Hepburn Point (Coles Bay)

Meet the site

Hepburn Point, also called Black Point, is a shallow boulder reef close to Coles Bay township. The Marine Life Network guide rates it 5 out of 10 and describes a shallow expanse of boulders and rock at about 3 m, safe in sheltered conditions but with poor visibility in strong south-easterly weather.

The boulders provide plenty of crevices for fish and invertebrates. The guide lists sponge growths, starfish and anemones, and fish including long-snouted boarfish, leatherjackets, wrasse and trumpeter. Being inside Great Oyster Bay, the water is often less clear than on the ocean side of the peninsula, but it is also calmer.

The guide's general comment on the Coles Bay area is that the local diving is generally sandy and disappointing, with the best sites found further afield at Schouten Island and on the ocean coast. Hepburn Point is one of the exceptions and a pleasant, easy option when everything else is blown out, or a place to snorkel with family.

It suits new divers and snorkellers. Divers with their own boat can combine it with Picnic Island or use it as a check-out dive before heading to Schouten Island. As with all Freycinet diving, there is no local air, so bring full cylinders.

Some context helps set expectations for all Freycinet diving. The peninsula's pink granite continues under water as rounded boulders, cracks and steep faces, and the area sits where the warm East Australian Current meets cooler southern water, so species lists mix typical Tasmanian fish with more northern visitors. Over recent decades warming water and grazing by the long-spined sea urchin, which has spread south from New South Wales, have thinned kelp beds along the east coast, and descriptions written in the 1990s may not match what you find today.

What you might see

Sponges, starfish, anemones, long-snouted boarfish, leatherjackets, wrasse, trumpeter

Location

A shallow expanse of boulders and rock at Hepburn (Black) Point near Coles Bay, inside Great Oyster Bay.

Facilities nearby

Coles Bay: boat ramp, toilets, store, cafes, fuel and accommodation. No air fills - bring cylinders from Launceston, Hobart or elsewhere.