McKenzie Bight

Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
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Difficulty
beginner
Viz (last reported 124151h ago)
Max Depth
65.6 ft

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at McKenzie Bight

Diving here you go 30-40 ft from shore and descend. There is a wall with some interesting contours along it. The wall starts at about 30ft and goes all the way down over 120ft. If you are lucky in the summer you will find 6 gill sharks but only at 80ft and deeper. This dive site does require a walk of approximately 5 minutes. And a rocky trail leads down to the gravel beach. Once you are in the water there are some walls, but not much life on them. There is more life in the gravel. This site is more well known for one of the few places that the Six Gill Sharks sometimes are spotted here during the summer at depths of around 30 metres [100 feet]. Head north on the Pat Bay Highway (#17) turn off, then left at the Royal Oak Dr. overpass (look for the sign) follow Royal Oak Dr. till you get to West Saanich Road. Follow north 6.5km , turn left onto Wallace a Dr. then when you see Willis Point Rd. turn left (the only way to go) Follow all the way to the end (8.2km) where you will find Mark Lane. Go left and you will find McKenzie Bight. There will be a locked gate. Go down the path a bit and you will find different paths that lead to different beaches and entry points(spot #1 is 200m,spot #2 is 600m and #3 is the end). I usual take the first one I see but check it out in advance. - Geoff
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(2)
Lloyd Haskell
Lloyd Haskell
Mar 14, 2010, 12:00 AM
scuba
McKenzie Bight is a great dive site for all levels of divers . Today vis was 100 foot plus, and makes for a very special dive. You never know what you may run into here. I saw my first Pacific Octopus here in 1995. It was in the open on a rock, measured 16 feet across, body the size of a large garbage bag. To this day I have not seen one as big. No wonder I still love coming back here. For that matter, I think we may go back tomorrow.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
Bryan Heit
Bryan Heit
Sep 5, 2004, 12:00 AM
scuba
This is an interesting site, easier to dive then Willis Point (which is next door), but with less life then either Willis Point or Henderson Point (both within a few minutes drive). Biggest downside to this site is that there isn't easy shore access - the nearest entry point to the parking lot is over 200m away, down a rough pathway. Additional entry points can be found even farther along the path, but by the time you hit the first entry point you'll be bushed, and not wanting to walk any further. Some sort of tank/weight belt carrying cart may be in order for this site. Entry at the first point is easy - you just walk in off the beach, and swim straight out from shore. There is an underwater gully at this site, which makes for an interesting bottom contour to follow. A nice dive, but Willis or Henderson point are a hell of a lot easier to get to, and have nearly identical life.
Originally posted on shorediving.com
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