It’s been a mixed year for snorkelling – lots of rain has made for poor visibility and then we had some monster swells. Waniora Point is located just to the south of Sandon Point. Known for the surf spot – Peggys – it has a good car park, a coffee shop, a headland to check out conditions and showers at the surf club.

Having said that, Waniora is not a place for beginners. The entrance/exit points are shallow, making it tricky even in a small swell or wind wave and very sensitive to tide height. The reef itself has very little above the high tide and so both north and south are affected by wind and waves from the other side, which makes for a challenging mix of currents and chop.

However … there is lots to see. On the northern side it slowly slopes off into water of about 4m or so and I have seen wobbegongs, lots of crimson banded wrasse, luderick and blind sharks.

On the southern side there are some drop-offs and ledges where I have seen southern eagle rays, tailor, stingrays and plenty of blue groper.

At the eastern end, which is quite a swim, there are some spectacular gullies where I have seen schools of yellowtail, hulas, southern pomfrets, sea pike and the odd yellowfin bream. I always think the gutters should hold grey nurse sharks, but all I have seen there so far is a couple of small bronze whalers, and a dive buddy reckons he recently saw a young black tip shark.

There are large meadows of the introduced green seaweed, Caulerpa filiformis, which can be seen easily in the drone footage in the linked video.

When checking the place out, have a thought about how the exit point may change if the tide changes or the wind gets up. There are beach bail-outs on the northern and southern side so it’s possible to avoid getting mashed on the rocks. On Saturday mornings the carpark can fill up quickly as runners gather for their 8am start.

Watch Duncan’s film of this snorkel below and follow his YouTube channel, Illawarra Underwater