The dive
Depths logged here reach about 11 metres, and visibility is often modest, around 4 metres.
Grey nurse sharks
The NSW Government says young grey nurse sharks aggregate in Terrigal Haven. They are critically endangered, so give them space: don’t touch, chase or feed them, and don’t block their path. To protect them, fishing with wire or chain traces has been banned from 4 September 2026 for five years, in all waters from the Terrigal Rock Pool, next to the boardwalk, across the Haven to Terrigal Point.
Water quality
A NSW Government study found water at Terrigal Beach and the Haven is generally fine in dry weather, but faecal contamination rises after rain, mostly from sewage getting into stormwater. Levels returned to normal within one to three days, so wait three days after rain before diving here.
Where it is
What you might see
- Grey nurse sharks (juveniles)
Nearby sites
- Shore dive · Terrigal Skillion CaveNot a true cave but a large gutter roofed by a fallen slab of rock, at the Skillion headland in Terrigal. It can be dived from the shore or from a boat, and it’s an uncomplicated dive with plenty of bottom time.20 m
- Boat dive · Terrigal Foggy CaveA large sea cave cut about 12 metres into the base of a cliff [OWNER: confirm Foggy Cave’s location (off Terrigal?) and that it is a boat dive]. Grey nurse sharks gather here in season, which makes it one of the area’s best-known deep dives.
- Shore dive · Swansea, Lake Macquarie Swansea BridgeSwansea Channel is Lake Macquarie’s only opening to the sea, so huge volumes of water flow through it with every tide. The pylons of the opening bridge that carries the Pacific Highway across the channel have become a fish-packed artificial reef.10 m
- Boat dive · Catherine Hill Bay Wreck of the AdvanceAn iron steam tug that sank off Catherine Hill Bay on Christmas Day 1908 after colliding with the barque she had come out to meet. She sits upright on sand in deep water.43 m
