Dive in Forster and Tuncurry

Travel to Forster and Tuncurry

These two small sister towns on the coast of New South Wales are surrounded by lush national parks and forest, beautiful beaches and smack bang in the middle where the Wallace Lake meets the ocean.  It's a great place to chill for a few days and explore the Great Lakes area.

The towns are just over 300km from Sydney so you'll get there in about 3.5 hours or it's less than 2 hours to Newcastle.  Alternatively there is a bus service from both cities and public transport in Forster Tuncurry so you can get around but to really appreciate the lakes area you'll need a car.

Water activities are popular here such as boating, fishing or dolphin and whale watching.  Take a walk on one of secluded beaches and spend your day in the sun with a picnic lunch and watch the sun go down.  The lakes are a great place to try water skiing for the first time or take a kayak and really enjoy the lake.  Take a trip to the nearby smaller towns and into the hinterlands for some gorgeous scenery.

There is one dive centre in Tuncurry and many dive sites off the coast so you can spend a good few days exploring the water.  This is one of the best places to see Grey Nurse Sharks, sometimes you might see 40 at a time!  There are also Wobbegong Sharks, Giant Black Rays and other types of stingrays, Yellowtail Kingfish, Blue Gropers, moray eels, lobsters, turtles and some cool fish such as the Pineapple Fish.  

One of the most unique sites in all of New South Wales, the Pinnacles is one of the best places to see the Grey Nurse Shark and it's a fabulous experience to get up close to these amazing creatures.  It's also a great site for macro photographers.  The Barge is another good site for sharks.   

Idol Bay has the most variety of sea like in the area or head out to Bennetts Head Bommie for an interesting night dive.  Explore the maze of rocks at Latitude Rock and see what cool critters you can find.  There is so much to see on the diving off the coast of Forster Tuncurry.

So whether you want to relax or have a great adventure, the towns of Forster and Tuncurry have something for you.  

(By Kelly Luckman)