Second Valley Snorkel
LOCATION Second Valley, Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 2-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Medium
Currents and swell can make this snorkel challenging
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2024 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Second Valley Snorkel
LOCATION Second Valley, Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 2-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Medium
Currents and swell can make this snorkel challenging
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2024 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Second Valley Snorkel
The snorkelling at Second Valley is as spectacular as the coastline. Located on the Fleurieu Peninsula 90minutes from Adelaide, Second Valley has a range of environments to explore from the jetty, rocky headlands and caves. Along with a variety of reef fish, also keep an eye out for leafy sea dragons. On a good day the snorkelling here is stunning, the underwater landscape hosts a huge variety of fish, sea stars, plant life.
What Can I See?
- Leafy Sea Dragons – the challenge is spotting them!
- Morwongs
- Schools of sweep and zebra fish
- Scalyfins, magpie perch and file fish
- Velvet sea stars
Getting There
Second Valley is on the Fleurieu Peninsula about 90km/90 minutes south of Adelaide. It is a scenic drive on a sealed road. There is no public transport, you will need your car.
Where & How do you get in?
There are several entry points. You can get in the water from the beach and swim over to the jetty and beyond. There are steps on the jetty. If conditions allow you can also follow a path over the rocks left of the jetty to a small bay and snorkel back to the jetty – this is our favourite option but you’ll want reef shoes to get across the rocks to the water.
Best Season
December to March is when the water is the ‘warmest’ but you might want a wet suit here year round, it’s chilly. No seasonal considerations for marine life.
Potential Hazards
- Watch out for fishing lines from the jetty or the rocks
Recommended Gear
- Reef Shoes
- Wet Suit
How Busy / Crowds
- Can get busy on the weekend or during summer school holidays
Parking
- There is a parking for about 30 cars down by the jetty but on a sunny day on the weekend or over school holidays this will quickly fill up. There is more parking back up the road which will leave you with a walk of 150-200m to the water.
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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If you have snorkelled here, rate your experience
Tours
We haven’t done it, but Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries do tours here.
Best Conditions
This is quite an exposed area so will you want a day or low wind (less than 15kmh) and swell (1m or less). If there is a breeze, easterly or northerly is best. Give it a miss here if there is a southerly or westerly, you likely won’t see a thing.
We have dived here and there can be strong currents. Aim foir the turn of tide or when there isn’t too much tidal movement across the day
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 Second Valley
There is a good café just near the jetty, perfect for grabbing an ice cream or drink post-snorkel.
Toilets
Picnic Tables
Parking
Food & Drinks
About the Snorkel
Even though neighbouring Rapid Bay Jetty gets most of the attention, the beautiful Second Valley is a fantastic snorkel. It is much less challenging for less experienced snorkellers than Rapid Bay with no long swims required. We have dived and snorkelled here a few times but have only ever had average conditions but on our last snorkel finally cracked it for a day when visibility was great, and the currents weren’t too strong.
For our snorkel we headed onto the rocky path to the left of the jetty that takes you to the other side of the small point. It is a walk of about 200m. It’s a bit awkward getting to the water’s edge but not a problem on a calm day. Reef shoes will definitely help.
We had a look around the bay, went left to the cave then came back and snorkelled around the point back to the jetty.
The cave was interesting to see from the water, but the best snorkelling was back the other way. The area around the rocky point on your way back back to the jetty was our favourite. Take your time here, there is plenty to see including morwongs, schools of sweep and zebra fish, scalyfins, magpie perch and file fish in the weeds. We also spotted a couple of velvet sea stars.
We were hoping to see a leafy sea dragon, but missed out. Experiencing Marine Sanctuaries do guided tours here and their experts can find them. Chatting to someone who went on one of their tours, they spotted the leafies just to the right of the jetty so perhaps try your luck around there.
We loved our snorkel here, 10m+ visibility and calm conditions helped, and it is definitely worth being patient and going here on a good day. There can be a bit of current around the point so check the tides and wind and go when the water is calm and still. It gets busy here on weekends but if you can visit during the week, you won’t find a more spectacular spot for a snorkel.
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