Ball's Pyramid

Ball's Pyramid is the world's tallest sea stack, rising 562 metres from the Tasman Sea in sheer vertical columns of eroded basalt, and its underwater walls plunge with equal drama into deep blue water hosting species found nowhere else on Earth. The submerged flanks are draped in giant kelp forests, black coral trees, and crimson sea fans that filter the cold Tasman current, while schools of Galapagos sharks and yellowtail kingfish patrol the exposed pinnacles. The sheer remoteness and a charter permit system that limits visitor numbers to a handful of boats per year make every dive here a genuine first-order experience.