Bushrangers Bay in Shellharbour is breathtakingly beautiful. And a bit tricky to get to, with limited parking, a flight of timber stairs to attempt with arms full of snorkelling gear and packed picnic baskets and finally, a rocky beach. But boy, oh boy is it worth the effort.
The bay is Steve Gillespie’s ‘home patch’. He has been diving since he was 16 and this was back in 1968 when rules in general were a little more lax. Steve was initially not only able to buy himself some cheap diving gear, but to skip the formal training and head off into the deep blue yonder completely self-taught. He remembers that first dive vividly, that incredible sensation of being able to breathe underwater and the worlds that it opened up.
Steve was first introduced to the beauty of Bushrangers Bay when he underwent diving training, enabling him to go on and become a Diving Instructor. He even met his wife, Jayne, while teaching scuba diving. He’s been a Member of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors for 45 years. Steve’s seen a lot of changes in that time, including the return of grey nurse sharks.
From the ’50s to the ’70s these sharks were almost hunted to extinction because, well, they’re sharks. In 1984 they were the first shark in the world to be declared a protected species and this protection continues today. “On any given day, you can see 10 or more sharks slowly traversing the bay,” Steve says.
The sharks in the bay are used to divers and snorkellers now, but even though they are classed as being docile and harmless to humans it’s important to still respect them. They have a mouth and, as with all animals with mouths, they can bite if provoked. It’s also illegal to interfere with them in any way but if you wait quietly, Steve reckons they’ll come up and have a bit of a look at you. Also, if you’re near any shell grit while in the water, have a look through it. The sharks rub their faces in it to dislodge any old teeth and you might even find one!
The best thing about the bay, according to Steve, is that there’s something for all skill levels, especially if you want to try your hand at taking underwater photos (something that Steve has well and truly mastered).
“You don’t need a huge expensive camera set up, nor do you need to go to great depths to capture some great photos of the local marine life,” he explains. In the shallower areas, you might find anything from brightly coloured nudibranchs, pipefish and anemones to shrimp and small fish.
Further out, and when the weather warms up, you could come across Port Jackson and Crested Horn sharks (they’re the ones with the corkscrew-looking eggs that wash up on beaches. If the egg has tendrils it's from the crested horn), stingrays, squid and the always amazing cuttlefish. Along with lots of smaller fish species and the larger Silver Drummer and similarly sized species near the outer bay. The visibility is a bit hit and miss. I mean, we are dealing with nature here. Steve says, “It varies greatly from day to day and can be atrocious, less than a metre one day and beautifully clear the next. It’s a pot luck situation.”
And for those of you who don’t love the cold, the water temps get to about 22 degrees around Easter. Bliss.
But one of the most amazing experiences to be had here is an encounter with humpback whales on their annual migration to and from the breeding grounds up north. “If you happen to be in the water when the whales are reasonably close you can hear their whale songs. It isn’t so much hearing them, but you feel their calls right throughout your body. It’s a wonderful experience”, Steve said.
Okay, I’m sold. Getting my prescription snorkelling mask organised ASAP!
Steve’s top 3 Bass Point dive sites are:
1. The Gutter
2. The South Side
3. The Arch and the Cave
A huge thanks to Steve Gillespie for providing me with such amazing information on the bay (and such incredible photos!) I’ve dived there too. Once. Turns out diving isn’t for me! I couldn’t have put this together without him.