Mallacoota - Cape Everard Wilsons Promontory Westernport Bay - Flinders
Melbourne - Port Phillip Bay Geelong - Queenscliff Port Campbell Portland
Many divers come to Warrnambool for the scuba diving and excellent boat and shore diving sites in and around the area.
It is also quite good for snorkeling and underwater photography when the ocean is calm. Each winter the coastline is visited by southern right whales, and many thousands of people gather along the shoreline to watch these magnificent marine mammals calving and playing in the shallow water.
One of the southern coasts most intelligent molluscs, the Giant Cuttlefish Sepia apama is regularly seen at dive sites and around jetties.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
In the past, many thousands of seals and whales were killed and processed here but today Warrnambool is best known as a whale watching area. Each winter the coastline is visited by southern right whales, and many thousands of people gather along the shoreline to watch these magnificent marine mammals calving and playing in the shallow water. Many divers come for the numerous excellent boat and shore diving sites in and around the area.
The region is serviced by DIVE INN ( SSI) dive shop who run scuba diving traing services, air, equipment, guided shore dives and have access to a 40ft Cat for boat diving and instructors based at Port Campbell.
There is no way around it, along these shorelines pound some of the biggest swells on the southern coast. Diving here ( as most places) can only be managed off the coast when the best weather avails. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Breakwater Pier
Although usually considered a beginners dive, there is always something interesting to watch under the Breakwater Pier. Around the pylons you are likely to see pipefish, octopi, cuttlefish, sea stars, boxfish, sweep, wrasse, gobies, blennies and nudibranchs, at depths from 3-9 m.
Growing to only 25 mm the Modest Sea Star Meridiastra atyphoida is endemic to Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia and lives beneath rocks.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Stingray Bay
Although few stingrays have been seen here, the rocky, kelp-covered bay is always a pleasant dive. The bottom is only 7 m deep, but divers will find plenty of wobbegongs, morwong, leatherjackets, rock lobsters, abalone, perch, and a variety of invertebrates among the kelp.
Southern Rock Lobsters Jasus edwardsii come out at night and search for prey in areas around their daytime rock ledge, cave, or crevice. They feed on a variety of molluscs and will also scavenge. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Middle Island
The sheltered waters around Middle Island offer good diving in depths to 12 m. Many ledges and gutters are accessible from the shore, where rock lobsters, blue devilfish, cuttlefish, catsharks, Port Jackson sharks, morwong, wobbegongs and numerous reef fish are usually found.
Although this little Southern Porcellanid Crab Petrocheles australiensis is by no means uncommon, it is rarely seen out in the open and hides beneath rocks and shallow ledges, away from predators.
( Photo: Neville Coleman)
Pickering Point
Similar to many of the dive sites around Warrnambool, Pickering Point provides interesting shore diving on rocky reefs to 8 m. Many local divers catch rock lobsters and abalone on these reefs, and there are always plenty of reef fish and invertebrates around.
One thing the southern coast has huge numbers of, is sea urchins. One of the most numerous is the Common Sea Urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma.
( photo; Neville Coleman)
Helens Rock
One of the most impressive boat diving sites in the area is Helens Rock. This pinnacle rises from 24 m to almost break the surface, and is always surrounded by pelagic fish. Common are kingfish, yellowtail, trevally and the ever-present bullseyes hovering close to the walls.
Brittle stars only come out at night, so, unless one is prepared to look for them under rocks, they are rarely seen during the day. This form of Southern Brittle Star Ophiomyxa australis is relatively easy to identify due to its markings and colouration. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Port Fairy
Located 28 km west of Warrnambool, Port Fairy is a small holiday town with numerous shore and boat diving sites on rocky reefs. A diver with a boat can organise a trip out to Lady Julia Percy Island, which is home to over 5000 Australian fur seals. There are many good dive sites around the island, and plenty of seals to swim with, but the island is rarely dived due to its remote location, and the large number of great white sharks reputedly feeing in the area.
Even though chitons are very well protected by eight separate shell plates that lock into each other, they are still subject to predation by fish and crabs. The Letter Chiton Rhyssoplax callizona lives hidden beneath rocks and only moves around during the night. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
The Warrnambool area has two dive shops which run dive charters, mainly from Port Fairy. The Flagstaff Hill Maritime Museum is a must, as the museum houses a fascinating collection of artefacts from the many ships lost along this rugged coastline.
Mallacoota - Cape Everard Wilsons Promontory Westernport Bay - Flinders
Melbourne - Port Phillip Bay Geelong - Queenscliff Port Campbell Portland
Neville Coleman's diving expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys and marine life identification courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in marine life identification extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around Warrnambool.
( Copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
