Diving & Travel Guide to Victoria – Bass Strait

About Victoria – Bass Strait

The Bass Strait coastline of Victoria, stretching from the western edge of Port Phillip Bay to the South Australian border, offers rugged and rewarding temperate-water diving along one of Australia's most dramatic coastlines, where the wild Southern Ocean meets the sheltered waters of the strait. The region's diving is anchored by the HMAS Canberra, a purpose-sunk naval frigate sitting upright in approximately 28 meters of water off Ocean Grove, creating one of Australia's premier artificial reef wrecks with extensive marine colonization including sponges, soft corals, and schooling fish. The Pinnacles, offshore from the Bellarine Peninsula, offer dramatic bommie diving with vibrant invertebrate life and regular encounters with schooling kingfish and pelagic species. Lonsdale Bight provides accessible shore diving with rocky reef systems and abundant marine life, while the Apollo Bay region on the Great Ocean Road offers Marengo Reefs with excellent wall diving and the SS Casino wreck, a historic steamship that sank in 1932. The Great Ocean Road coastline continues west with dramatic limestone cliffs, submerged reefs, and the famous Twelve Apostles providing a backdrop to underwater landscapes of kelp forests, sponge gardens, and rocky gutters. Port Fairy offers sheltered diving in the harbour and offshore reef systems, while Warrnambool's Lady Bay provides historic wreck diving. Portland, at the western end of the coast, offers Lawrence Rocks and Bridgewater Bay with excellent diving in the cooler waters of the Southern Ocean. The region's diving is characterized by its wild beauty, cold but clear waters, and a sense of adventure that comes from diving one of Australia's most exposed and dramatic coastlines.

Highlights

• ✓HMAS Canberra wreck – premier artificial reef off the Bellarine Peninsula
• ✓The Pinnacles – dramatic bommie diving with vibrant marine life
• ✓Great Ocean Road coastline with dramatic underwater landscapes
• ✓SS Casino wreck at Apollo Bay – historic steamship dive
• ✓Portland's Lawrence Rocks and Bridgewater Bay in Southern Ocean waters
• ✓Wild and uncrowded diving along one of Australia's most scenic coastlines

Getting There

The Bass Strait coastline is accessed from Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road, one of the world's most scenic coastal drives. The eastern section (Bellarine Peninsula, Ocean Grove) is approximately 90 minutes from Melbourne, while Apollo Bay is about 3 hours and Portland is approximately 4.5 hours. The region is also accessible via the Princes Highway for the inland route to Warrnambool and Portland. There are no major commercial airports on the coast, though Avalon Airport (AVV) near Geelong provides a closer alternative to Melbourne Airport. Dive operators run trips from Ocean Grove, Apollo Bay, Warrnambool, and Portland, and many of the shore dive sites are accessible from the Great Ocean Road. The region is best explored by car, as the dive sites are spread along 400 kilometers of coastline, and the Great Ocean Road drive itself is one of Australia's must-do experiences.