The Haven at Terrigal

on the NSW Central Coast is a fantastic spot to go for a splash. For Paula and I the reason is partly to do with our proximity - we live at North Avoca, just five minutes away.

On occasions this proximity has allowed us to dive the Haven on the way to work. Frequently, our evening plunges progress onto BBQ’s with dive buddies, marking a fantastic ending to the day.

The Haven is one of those dive sites that is accessible in almost all sea conditions - the early Terrigal Underwater Group (TUG) treasure hunts attest to this.    See Video

The Haven is a ‘no-adrenalin dive’ but it does appeal in many ways. You can cruise along the sea grass punctuated sandy bottom that harbour small green and yellow box fish and pass over rocky dens littered with cast-off shells and sets of eyes peering out of the shadows. At night, the octopus eyes reflect torch beams as they skim across the seabed.

On the eastern side of the Haven the reef wall conceals prey for the octopus. Wait! and the magic of the octopus will be revealed - sleeping fish and molluscs just don’t know what hit them.

My favourite fish, the blue groper sleeps nestled in rock crevices. Torch beams explode into fluorescent blue as the beam and fish connect.

I like these fish best during the daylight. Their behaviour swings between that of a pesky dog and a peaceful baby - pesky when they bug you for food and like a baby at bath time when visiting their regular cleaning station.

Moray eels, schooling yellow-tail, wrasse, port jackson sharks, wobby-gongs, leather jackets whiting and the like are all seen day or night anywhere along the wall. See Photo Album Very large bull-rays regularly hover past and have no hesitation in scaring the day/night lights out of you.

I particularly like the Haven because it is shallow - the depth at the reef point is only fourteen meters with most diving occurring in around the five to ten meter mark. Diving all year round is not a problem. The lowest temperature I  have recorded (ironically this was one summer due to cold up-welling currents) was 13.7 degrees centigrade. Generally, the water temperature rarely falls below 16 degrees and ranges up to 26 degrees  at summers peak.

Air fills and gear hire can easily be arranged through the Terrigal Dive Centre which is situated right on the Haven foreshore.

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