Diving The Monument, Kurnell
While Nick and his family were in Sydney, we were constantly on the lookout for family friendly dive sites. As such we headed down to Kurnell, and dived at the Monument. The site is situated on the on the southern headland of the Botany Bay National Park. Entry into the water is close to the famous Whale Sculpture, directly in front of the Commemoration Flat picnic area, which is what drew us to the site initially. It’s also a great venue when a strong southerly is blowing (which is exactly what was happening).
The Monument dive site from the air
Nick and I spent an incredible hour in the water, making our way along the rock wall, looking into every nook and cranny. Visibility was 10 meters+, and the water was a very pleasant 22 degrees. We saw some incredible critters including Sydney octopuses, seastars, eels, anglerfish, and multiple other fish species.
But what really amazed me about the Monument was the sheer number of nudibranchs we saw. We must’ve seen 50+ of them, including a multitude of different species. I’ll also never forget the giant cuttlefish we found hiding in a small cave. It truely was giant, rivalling a poodle in size.
A Sydney octopus 
A mosaic seastar 
Hypseldoris bennetti 
A green moray eel 
A giant cuttlefish
Considering just how beautiful the site was, we returned with our families a few days later. The kids played in the park, as well as swam at the local beach, while the adults dived. Once again, Nick and Tarryn went together while Sharon and I looked after the kids. And then we swapped.
Visibility wasn’t quite as good as on our previous dive, but the site was just as beautiful. In fact, Sharon spotted our first ever common seadragon, floating peacefully over the sand. They truly are amazing creatures, and spotting one made it a dive I’ll never forget.
The only downside on this second visit was the overhead boat traffic, specifically the jetskis. They buzzed passed in the shallows, travelling far too fast, as we sat below them in 10 meters of water. Thankfully we had our DSMBs with us and were able to deploy them during our safety stop, providing some level of protection. We sat on the rock ledge, in 5 meters of water, next to a very relaxed wobbegong, listening for any noise overhead prior to going up.
If you haven’t yet, head down to Kurnell and give this site a try. It’s well worth it!