New Zealand · Fiordland
Advanced Fiordland wall dive with black coral and steep relief.
Advanced Fiordland wall dive with black coral and steep relief.
Cray's Crack is an advanced Fiordland reef-and-wall dive where a sloping rocky face drops through kelp and black-coral habitat before giving way to sand, a ledge, and much steeper water beyond. Divers come here for the mix of vertical relief and dense temperate life, with crayfish, butterfly perch, wrasses and schooling fish using the wall while deeper sections add a more serious Fiordland feel. It is best treated as a deliberate scenic wall dive for experienced divers rather than a casual local check-out site.
Safety Notes
Includes wall sections that drop to around 80 m in places; depth control and appropriate gas planning are important.
Access Restrictions
Marine reserve.
Legal Notes
Fiordland marine reserve rules protect the underwater habitat here, including black coral communities, so marine life and structure must be left undisturbed.
Community notes to help plan your visit.
Scuba Diving
Scuba divers can follow the reef slope to ~18 m and explore the shelf near 20 m, with deeper wall sections reaching to about 80 m.
Freediving
Freedive use is only realistic on the shallower reef sections and should stay well clear of the steeper deep-wall profile that defines Cray's Crack.
Snorkeling
This is not a strong snorkel-focused site because the appeal is concentrated in the reef, ledge, and wall structure below the surface.
Last Updated
Research Sources
Sheltered-cove start leading into a fish-rich Fiordland wall.
Remote Fiordland cove with black coral and steep walls.
Sheltered Fiordland beach-and-wall dive with kelp and black coral.