WZT (formerly known as TZT) is one of the most popular sites for training activities in Lake Zurich. The majority of the site has a flat bottom at around ten to twelve meters, making it an ideal spot for beginner courses, or for divers who just want to practice with new gear configurations.

Getting there:

By car, from Zurich city: If you are driving from Zurich city, drive down Seestrasse from the Bellevue side of the lake towards Rapperswil. You'll drive down alongside the lake for about five minutes, then the lake will become visible on your right, and you'll see Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen on your left. A few meters after this you'll see the Seepolizei (lake police) buildings on your right, and a large ramp turning off to your right. Take this turn, but do not go up the ramp; turn further right and this will take you to the right of the ramp, then under it. If you drive over the border to Zollikon you have gone too far, WZT is just before Zollikon.

By car, from Rapperswil: Drive up towards Zurich, passing through Küsnacht, then Zollikon. Just before the border of Zurich you'll pass a BMW dealer on the right-hand side. You'll then see a bridge crossing above the road - you need to turn left at the traffic lights under this bridge, and you'll find yourself in a parking area.

By public transport: Take the tram, bus or train to Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen. Tiefenbrunnen is just two stops from the main station, and is still considered part of Zurich's price zone as far as tickets are concerned (zone 10). Leave the station heading towards the lake, cross the street via the underpass and turn left. Walk no more than five minutes along the lake and you'll find yourself in area under a bridge with parking spaces. Nearby you'll find the lake, and a lot of boats.

Parking: As always, parking can be an issue, though this site is nowhere near as problematic as some others. Because it is popular for training, WZT is often very busy on weekends, especially during the main season. The best places to park are under the bridge, if you get there early enough. If there are two cars in your group you can park one behind the other. If there are no spaces under the bridge you can park along the side of the road - but on weekends only. During the week this site is used as a cement factory, so access needs to be given to the cement trucks that frequently collect cement. Therefore don't park anywhere on a weekday except under the bridge. Beware - police often patrol this area, and the parking fines are expensive. Regarding gearing up - the distance from the parking spaces to the water is not great, so you can easily get ready by your car and walk to the water, or carry your gear to the shore of the lake. If you like you can also drive your car to the side of the water to unload your gear. But please take care, this area is a boat ramp, so take care not to get in the way - unload your gear as quickly as possible and drive your car back to the parking spaces.

Entry / Exit: As this site is geared towards beginners the entry and exit possibilities are very simple. A large set of metal stairs with a handrail descends into the water, or a giant stride entry from the nearby jetty is also fairly simple.

Dive Area (Surface): A sign by the boat ramp shows divers the area which is reserved for them - it is forbidden for boats to enter this area. If you stand at the jetty you'll see a series of yellow buoys extending out into the lake, with a blue and white buoy right at the end. Now look across to the right to the end of the jetty, you should see a dive flag. The triangle formed by the position where you are standing, the blue and white buoy and the dive flag is the area you are supposed to dive in. Do not swim under the jetty to the marina area on the right, this is out of bounds for divers. If you see half of the dive flag, it is folded up, and you need to extend this flag before you dive. Failure to do so will result in a fine of around CHF 200 per diver.

Dive Area (Underwater): If you are unfamiliar with the site there are two good spots to start. The first would be to use the stairs. Just under the stairs the water is around two meters deep, and just after this a wall drops down to around four meters. Use the wall as a visual reference and descend to the bottom. Once comfortable, follow the sloping bank down and to the left and within a few meters you'll find a large chain sloping down to the left at around five to six meters. Follow this chain down and you'll find a smaller chain heading directly to the surface, attached to the larger chain at around seven meters. The second way to start this dive would be to descend down the chain attached to the first buoy, which will bring you to the same point. From the junction of the two chains continue to follow the larger chain for a few more meters. You'll find that it soon stops at around nine to ten meters of depth, anchored to a large post. From this point you are only a few meters from a very large water pipe - look out for it. Continue to swim along the bottom for a couple of meters in the same direction you have been traveling, but take care to look up - if you are not careful you will swim right under the pipe without seeing it! You will know when you have seen the pipe - it is about two meters in diameter and at this point the bottom of the pipe sits about one meter from the ground. For the remainder of this dive you will use the pipe to orientate yourself. Now turn right, and swim along the pipe, along the right hand side (Zurich side) of the pipe. After a couple more meters you will come to a section surrounded by large circular railings. Swim around or through the railings and after a couple of meters more you'll find a section where there is a large wooden platform under the pipe. Spend some time examining the platform, then swim around to the far side of the platform and under the pipe, crossing over to the other side of the pipe, and the other side of the platform. As you swim under the pipe, you'll find yourself at around twelve meters of depth, and depending on the time of year and the conditions it may get slightly darker and you may feel that the water gets colder. Now turn left and swim along the pipe back towards the shore. Just before you reach the section with the large circular railings you will see a small wooden box below you. This box is open at both ends - swim through it if you like. Pass the section with the large circular rings, and cross over the pipe by swimming either over it or under it. Swim a few meters turning slightly to the right and you should find either the chain from the beginning of the dive, or the bank sloping gently upwards on your right. In the area at the end of the large chain you might have also found a small stone lion, Ferdinand. There is also a second stone lion at the site, can you find it too? If you would like to end your dive at this point you could continue up the large chain until you find the smaller chain heading to the buoy at the surface, or you could head to the right and follow the bank with your right shoulder heading gently up to around four meters where you should find yourself at the wall at the base of the stairs. You can then head up the wall and the stairs will be visible.

What to look for: It is common to see at lot of Egli at this site. They like to congregate in sheltered areas, and can almost always been seen around the shallower sections of the pipe, close to where it enters the bank. Take particular care to look under the pipe, you can often see very large Egli there. As you finish the dive take a quick look in the sheltered area under the jetty just near the stairs, it is not uncommon to see a few hundred Egli there. Don't forget to look up - if you are lucky you might see a Hecht (pike) hovering motionless above you.

Other attractions: Once you've got to know the site a little you may want to start looking for other attractions. WZT is full of things to do, so if you are interested you could also look for the following:

Diving bell: There are many ways to find the diving bell; one method is to swim down the chain attached to the first buoy. When you reach the bottom swim along the bottom, but away from the sloping bank. This means you will swim away perpendicular to the large chain which is gently sloping towards the bottom. As you swim away from the bank after a couple of meters you should see another large chain lying in the sand. Turn right and follow this chain. Swim slightly to the left of the chain, keeping it on your right. As you swim look to the left, you might see some road signs warning of sharks. After maybe ten meters you'll find that the chain anchors to a large concrete block with other chains leading away from it in different directions. The depth here is ten to eleven meters. You are right near the diving bell. Stop just before the concrete block and look to your left and slightly behind you, the diving bell is one to two meters away from you, anchored to a smaller concrete block. If you can't find it execute a search pattern from the larger concrete block. To find your way back from the diving bell swim towards the large concrete block then pick up the chain on your right. This will take you back the way you came. To get back to the stairs from the diving bell swim towards this chain, then swim over the top of it and keep going straight. You'll soon find yourself heading up a bank towards the steps. Be careful - look up, if you find yourself with no direct access to the surface you have swum under the jetty - head right to get out from under it and find the stairs.

Sauhund: This is a large statue of pig's head on a robed body. It lies horizontally under the main pipe at around 22 meters. Start the dive by locating the pipe (see above for details) and travel along the pipe. You will pass the section with the circular rings, then the section with the large wooden platform. Continue swimming along the pipe for about five minutes. You will come to a large "station" where the pipe is supported by two large pillars. The top of the pipe is around 12 meters at this point. You will probably have noticed that you have dropped below the thermocline and the water is much colder, but also very clear. The Sauhund is now directly below you at 22 meters. Swim around and descend down one of the pillars. Switch on your dive lamp, it will most likely be dark at this depth, and you will be in the shadow of the pipe. You will see the statue between the two pillars. Ascend using one of the pillars as a visual reference and return to the station, then swim back along the pipe. Please note, at this point you are slightly outside the diving zone, therefore avoid ascending to the surface if possible.

Small wreck: There are two small wrecks at WZT, the first is easy to find. Start at the Sauhund (see above) and swim in the direction of Rapperswil (south), i.e. if you are facing the Sauhund, you would turn right. Swim up the slope slightly until you reach a depth of around 20 meters, then continue to swim south (away from the pipe) at this depth. Within a minute you should find the wreck of a small yacht. To return you could swim back in the same direction, adjusting your depth to 22 meters, and finding the Sauhund again, or you could swim up the slope until you reach a depth of around ten meters, then turn left and you should find the pipe again. Second wreck: To be completed later

Underwater shisha: Follow the directions to the Sauhund. Once you locate the Sauhund, the Shisha is located about two metres away, just behind one of the pillars.

Facilities: Toilets are available at this site in two locations. To locate the first toilets walk from the dive area towards Zurich. You'll see a long straight path and at the end the public toilets. They are approximately a one minute walk from the dive area. To locate the second set of toilets walk further towards Zurich as if you were going to the train station. Just before you reach the main road you'll see a very small harbour area, usually populated with wakeboarding boats. You'll also see some tables and chairs, a filling station and a gate. Go through this gate and walk around the building where you will find an entrance. Go inside and up the stairs and you'll find the toilets. Downstairs you will find a vending machine and a small cafeteria. If you ask in advance, the owner of the cafeteria, Pietro, will also prepare a pasta dish for you.