Madrona Point Dive Site at Nanoose Bay

With its good shore access and multiple dive plans you can follow, this site is easily the best shore dive location in the Central Island area. You can dive the Small Wall, the Mid Wall, and the Maze, which are all good dives at a 60 foot max depth, and the last, the Main Wall is an advanced level dive maxing out around 90 feet. This awesome Nanoose Bay dive site always has lots to see and do with depths and challenges to accommodate all levels of divers.

It is located just one half hour north of Nanaimo BC. You follow the Island Hwy (19) north to a road called Northwest Bay Road and turn right. Follow this winding road for 5 or 8 minutes and then make another right at Beaver Creek Wharf Rd. This road will "T" into Madrona Drive. Left here and when you reach the dead end you are at the dive site.

On my last visit there we saw a small pod of Orcas just as we were about to go into the water. There were 5 or 6 of them and they were very close to shore. Good thing we were running a few minutes late or they would have gone right over our heads! Especially exciting about this site is the strong possibility of some interaction with the local sea lions, as this site is located very close to a log dump where the sea lions have been hanging out for years.

Meeting these five or six hundred pound giants (these are the California Sea Lions; Steller Sea Lions can be over 1000 lbs) can be a little intimidating to say the least, but we have yet to hear about any dangerous or aggressive behavior from these large mammals. Even so we suggest you keep your hands to yourself! Did you know sea lions display aggression by going vertical in the water and blowing bubbles? Sound familiar?

So where would you like to start? Just follow the links below.

Madrona Point Dive Sites:

• Small & Mid Walls
• The Maze
• Main Wall

This is a guest article by Don Ravensbergen. Visit Don's website, vancouver-island-dive-sites.com, for more information on Vancouver Island's best scuba diving locations.