Montague Island

Montague Island sits off the far south coast of New South Wales, near Narooma, and its surrounding waters are a well-known dive and snorkel destination in that region. The island is a nature reserve with a resident seal colony, and much of the diving here is built around encounters with Australian and New Zealand fur seals that haul out on the rocks. Sites around the island include granite boulder reefs and drop-offs with kelp forests typical of this stretch of temperate NSW coast, with diving here rated at beginner level to around 15 metres. Access is by boat from Narooma, and conditions can involve swell and current given the exposed, open ocean setting. Divers have also reported manta rays, mola mola, nudibranchs, nurse sharks, trevally, and even whales passing through these waters.

Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.

• NudibranchNudibranchReported here · unconfirmed
• TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed
• WhaleWhaleReported here · unconfirmed
• Mola mola (ocean sunfish)Mola mola (ocean sunfish)Reported here · unconfirmed
• Brown Fur SealArctocephalus pusillusReported here · unconfirmed
• Great White SharkCarcharodon carchariasReported here · unconfirmed
• Port Jackson SharkHeterodontus portusjacksoniReported here · unconfirmed
• Sand Tiger SharkCarcharias taurusReported here · unconfirmed
• Nurse sharkNurse sharkReported here · unconfirmed
• Manta rayManta rayReported here · unconfirmed