Mill Bay Boardwalk Snorkel
LOCATION Wagonga Inlet, Narooma, New South Wales
DEPTH 5-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 19-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy to Medium
The tidal movement can make it a very fast drift snorkel.
FEATURE
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Mill Bay Boardwalk Snorkel
LOCATION Wagonga Inlet, Narooma, New South Wales
DEPTH 5-8 Meters
WATER TEMP 19-22 degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy to Medium
The tidal movement can make it a very fast drift snorkel.
FEATURE
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Mill Bay Boardwalk
The Mill Bay Boardwalk is a 350m long walk way along one side of the Wagonga Inlet in Narooma, New South Wales. There is plenty of life in the water below the boardwalk including seals, huge stingrays, colourful fish and seahorses.
What Can I See?
- Seals
- Stingray
- Seahorses
- Small Fish
There were some big schools of fish but the highlight was seeing the resident Australian fur seals and smooth or short-tailed stingrays up close. It might be a bit scary if big things freak you out, otherwise it is a great sight.
Where & How do you get in?
Whether the tide is going in or out will also determine which end of the boardwalk you start. The 350 metre long wood boardwalk is on the north side of Wagonga Inlet. One end is near the Narooma Bridge, from there it curves its way along the water’s edge to Apex Park following Centenary Drive. There is a boat ramp at each end of the boardwalk and you will snorkel between the two.
Best Season
November to April will provide the best weather condition for snorkelling at Narooma. The water temperature in the inlet will be between 19-22 degrees.
Potential Hazards
The tidal current really pulls you along so you need to have the confidence to just go with the flow. If the idea of a 2m wide stingray swimming under you is scary, be prepared.
How Busy/Crowds
Most people enjoy the Mill Bay Boardwalk from above either on foot or on a bike. You certainly won’t feel crowded in the water.
Getting There
Narooma is on the south coast of New South Wales, 355km south of Sydney. The township straddles the inlet and you can’t miss the wooden boardwalk that follows the northern bank of the bay.
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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.
Best Conditions
The best way to snorkel along the boardwalk is to do it with the tide so check which way it is running before you start. Whether the tide is going in or out will also determine which end you start.
The tidal current can be quite strong so if you can snorkel on the turn of the tide, you won’t be swept along quite so fast.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain etc
Facilities at Mill Bay Boardwalk
Toilets
Picnic Table
BBQ
Shade
Parking
About the Snorkel
We had a great time snorkelling along the boardwalk. We snorkelled with the outgoing tide and we were swept along at a pretty fast pace. In hindsight, we would do it again when the current wasn’t as strong because it was hard going against it.
That didn’t stop us having an amazing time. We were joined by one of the local fur seals as we got in. We thought that would be the highlight but halfway along a giant smooth ray started following us. They are enormous and it was a bit scary having it follow us just 2 metres below.
It eventually lost interest (phew!) and we got to see some big schools of fish and there were some colourful fish too that you might expect to see on a coral reef snorkel.
The only thing we didn’t see were the seahorses that live below the boardwalk but I think we were drifting by a bit fast to spot them.
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