Arrawarra Headland

Arrawarra Headland Dive Site Guide — Coffs Coast, NSW

By ScubaDownUnder Team · 2025-06-27

Forty kilometres north of Coffs Harbour, where the NSW north coast subtropical forests meet the Pacific, Arrawarra Headland is a rocky promontory that produces one of the most accessible shore dives on the mid-north coast. The dive is shallow, the water is warm, and the conditions are forgiving — but the marine life carries the influence of the Solitary Islands Marine Park, which fringes the coast just to the north, and the warmer East Australian Current brings species that Sydney divers travel here to see. Turtles, in particular, are common at Arrawarra, and the macro work along the headland rocks is some of the most rewarding shallow diving in NSW.

The headland sits within the Solitary Islands region, on the southern edge of the Solitary Islands Marine Park — Australia's largest temperate-tropical transition zone, where southward-flowing East Australian Current water mixes with cooler temperate water. The result is a zone of unusually high biodiversity, with both temperate and tropical species present at the same site through different seasons. Arrawarra Headland itself is part of the New South Wales coastal reserve system, and the rocks of the headland are accessible from a small village beach on the headland's southern side. The combination of marine park influence, sheltered bay structure and warm water has made the site a long-running shore dive for Coffs Coast divers.

The dive itself is a slow exploration of the rocky reef extending south from the headland into Arrawarra Bay. Entry is from the small beach on the south side of the headland, with a fin-out across knee-deep water to the rocks. Depth runs from two metres at the rocks to five along the kelp ledges and to seven or eight at the outer edge of the reef. The route follows the rock edge along the headland and then loops back through the shallow sand-and-rubble bottom to the exit. Navigation is straightforward; the bay is small enough to know on the second dive.

The headline encounter at Arrawarra is the green sea turtle. Two to four turtles are typically resident around the headland rocks, often resting on sandy patches between the kelp or feeding along the algae-covered ledges, and approachable to within a few metres on a calm day. Beyond the turtles, the macro work is the site's quiet highlight — nudibranchs through the cooler months, ornate cowfish and decorator crabs in the kelp, and the small subtropical reef fish that the East Australian Current brings down from further north (juvenile angelfish, butterfly fish, the occasional surgeonfish in the warmer months). Eastern blue groper, pomfrets and schools of yellowtail work the deeper edge of the reef. Wobbegong sharks turn up under the larger overhangs from time to time, and small fiddler rays rest on the sand. The site is more macro than wide-angle, and rewards a slow pace.

Conditions at Arrawarra are mid-coast subtropical. Visibility typically runs 5 to 12 metres, with the better days falling after a sustained period of dry weather and a settled easterly swell. Heavy rain in the Coffs Coast catchment drops it sharply for several days. Water temperature ranges from around 19°C in late winter to 25°C in February and March — warmer than Sydney by two or three degrees year-round — comfortable in a 5mm wetsuit through winter and a 3mm shortie in summer. Currents in the bay are minimal. The site shuts down on big easterly swells, which break across the headland rocks and break the dive; calm days are when the site reads at its best.

For divers who keep coming back, Arrawarra rewards careful work along the deeper edge of the reef. The turtles are the obvious draw, but the site's quiet reward is the macro hunt along the kelp ledges — pygmy pipehorse on the algae, the seasonal nudibranch run, and the slow turnover of subtropical species through the warmer months. Night dives at Arrawarra are excellent, with the resident octopus and small reef fish becoming significantly more confident after dark.

Arrawarra Headland is the dive Coffs Coast residents send their visitors to when offshore conditions cancel boats. It is not the most dramatic site on the mid-north coast — the Solitary Islands themselves carry the bigger reputation — but for a calm, shallow, turtle-rich shore dive with subtropical macro, it is one of the most genuinely rewarding shore dives in NSW north of Sydney.

## Site Access and Logistics

Arrawarra Headland is a shore dive accessed from Arrawarra Beach, a small village 25 to 30 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour, NSW. The entry point is the south side of the headland — a sand beach with rock-edge access reached via village street parking off Arrawarra Beach Road. Parking is street-side and free; a small public toilet block sits at the beach reserve.

Entry is a walk-in fin-out from the beach, with a short surface swim to the headland rocks before descending. Exit is the same point. Skill prerequisites are minimal — Arrawarra is suitable for recently certified Open Water divers comfortable with a beach entry. The walk back up the beach to the car park is short and easy.

Facilities: Public toilets at the beach reserve; the village has a small general store. No on-site dive services. Local operators run guided shore dives at Arrawarra: Coffs Harbour Dive Centre at Woolgoolga is the closest dedicated shop, with [Jetty Dive Centre](https://www.jettydive.com.au) in Coffs Harbour also running trips to the site.

## Sources

- NSW Marine Parks Authority — Solitary Islands Marine Park: [https://www.marine.nsw.gov.au](https://www.marine.nsw.gov.au) - Jetty Dive Centre, Coffs Harbour: [https://www.jettydive.com.au](https://www.jettydive.com.au) - Coffs Harbour Dive Centre, Woolgoolga - Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving — Solitary Islands and Coffs Coast region - Solitary Islands Marine Park Authority — species records and zoning