Lou’s Reef
Protected Area
Bushrangers Bay
Why dive here
With 199+ marine species recorded in the area - including blue sharks, bull sharks, dolphins, dugongs and great white sharks - Lou’s Reef offers some of Sydney & New South Wales's richest cave diving. Water ranges 18-23°C, warmest January, February, March.
Lou’s Reef, for us, is one of those Sydney sites that constantly delivers, even on an average day. We’ve had dives here where the visibility was a murky 5 metres, yet the sheer volume of fish still made it worthwhile. It’s a rocky reef, dropping to around 24 metres, but it’s the smaller details that really make it special. Look closely and you’ll find a surprising amount of invertebrate life: those intricate sea spiders crawling over sponges, and vibrant sea tulips swaying gently in the surge. The current, which can sometimes be a bit of a push, is exactly what feeds the place, drawing in schools of yellowtail scad and trevally. Our favourite encounters often involve the smaller, rarer stuff-we’ve spotted Carnelian Cowries here that are just stunning. It’s a site that rewards patience and a good torch, perfect for divers who appreciate the subtle beauty of temperate reefs rather than just big pelagics.
Safety Notes
Overhead environment - never enter without proper cave/cavern training, redundant equipment, and a guideline.
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Conditions
Ocean conditions, forecast and tides for Lou’s Reef
Lou’s Reef Ocean Conditions
Monthly averages for Lou’s Reef, sourced from Open-Meteo marine data - nearest station: Open-Meteo marine grid (-33.18, 151.63) (7km away)
October Averages
Sea Temperature
20°C
67°F · Range: 18.5–20.7°C
Air Temperature
17°C
63°F
Wind Speed
5.95 m/s
11.6 knots
Atmospheric Pressure
1016.2 hPa
Based on 4 years of monitoring data · Data sources: Open-Meteo marine data
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