10 top spots to snorkel in South Australia

From leafy sea drag­ons to giant Aus­tralian cut­tle­fish, about 85% of the marine life in South Aus­trali­a’s marine parks is found nowhere else in the world.

If your swim­ming skills are on point, grab your snorkel and mask and hit the beach to dis­cov­er our mag­i­cal under­wa­ter world.

Here are our top picks to try in SA:

1. Port Noar­lun­ga – Met­ro­pol­i­tan south

Begin­ners should try snorkelling on the south side of the Port Noar­lun­ga jet­ty. You’ll see hun­dreds of fish includ­ing zebrafish and old wives as well as sea stars.

If you feel con­fi­dent enough to ven­ture out fur­ther – about 400 m – you can enjoy the colour­ful Port Noar­lun­ga Reef.

Loca­tion: Encounter Marine Park

2. Aldin­ga – Met­ro­pol­i­tan south

Aldin­ga Reef is known as one of the state’s best dive sites, so you know you’re onto a good thing when you snorkel here.

The reef is a breed­ing ground for the harm­less Port Jack­son shark. Dur­ing late win­ter and spring hun­dreds of sharks can be found under ledges rest­ing between mat­ing rituals.

Don’t for­get to build your con­fi­dence and test your snorkel gear at shal­low sites before ven­tur­ing out deeper.

Loca­tion: Encounter Marine Park

3. Sec­ond Val­ley – Fleurieu Peninsula

You’re spoilt for choice at Sec­ond Val­ley with a jet­ty and 2 bays that are great snorkel spots. You’ll swim past squid, schools of fish and rays, plus you might even spot SA’s icon­ic leafy sea drag­on.

Loca­tion: Encounter Marine Park

4. Tum­by Bay – Eyre Peninsula

The open water off the jet­ty is a per­fect spot for expe­ri­enced snorkel­ers. Keep your eyes peeled for sea­hors­es and cow­fish.

Loca­tion: Sir Joseph Banks Group Marine Park

5. Smooth Pool– Eyre Peninsula

Accord­ing to locals, there is a friend­ly res­i­dent blue grop­er fish in these waters who likes to say hel­lo. Blue grop­ers can live up to 70 years.

Loca­tion: West Coast Bays Marine Park

6. Cut­tle­fish Coast – Whyalla

Snorkel near Stony Point between May and August and you’ll see the giant Aus­tralian cut­tle­fish spawning.

Loca­tion: Upper Spencer Gulf Marine Park

7. Chinaman’s Hat – Yorke Peninsula

You’ll see eagle rays glid­ing around, as well as south­ern rock lobsters.

Loca­tion: South­ern Spencer Gulf Marine Park

8. Edith­burgh – Yorke Peninsula 

Weird and wild marine life sur­round the Edith­burgh Jet­ty. You’re like­ly to come across bright­ly coloured nudi­branchs, spi­der crabs and octo­pus­es.

If you have the keen­est eyes you might even spot the warty prow­fish.

Loca­tion: Low­er Yorke Penin­su­la Marine Park.

9. Wool Bay – Yorke Peninsula

The Wool Bay Jet­ty is pos­si­bly the best spot in South Aus­tralia to see the leafy sea drag­on. Dur­ing spring and sum­mer you might even wit­ness their amaz­ing court­ing dance.

Loca­tion: Low­er Yorke Penin­su­la Marine Park

10. West­ern Riv­er Cove – Kan­ga­roo Island

Head to the reef just east of the beach for a vari­ety of colour­ful reef fish.

Loca­tion: South­ern Spencer Gulf Marine Park

To guar­an­tee a great snorkel adven­ture, down­load the under­wa­ter guide to plants and ani­mals in South Aus­tralia, avoid windy days and head to the waters around low tide.

If you’re a begin­ner or still build­ing your con­fi­dence why not try a guid­ed tour with Expe­ri­enc­ing Marine Sanc­tu­ar­ies?

Love explor­ing South Australia’s marine envi­ron­ment? Check out these great blogs:8 rock pools,5 mis­tak­en iden­ti­ties along SA’s beach­es, or6 parks per­fect for beach-lovers.

(Main image cour­tesy of Carl Charter)

This sto­ry was orig­i­nal­ly post­ed in Feb­ru­ary 2018.