One of these dives is Spider Cave. This cave is located on the southern headland a kilometre or so from the point closest to Bowen Island. I do admit that ocassionally, in millpond seas, the charter boats do sometimes go here. The GPS mark for anchoring is 35° 08' 19"S 150° 45' 48"E (using AUS66 as datum - see my GPS Page for more info). This is a fascinating dive, with a cave extending about 80 to 100 metres back under the enormous cliff. The cave has three entrances, one on top of another. As you enter from the bottom one (24m) you swim for 10 metres and ascend into the middle entrance (21m) and continue towards the rear of the cave. After a short distance you encounter the top entrance (17m) and another short swim brings you to a seemingly dead end. However, ascending brings you to another section of the cave (12m) and another "dead end". Once more you ascend through a small hole and enter the far end of the cave (7m).

After retracing your steps back to the cave's entrance, you can follow the wall for a distance to the north or south of the cave. The depth close to the wall is shallow, in the order of 5 to 10 metres in some spots. The wall rises up straight to the cliff above (there is no rock platform). There are some small boulders and overhangs along here, especially to the south. Further from the wall the depth drops away to more than 25 metres. If you travel right out at right angles to the shore, you will encounter the reef's edge and the sand at almost 30 metres. There are some nice walls to the south and a lot of large boulders on the edge and just off on the sand.

There are some spots which have plenty of fish (the cave entrance's for example) and nice sponge gardens. However, the main reason to dive here is Spider Cave itself. While not as big or majestic as Fish Rock Cave at South West Rocks, it is dive you could repeat time after time.