Emu Bay Jetty

Meet the site

Emu Bay is a sweeping white-sand bay on Kangaroo Island's north coast, and its small jetty offers quiet, sheltered, shallow diving. Wikivoyage lists Emu Bay among the island's dive sites, and a dive-site summary describes a sandy and seagrass environment with encrusting growth on the pylons supporting a characteristic South Australian jetty ecosystem, 1-7 m deep and deepening gradually from shore.

Marine life reported includes weedy seadragons seen regularly, giant cuttlefish, cowfish, rays, pipefish, and sponges and ascidians on the pylons. Blue-ringed octopus occur, as they do around most SA jetties. The seagrass meadows around the jetty are nurseries for juvenile fish, and patient divers will find crabs, hermit crabs and small cephalopods. Visibility is often good, 8-12 m in settled conditions, thanks to the white sand.

Emu Bay is also notable ashore: the cliffs at the eastern end hold the Emu Bay Shale, one of the world's important Cambrian fossil sites, which is protected. The jetty itself is a low-key alternative to Kingscote, with fewer people and no ferry traffic, and a good option when strong southerlies make the south coast unsafe. There are no dive services at Emu Bay, so fill cylinders in Kingscote. It suits beginners, snorkellers and macro photographers. Nearby Emu Bay beach is also one of the few KI beaches where cars may drive on the sand, which brings visitors in summer. Divers combining north-coast sites can pair Emu Bay with King George Beach or Stokes Bay in a single day. The jetty is modest in length, so a slow circuit of both sides and the surrounding seagrass makes a full dive.

What you might see

Weedy seadragons, giant cuttlefish, cowfish, rays, pipefish, sponges, ascidians, blue-ringed octopus, juvenile fish

Location

A small jetty in sheltered Emu Bay on KI's north coast, about 18 km (road) north-west of Kingscote; shallow sand and seagrass.

Facilities nearby

Roadside parking, boat ramp, toilets near the beach; no fills – nearest Kingscote.