinations.

Highlights

• ✓Cathedral Cave – one of Australia's most spectacular underwater caverns
• ✓300-meter dolerite sea cliffs creating dramatic underwater wall diving
• ✓Tasman Island – diving beneath towering cliffs at the lighthouse base
• ✓Shipstern Bluff – world-renowned big wave surf break with dramatic underwater scenery
• ✓Port Arthur Historic Site combining cultural heritage with marine environments
• ✓Fortescue Bay kelp forests with weedy sea dragon encounters

Getting There

The Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas are accessed from Hobart, approximately 75 minutes drive to Eaglehawk Neck via the Tasman Highway and Arthur Highway. Hobart Airport (HBA) receives direct flights from Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Eaglehawk Neck serves as the main base for Tasman Peninsula diving, with boat departures from the Neck and surrounding boat ramps. Port Arthur is a further 30 minutes south of Eaglehawk Neck. Several dive operators run trips from Eaglehawk Neck to the offshore sites including Cathedral Cave, Waterfall Bay, and Tasman Island. The Port Arthur Historic Site has its own boat ramp for accessing the southern peninsula dive sites. A rental car is essential, and the scenic drive from Hobart through the picturesque Dunalley isthmus to Eaglehawk Neck is one of Tasmania's most enjoyable road trips.