Afghan Reef

Meet the site

Afghan Reef takes its name – in McFadyen's words 'perhaps cruelly' – from people who were washed off the rock platform here some years before it became a known dive. The name is a sober reminder that Blowhole Point is a dangerous place in swell; on calm days, however, it provides a good shore dive on the northern side of the point.

The bottom is cleared igneous rock with a covering of kelp, stepping gradually from 4–5 m near the entry to about 18 m on the sand before rising again to 15 m. A fairly obvious wall at 12–13 m gives a navigational reference on the return. Fish life is good: one-spot pullers, black reef and mosaic leatherjackets, schools of luderick, blackfish and bream, snapper, kingfish, yellowtail, striped seapike and bullseyes. Weedy sea dragons are found in the kelp.

The entry gutter, directly below the northern car park, has a wide ramp that makes for a very safe exit – but there are many similar gutters along the point, so surface and check before committing. The platform is heavily fished and lines and hooks are everywhere, so a knife or line cutter is essential. The site needs calm seas or a small southerly swell; if conditions are marginal, the Kiama Gutter route finishing in the harbour is the safer choice. For competent shore divers it is a satisfying, fishy dive right beside one of the South Coast's biggest tourist attractions. Tourists gather on the platform, so gear up considerately and keep entries and exits away from the crowds.

What you might see

Weedy sea dragons, one-spot pullers, black reef and mosaic leatherjackets, luderick, blackfish, bream, snapper, kingfish, yellowtail, striped seapike, bullseyes, kelp

Location

Shore dive from a gutter below the northern-most Blowhole Point car park at Kiama; kelp-covered rock stepping from 4 m to sand at 18 m with a wall at 12–13 m.

Facilities nearby

Blowhole Point car parks, toilets beside the ocean pool, cafés in Kiama town centre; nearest air fills at Shellharbour Scuba and Photography Centre (20 minutes).