When is the right time for ‘Shark Cave” -Rottnest Island?

For some of you reading this, the idea of diving with sharks sounds exhilarating. For others maybe not so much?!

We are so blessed to have a wonderful dive site “Shark Cave” off Rottnest Island. The most counted on a single dive in the cave is 12 Grey Nurse sharks. Scary looking with jagged teeth these beautiful sharks are curious yet shy. We are constantly getting requests to go but here is a list of when is the right time to dive at Rottnest Islands Shark Cave?

The Weather

Shark Cave is situated far west end off Rottnest Island, Western Australia. Once you are at this awesome dive site, you are exposed without any hidden shelter. The dive really need to be done when the weather is good. Much more than 1m swell and 15 knots of wind and the conditions will not be very nice. This makes forward planning very difficult. Western Australia a very windy place (especially in summer when the afternoon sea breeze kicks in) and isn’t always easy to know if the weather is going to cooperate on the day. Best to check the weather before heading off and planning your dives. The best time of year to dive here is Spring, Autumn or Winter in the morning when the winds are low.

Sea Conditions

Once arriving at Shark Cave, we always must have someone jump in first and check the conditions. You might have picked a day where the sea and swell are good, but a lot of the time there is also a lot of currents.  There is almost always some surface current but some days there is far too much and it would be dangerous to dive in these conditions, nor enjoyable.  We always make sure the skipper is on the boat, tender ready to go, in case divers get swept off the dive site and a bit further than intended.

Personal experience

Shark Cave is highly recommended diving it as an Advanced diver  who has been diving within the last 12 months and with good physical health.  As there tends to be a bit of surface current you don’t want to be heading here feeling nervous or stressed. You might not have time to adjust your mask or faff around so being prepared will help you to have a more enjoyable dive. The dive sites shallowest area is around 10m and the deepest part of the cave is 27m. Having good calm breaths will also allow you to spend more time at the bottom checking out the beautiful sharks.

Keep your eye out on our Facebook page to see upcoming dive trips to Shark Cave