A dive near Hippolyte Rock is a must if you want scuba diving with Australian Fur Seals.
| Name Dive Site: | Hippolyte Rock Seal Colony |
| Depth: | 5-40m (16-131ft) |
| Inserted/Added by: | eaglehawkdive |
| Rated: | Rated not yet |
| Specifications: |   |
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The larger Hippolyte Rock supports a haul-out colony of Australian Fur Seals, which can often be very playful, particularly the youngsters. Apart from the seals, one can expect walls to 40 metres and deeper, carpeted with brightly coloured encrusting invertebrates, including sea whips deeper than 40m. There are often very large schools of fish, particularly Real Bastard Trumpeter. Hippolyte Rock is very current prone, which combined with the depth, makes it an area for very experienced divers only.
Seal encounters can never be guaranteed, but Fur Seals are very curious animals, and are likely to turn up on any of our dive sites, where they will often approach divers and particularly like to play in the bubbles. If approached by a seal, be confident and open in your movements and make eye contact, but avoid sharp, jerky and rapid movements which seem to scare them off. Fur Seals, particularly young ones, often act very similar to adolescent puppies - they usually love to play!
A trip to Hippolyte Rock is often combined with another haul-out area for New Zealand and Australian Fur Seals at the Lanterns near Cape Hauy, at the entrance to Fortescue Bay. This area is more sheltered and shallower than Hippolyte Rock, and is suitable for less experienced divers.
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