SCUBA Diving in Victoria

 

Victorian waters, including Port Phillip Bay and WesternPort are home to some of the greatest shore diving sites in and around Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula. There are more than 20 marine parks and sanctuaries along Victoria's coastline where some of the states most unique and interesting marine life are free to flourished undisturbed and safe from anglers giving divers and snorkellers the chance to see the temperate underwater world in its natural state. Some of the flora and marine creatures found in these protected areas are found nowhere else in the world making many of Victoria's Shore Dives unique and an absolute must see. With marine life including soft corals and sponges to seals, seahorses and seadragons to name but a few.

 

Melbourne & Port Phillip

In the Melbourne area, most dive sites are at the southern end of Port Phillip or just outside the heads, and near the entrance to Western Port. Visibility is generally in the 10 to 20 metre range during summer, reducing to around half this in winter.

Melbourne is an ideal area for wreck diving, with over 60 shipwrecks from the 19th century. While many of these are too deep for all but very experienced divers, there are also a number that are easily accessible, with one of the most popular being the Eliza Ramsden. Also popular are four World War One J-class submarines that were scuttled in the 1920s. A little further afield is the ex-HMAS Canberra, which was scuttled off Ocean Grove in late 2009 and sits at a depth of 28 metres.

There are many other dives on offer around Port Phillip and Western Port. Popes Eye, a ring of rocks that was originally built as a fort is, today, home to seals and numerous species of birds and fish. Lonsdale Wall and Nepean Wall, near Port Phillip Heads, offer spectacular diving with ledges, caves, swim-throughs and numerous species of fish and other marine life. Seal Rocks, off the western tip of Phillip Island, provides the opportunity to watch seals in their natural habitat.

For shore dives or snorkelling, the piers at Portsea, Rye and Flinders are ideal and have a wide variety of sea life. The Rye pier has an underwater trail that provides a marine life tour. The Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of Beaumaris, is another good place for snorkelling, with a variety of marine life on its sandstone platforms.