Cable Bay/Pepin Island
On the road to Blenheim 15 km from Nelson is the Cable Bay turn-off, 8km from here to Cable Bay , and a private road , about 6 km from turn off takes you to Delaware Bay. Divers can walk out the left hand side of Cable Bay or from shore. Try and Get out around the rocks (about 800 m from shore) for the best diving . A bit too far to lug tanks so a surface swim or dive out is the easiest option. Best to use a dive flag on a float as boats use this side to access the bay.
The Right side is not as exciting, but a reef runs through the middle of the bay, at about 15 m. Also of note is the old communication cable running through the bay which gave the bay its name.
The Pepin Island reef (top end of Pepin Island) can be accessed by smaller boats which can be launched from Cable bay. This will also enable better access to Delaware Bay and the other side of Pepin Island. There can be interesting diving around both sides of Pepin Island, with little bays and rocks spread out over a large area.
Moki, blue cod, terakihi, small crayfish, the odd kingfish and kawhai (right time of year), snapper if lucky and some shellfish can all be found on the outer limits of cable bay and off the Pepin island reef. (A lot of smaller fish, so be careful of limits.) The reef and areas around Pepin Island offer some good Free diving and spearfishing close to Nelson.
This is a very popular bay for a dive close to Nelson and offers some nice and easy shore diving for those wishing to just get wet, try new gear or gain new skills. Smaller fish such as triple fins, mullet, (if your lucky a seahorse or two), octopus, maybe even a sting ray and others. the further out the diver gets, more fish species become prevalent.