Tinderbox Marine Nature Reserve is one of Tasmania’s best kept diving secrets. If you only do one dive trip with us, this should be it.

The Reserve offers wonderfully diverse diving with sponge beds, soft corals, kelp forests, weedy reef, rock ledges and crevices, seagrass, sand and silt bottoms and deep offshore reefs. It is a place that will delight photographers and anyone with an interest in marine life.

The currents and eddies along the Reserve feed sea whips, sea pens, basket stars, and corals. No-where else do you have such easy access to such special and diverse marine life.

On the rocky reefs there are encrusting corals, sponges of all shapes and colours, zoanthid, lace bryozoans, jewel anemones, not to mention sea hares, nudibranchs, sea horses and sea dragons; schools of bastard trumpeter, mackerel, pike and jackass morwong and masses of southern hula fish. Look closely and find the rarely seen red velvet fish, weed fish, draughtboard sharks and more. There are dozens of species of invertebrates, fish and algae.

Much of the best invertebrate life is in 10-15m of water, which means Tinderbox is accessible to divers of all certification levels and the longer bottom times provide excellent opportunities for photographers.

We dive several locations within the Reserve, giving you access to the highlights – the kelp forests, sponges and soft corals of the northern zone and the sea whips, gorgonias and sea pens of the south.

Tinderbox was one of Tasmania’s first Marine Reserves and was proclaimed in 1991. It is one of only two no-take reserves in SE Tasmania (the other is Ninepin Point).

FACT FILE:
Depth – to 30m
Highlights – invertebrates including soft corals and sea pens, fish life, range of algae including small kelp forests
Travel time – 30 mins
Of interest – definitely the invertebrates!
Gear – SMB or surface signalling device in case of currents, a torch can be useful

More reading – Parks and Wildlife information about Tinderbox Marine Nature Reserve or the Marine Reserves Fact Sheet that provides general information.

One of the best locations to see dense beds of sea whips and sponges is Simpsons Point.

The top point of South Bruny Island, Simpsons Point extends north into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Unlike the deep water reefs off the Tasmanian east coast where sponges and sea whips are often found, this area is a complex mix of invertebrates and algae in depths ranging from 5-15m.

The tannin-rich waters and high currents encourage a range of invertebrate life. Sponges, sea fans, sea whips and other corals, bryozoans, sea stars, scallops, nudibranchs and more can be found alongside green Caulerpa and red algae.

On the tip of the point is a rocky outcrop covered in sea whips and sponges that are more exposed to current in comparison to the more sheltered reef along the eastern shore of the point.

NOTE: Good buoyancy control is essential to avoid contact with and damage to the fragile marine life. This applies equally to photographers who should note that there can be strong currents. Needless to say, we don’t anchor in this area.

FACT FILE:
Depth – to 15m
Highlights – invertebrates including sponges and sea whips, fish life
Travel time – 90 mins
Of interest – range and density of marine life, including in shallow water
Gear – a good torch, SMB or surface signalling device