Green Island – South West Rocks

Green Island, South West Rocks

By ScubaDownUnder Team · 2026-10-01

South West Rocks is famous for Fish Rock, the through-cave swim that draws divers from around the world. But just along the coast lies its quieter, gentler sibling, Green Island, and on its day it offers the same headline animal in shallower, more forgiving water. Green Island is a grey nurse shark critical habitat, and the heavy-bodied sharks gather in its gutters and along its ledges, often within easy recreational depth. For divers who want time with grey nurse sharks without the depth and commitment of Fish Rock, it is the perfect companion dive.

Green Island sits off South West Rocks, on the New South Wales mid-north coast, in the same rich water that makes Fish Rock so good. The East Australian Current sweeps down this coast, bringing warmth, clarity and fish life, and the island is recognised as a critical habitat for the critically endangered grey nurse shark, one of a chain of protected aggregation sites along the coast. It is reached by boat from South West Rocks, often as the second dive of a Fish Rock trip or as the main dive when conditions or experience favour the shallower site.

Green Island is the accessible grey nurse dive of the area. Depths run from around six to eighteen metres, shallower than Fish Rock, with gutters, ledges and kelp-covered reef that the sharks use as gathering spots. The terrain is classic mid-north-coast reef, rock and sand and kelp, cut with the gutters that funnel the current and concentrate the marine life. Divers work the ledges and gutters where the sharks hold station, and the moderate depth means longer bottom times and a gentler dive than the deeper, current-swept Fish Rock. It is a genuine grey nurse encounter in water that suits a wider range of divers.

The grey nurse sharks are the draw, present through much of the year and most numerous in the cooler months from May to September, when they gather in the gutters and along the ledges. Around them the reef is busy: wobbegong sharks fold under the ledges, green and loggerhead turtles work the kelp, eagle rays and bull rays cruise the sand, and schools of kingfish, bream and trevally sweep through. The kelp, sponge and soft coral shelter nudibranchs and crayfish, and the warm current brings a mix of temperate and tropical fish. As a critical habitat, the site is protected, and the sharks here are relaxed around divers who keep their distance.

Green Island is offshore boat diving on an exposed coast, and the conditions follow the pattern of the area. Visibility is variable, often best when the East Australian Current is running clean, and can range from a few metres after rain or swell to twenty or thirty on a good day. Water temperature runs from around 18°C in winter to 26°C in summer, so a 5mm wetsuit suits most of the year. The shallower depth makes Green Island more forgiving than Fish Rock, but the site is still exposed to swell and can carry current, so it is dived by boat on settled days. The grey nurse season peaks in the cooler months, which is when most divers time their visit.

Green Island works beautifully as a pairing with Fish Rock, the two giving a full day of grey nurse diving at different depths and difficulty. For divers building toward the deeper, more committing Fish Rock dives, it is an ideal introduction to the area's sharks, and for photographers the shallower water and longer bottom times make it productive. The same operators run both, and a trip to South West Rocks usually takes in the island alongside the cave.

Green Island is the dive that proves grey nurse sharks do not have to mean depth and difficulty. In shallow, forgiving water off South West Rocks, divers can spend an unhurried dive in the company of one of Australia's most charismatic and endangered sharks. It is the gentle companion to Fish Rock, and a memorable dive in its own right.

## Site Access and Logistics

Green Island is a boat dive off South West Rocks, on the New South Wales mid-north coast, reached on a short run from the Trial Bay boat ramp. There is no shore access, and the island is dived by the local charter operators, usually alongside Fish Rock on the same trip. The mid-north coast is about five to six hours' drive north of Sydney.

The shallower depth, to around eighteen metres, makes Green Island a more accessible grey nurse dive than Fish Rock, suiting divers from a competent Open Water level with some experience, ideally Advanced Open Water for comfort in current and on an exposed boat dive. A surface marker buoy is standard, and a 5mm wetsuit suits the water. As a grey nurse critical habitat, the site is protected, so divers keep their distance from the sharks, avoid crowding the gutters, and let the animals move freely.

Charters to Green Island and Fish Rock run from South West Rocks, including through [South West Rocks Dive Centre](https://swrdive.com.au/pages/dive-sites).

## Sources

- Divernet, diving South West Rocks, Fish Rock and Green Island: [https://divernet.com/world-dives/australia-oceania/diving-south-west-rocks-fish-rock-guide/](https://divernet.com/world-dives/australia-oceania/diving-south-west-rocks-fish-rock-guide/) - South West Rocks Dive Centre, dive sites: [https://swrdive.com.au/pages/dive-sites](https://swrdive.com.au/pages/dive-sites) - The Underwater Club, diving South West Rocks: [https://theunderwaterclub.com/blog/diving-south-west-rocks/](https://theunderwaterclub.com/blog/diving-south-west-rocks/) - Dive in Australia, South West Rocks [Fish Rock Cave](https://www.scubadownunder.com/dive-sites/fish-rock-cave): [https://diveinaustralia.com.au/product/south-west-rocks-fish-rock-cave/](https://diveinaustralia.com.au/product/south-west-rocks-fish-rock-cave/)