Edithburgh Jetty Snorkel
LOCATION Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 2-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Easy access from the jetty but depth might put new snorkellers off
FEATURE
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Edithburgh Jetty Snorkel
LOCATION Edithburgh, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 2-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Easy access from the jetty but depth might put new snorkellers off
FEATURE
Edithburgh Jetty Snorkel
Edithburgh Jetty, one of Australia’s top dive sites, offers a fun snorkelling experience. While the deeper waters are best suited for those comfortable duck diving, the vibrant marine life around the pylons is fantastic for snorkellers.
What Can I See?
One of the main draws of the Edithburgh Jetty is the chance to see a leafy sea dragon. One of the best dive sites in Australia, if you can get to the bottom there are a range of octopus, sea stars, cuttlefish and nudibranch species to see.
- Leafy Sea Dragon
- Octopus
- Fish
- Sea stars
- Nudibranch
- Cuttlefish
Getting There
Edithburgh is on the East Coast of Yorke Peninsula about 2 hours 45 minutes from Adelaide. Easiest way to get there is self drive.
Where & How do you get in?
Easy access from stairs on the jetty. There is parking right next to the jetty too.
Best Season
Even in summer you will want a light wetsuit to stay warm. In winter, conditions can be lovely but the water will be cold – 15 or 16 degrees.
Potential Hazards
- Cold Water
- Fishing from the Jetty
Recommended Gear
- Wetsuit
Parking
- You can park near the jetty but if conditions are good, the car park gets busy with fishers and divers.
The information for each snorkel spot is provided by people who have snorkelled there. However, snorkelling conditions change daily. Please be aware that wind, swell, tides and cloud cover can all affect visibility and your experience in the water.
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Tours
Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries (EMS) do guided snorkellers here and dive shops run tour packages for scuba divers.
Best Conditions
Best snorkelling here is in light winds or when there is a westerly or northerly breeze. For snorkellers, low tide is better as you are closer to the bottom. Snorkelling 45mins either side of low tide is a good option. Ideally swell be less than 1m.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the wind icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain. To clear the four day forecast click and close the wind icon.
Facilities at Edithburg Jetty
Toilets are available a short distance from the jetty – 100m up the main street. Food, drinks, accommodation are all available in the town. Tank refills for divers are available from the petrol station.
Toilets
Parking
Food & Drinks
About the Snorkel
Edithburgh Jetty is one of the top dive sites in Australia but how did we go snorkelling here?
First, like anywhere on the eastern side of Yorke Peninsula if you don’t get the right wind conditions, forget it! On our first try to snorkel here, the easterly winds made it not worth getting in. When we saw some light northerlies forecast, we tried again with more luck.
We snorkelled here twice, once at high tide and once at low tide and low tide is better, you get closer to the action. The water is quite deep here so if you are not comfortable duck diving, a lot of the best life will be well below you.
That said, even if you stay on the surface, there is no shortage of life on the pylons to explore. It is mostly concentrated around the middle third of the jetty. The pinks, yellows and oranges of the soft corals are spectacular, and you will spot lots of crabs and shrimp darting around.
There are lots of fish, but most will be below you. We saw lots of jetty favourites like old wives, sea sweep, moonlighters, morwongs, zebra fish, magpie perch, long nose boar fish, cow fish and goat fish. If you can get further down, you might also see octopus and leafy sea dragons. We spotted an 11 armed sea star here which was cool.
Edithburgh Jetty is a fun spot for experienced snorkellers. But if you tend to stay up top rather than getting down 5 – 8m, you will have a similar and potentially easier snorkel experience at Ardrossan Jetty on the same side of the Peninsula or Point Turton Jetty if conditions here are poor.
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