Meet the site
Manta Arch, off the north-eastern point of South Solitary Island, is the single dive most associated with the Solitary Islands Marine Park and one of the reasons Coffs Harbour is regarded as one of the best shore-based grey nurse shark destinations on the Australian east coast. The site is built around a genuine underwater arch threading through a field of boulders and ridges, with the shallowest rock at about 15 m and gutters trailing away to a sand bottom near 30 m; the main mooring sits at 21 m directly above a boulder pile that forms the arch's entrance. From June through November this arch and its surrounding gutters host one of the most reliable grey nurse shark aggregations south of the Great Barrier Reef, with reports of anywhere from a handful up to 30, and in exceptional years 60 or more, sharks holding station in the current at once — a scene that has made Manta Arch a pilgrimage site for shark photographers from across Australia and overseas. The sharks are almost entirely unconcerned by divers who approach slowly and keep low, and the site's name itself points to its other headline attraction: reef manta rays that pass over the boulders regularly enough, particularly in the warmer months, to have given the arch its name well before the grey nurse aggregation became as well documented as it is today. Outside the two marquee species, Manta Arch supports a dense general reef community typical of this overlap zone between tropical and temperate water: anemones and their resident clownfish colonise the boulder tops, large schools of pelagic fish move through on the current, and black cod, kingfish and assorted tropical vagrants round out a site list that changes noticeably with the season. The current here can run genuinely hard on the exposed faces, which is the main reason the site is reserved for Advanced Open Water divers and above, and why Jetty Dive Centre will switch the day's plan to the more sheltered Split Solitary Island when conditions on the north-eastern side of South Solitary Island turn unworkable. For anyone visiting the NSW Mid North Coast with an interest in sharks, Manta Arch is the dive to build a trip around.
What you might see
Grey nurse sharks (up to 60+ in peak winter aggregation), manta rays, anemones and clownfish, schooling pelagics, black cod, kingfish, giant cuttlefish (winter), turtles
Location
Off the north-eastern tip of South Solitary Island: an underwater arch among boulders and ridges peaking at about 15 m with gutters running down to 30 m, and a boulder pile rising from a 21 m mooring — the single most iconic dive in the Solitary Islands Marine Park.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
jettydive.com.audivernet.comjettydive.com.auRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.