Scuba Diving Perth
Shore Diving
Kwinana Grain Terminal Jetty
Rockingham Beach Road - Kwinana Beach.
SITE INFO:
- Shore Dive: Jetty Dive (bloody long jetty).
- Depth: Max 15 meters.
- Jetty length: 800m (I told you it was bloody long): Dive-able Length: 600m: Dive Area: 450m.
- Dive Conditions: The jetty has sheltered qualities similar to that of the RWT however due to its shallow nature for the majority of the site it will still be affected by any strong swell and wind that may not impact on the RWT. Consider this site if you have had enough of the RWT in moderate swell and swell periods but no more than a 2 meter swell and 14 second swell period, remember moderate northerly winds will generate current, westerlies will increase the swell effect.
- Dive flag at Site: No.
Ok lets get the cautionary stuff out of the way before we go any further.......
- This is a working jetty, ships dock here and I mean HUGE SHIPS dock here. I have known people to dive at the end this jetty when ships are in and that is up to them and, if you do the same then that will be up to you and be your responsibility. But you have to consider what would happen if one of these ships started up its engine, I guarantee you will crap yourself and even possibly panic and as a novice diver that's the last thing you need, even if these vessels are being moved by a tug boat, basically they're just floating engines. So my advice would be to consider diving away from the end if a boat is in.
- This is a long jetty, if you are going to dive this site then there is a chance you may try and push your air, or not realise how long this dive is and use up more than you should on the way out, this will require you to do a long surface swim on the way back, which is not ideal after a dive, because you will be tired. So make sure you plan your dive and dive your plan and don't push it, get a little bit of experience under your belt before considering this site straight away, get used to your gear and have a rough understanding of your air consumption, or just stay a little closer to shore.
- OK finally...............
A Quick Tale Of Woe
- At the time of writing I had only dived this jetty on 2 occasions, I so wanted to dive this site on loads of previous occasions but due to one reason or another it never materialised.
- Then in June 2012 we took a group down to the jetty and I was quite happy that I was finally going to get to dive the Grain Terminal.
- The dive was OK, nothing fantastic but enjoyable, saw a few things that I had not seen before and that goes for the surprise I got when returning to my car. You don't have to be a rocket surgeon to work this out do you. So you can see why my opinion of this site is somewhat tarnished.
- However I re-dived this site in March 2013, took a few precautions, put the past behind me and gave it another go. What a difference 8 months, 25 days and, 1 hour makes, totally different experience, for various reasons, the main one obviously not being broken into.
On with the stuff you came here for..................... The Dive Site
Directions
- Getting here is easy enough, especially if you know the Rockingham Wreck Trail as it is on the same road as this, about 2.5Km north of the dive trail. Its about 45 minutes from Perth CBD and 30 minutes from Fremantle.
- From the Wreck Trail just follow Rockingham Beach Rd north, you cant miss it, it is massive and blue, if you get up as far as Kwinana Beach Road you have gone a bit too far, in fact if you get past the grain terminal grounds you have gone too far, the entrance to the car park is slightly hidden by the tall grass and reeds. On the left just after the jetty if coming from the Wreck trail or on the right just before the jetty if coming from Kwinana Beach Rd way.
- As always do all your final checks (BWRAF), in the car park, the last thing you need is to
get down to the dive entrance and then have to come back because you have forgotten
something or an O' ring blows, not that you would have far to walk.
- Once
you have geared up walk down the sand path down to the beach and make your way in.
- Ok all you now have to do is complete a little swim and you are diving...... hahahahahaha did I say a little swim, I did mention the jetty was 800m long, didn't I ?
- Just so nobody gives me too much of a hard time I do have to mention that there is a car park south of the grain terminal which is less secluded than the one I am suggesting to use as a kit up area and is most probably a little safer (I offer no guarantees) but the walk is at least 1/2Km so the choice is up to you.
Dive Review:
- If you are going to dive this site you are going to have to accept that there is going to be a bit of a swim involved if you want to reach the end of the jetty or, if you want to get a bit of depth to your dive. If you don't I am convinced you are not going to get out and back on one cylinder of air and actually enjoy the dive site at the same time.
- On the previous occasions that I have dived this site we had to swim out approx. 200 meters before we descended. If you want to fully explore the end of the jetty then you may wish to swim out even further, possibly another 100 meters or so on top.
- Like I have said at least once before, this is a massive jetty and I would say there first five to six hundred meters of this jetty is pretty much identical, with the last 50 - 100 meters changing the dive site quite dramatically.
- The jetty is shallow for the majority of this site, to get any real depth you have to dive the last 50 - 100 meters. And it is in this last 50 - 100 meters that things get a little more interesting.
- Ok lets get you in first and then you can decide what you want to do. You have kitted up and made your way to the water, next just start swimming out.
- At about 200 meters you will easily be able to see a yellow marker buoy on the north side (a lot better than you can in this picture), as you get closer to this you will come across a set of ladders also on the north side of the jetty. This is the minimum swim out distance you need to complete to see the whole jetty at an enjoyable pace.
- If you want to "explore" the end of the jetty swim out at least as far as the yellow marker buoy if not a little further
- NOTE: Remember this being the minimum swim out distance all depends on your air consumption, you may have an excellent litres per minute breath rate or, you could be like me and go through air like an alcoholic drinks at an open bar. So again the novice diver really needs to get a basic idea of there air consumption for certain depths, dive times and possible stresses, like the cold, excitement, tiredness anything that can have an affect on air consumption. Always remember 1/3 out, 1/3 back & 1/3 spare if you are not sure on your air consumption.
- Ok you are in the water and, you have done your swim out. I am sure the first time you dive this jetty you will want to get to the very end just to explore it, but that's up to you.
The Shallow & The Macro
- Like I said the site is quite shallow and for that reason you will be generally investigating the macro life that piles up around the pylons. In between each set of pylons the life just seems to peter out and then at the next set of pylons this explosion of life happens all over again.
- The pylons are set approx. 10 meters apart and the jetty is approx. 15 meters across, I am not 100% sure but the gap between pylons may lengthen as you get to the end of the jetty (just so you don't think you are slowing down).
- If you want to get into macro photography this is a great place to come and practice and a lot of photographers and divers that love to photograph (there is a difference), love this site just for that reason. The way these areas just rise up from the sandy wasteland remind me of miniature futuristic cityscapes and, they are loaded with tiny life.
- Like I said there is not a great deal of difference after you have descended for the next few hundred meters, so don't expect too much change.
The Deep & The Dark
- So you are now left with the last 50 - 100 meters of this dive site.
- The first thing you will notice that tells you that you are coming to the end of the jetty is there appears to be a denser collection of debris, large angular structures that appear to serve no other purpose other than just being there.
- Then you will notice the seabed changes, just before you near the end it begins to undulate, you get these increase hills at the pylons and troughs in between that begin to get deeper and steeper.
- And finally you feel this brief or minor sense of foreboding when everything starts to turn dark and gloomy, then you know you are at the T' section of the jetty.
- In this area you will find some of the larger schools and larger fish.
The Light Side
The Dark Side
Marine Life
Conclusion
What do you want from this dive ?
- I think this is the first question you have to ask yourself before diving this site.
- Do I want to explore the depths of the T' section or do I want to play around in shallows looking at the macro life, take my time and take some photographs. I am sure most divers at least on the first dive will want to consider getting to the end and checking out the wonderful gloominess of the T' section.
- So if you going to hit the end of the jetty just swim out 300 meters (which is beyond the yellow marker) before descending. Be aware that if there is a ship docked of the possibility that its engines may be started up just so you don't freak out.
- If you just want to take some photographs and practice your macro photography, you really dont have to go out much further than the 200 meter mark, it remains shallow between 4 - 7 meters for the next 350 meters with not a great deal of change in marine life so you can descend and just play about in the safety of knowing that your air should last for a quite considerable time and that you really aren't that far from the shore.
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