Stansbury Jetty Snorkel
LOCATION Stansbury, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 1-4 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Easy access, shallow, sheltered in the right conditions
FEATURE
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Stansbury Jetty Snorkel
LOCATION Stansbury, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia
DEPTH 1-4 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
Easy access, shallow, sheltered in the right conditions
FEATURE
Stansbury Jetty Snorkel
This little holiday town on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula is a hidden snorkelling gem. There is easy access from the jetty to a world of colourful sponges and marine life or explore the nearby rock wall of the breakwater. This sheltered snorkel is ideal for beginners. Also look out for the seals that cruise between the jetty and boat ramp.
What Can I See?
- Seals
- Magpie Perch
- Moonlighters
- Colourful Sponges
- Crabs
Getting There
Stansbury is on the eastern side of Yorke Peninsula about 200km from Adelaide. It is a sealed road all the way and driving there is the best option.
Where & How do you get in?
Super easy entry here. Get kitted up in the car park then make your way either to the jetty where you can go down the steps on the left side or enter from the sand between the breakwater and jetty.
Best Season
You can snorkel here any time of year but the water will be warmest from December to March. You’ll certainly want a wetsuit outside of these times.
Potential Hazards
- Fishing lines from the Jetty
- Boat Traffic
Parking
- There is a generous parking area which is because there is a boat ramp on the other side of the breakwater here. In school holidays, particularly over January it will be busy here. We snorkelled early and parking was no problem. Parking is free.
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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Best Conditions
Being on the eastern side of the peninsula, if there is a breeze you will want it coming from the west or north. Because of the breakwater, you might get away with a southeasterly but any breeze from the east will spoil it. Not too tide dependent here in terms of having water to snorkel in, but there will be less current at the turn of the tide or when there is only small tidal variation 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 Stansbury Jetty
The town centre is just a minute or two drive from the jetty and you can grab food and drinks there.
Toilets
Picnic Tables
Parking
BBQ’s
Shade
About the Snorkel
We weren’t originally looking to go for a snorkel at Stansbury, but we were staying nearby, it was a sunny morning so we thought we would go for a look. Conditions were lovely and as we walked out to the jetty we saw a seal cruising around between the pylons.
That was all we needed to see to decide to slip our snorkelling gear on. Of course, by the time we made it into the water, the seal had moved on, but this was still a nice spot to snorkel.
There was a bit of colour on the pylons but maybe not quite as much as we saw at Edithburgh, Ardrossan or Point Turton. That said, there were plenty of splashes of orange and pink and lots of small life living around it.
We did see a heap of blue swimmer crabs. There were also some moonlighters, zebra fish and oldwives cruising around. It’s quite likely the seal might have sent some fish into hiding.
We entered via the stairs on the jetty, swam under the jetty to the end then returned to shore along the breakwater that runs parallel to the jetty. By the time we got to the rocks the water was getting stirred up but there were plenty of small schools of fish along here and we spotted a couple of flatheads in the sand between the jetty and the breakwater.
If conditions are good having a better look around the rocks could be quite good fun. We were probably more excited by our snorkels at Point Turton, Wool Bay and Edithburgh but Stansbury Jetty is a worth a look if conditions are ok.
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