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Bay of Islands

Reef Dive Reef Dive | Boat access Boat access

Ideal For Snorkelling Open Water Rated Reef Dive Site

Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands | Source: Visit Victoria

Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft) to 20 m (66 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

The Bay of Islands is a boat diving and snorkelling site, located between Peterborough to the east and Warrnambool to the west, off of the Great Ocean Road (B100) on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast. If you want to tackle this area as a shore dive, please see Boat Bay.

The Bay of Islands forms a part of the Bay of Islands Coastal Park, a 32 kilometre stretch of coastal reserve on the Shipwreck Coast of Victoria along the Great Ocean Road between Peterborough and Warrnambool. It's an irregular, semi-circular bay that faces south-west and has several large sea stacks or islands dotted about the bay, together with rocks and reefs. Most of the bay shore is made up of steep, 10 to 20-metre high limestone bluffs. However, tucked in the eastern corner of the bay and right next to the bend in the Great Ocean Road, is a gorge containing a 70-metre long beach. The beach is used for boat launching and there is a steep ramp and steps descending from the bluffs to the beach. The beach itself is narrow, with deepwater offshore, particularly at high tide. The reefs filter out most waves, with usually calm conditions at the beach.

Diving and Snorkelling the Bay of Islands

Bay of Islands Boat Ramp
Bay of Islands Boat Ramp

The Bay of Islands site is a boat diving and snorkelling adventure starting at Boat Bay, where there is a boat ramp and plenty of parking.

There is plenty of interesting structure to explore and marine life to see at the Bay of Islands. The site faces south-west, and is very shallow for a long way out which makes it better as a boat dive site, as you can more easily access the many interesting areas, especially further out than you'll get on a shore dive.

The Bay of Islands looks to be a similar dive site to Crofts Bay. However, it's not as sheltered a dive location and is subject to currents, especially when there are big breaks on the outer reefs.

Location: Boat Bay Road, Peterborough, Victoria 3270

Parking: There is a car and boat parking area on Boat Bay Road, off the Great Ocean Road (B100). Before heading out, check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Safety Warning: Boats launch here, so make sure you tow a dive float with a dive flag for safety, or keep your boat running live nearby.

Ideal Conditions: The Bay of Islands is best dived at high tide when the reefs are covered. See WillyWeather (Bay of Islands) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Boat Launching: The nearest boat launching facility is right here at the Peterborough Bay of Islands Boat Ramp, or you can venture out from the Peterborough Curdies River Dorey Street Boat Ramp.

{{southern-ocean-warning}}
Eastern Maar country
Eastern Maar country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Eastern Maar people of south-western Victoria between the Shaw and Eumerella Rivers and from Yambuk in the south to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. This truly ancient Country extends as far north as Ararat and encompasses the coastal townships of Port Fairy in the west, Warrnambool, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne, and Airies Inlet in the east, including the Great Ocean Road area. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide and therefore includes the iconic Twelve Apostles. "Eastern Maar" is a name adopted by the people who identify as Maar, Eastern Gunditjmara, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch (Tooram Tribe) amongst others. We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

 

Bay of Islands Location Map

Latitude: 38° 34.950′ S   (38.582497° S / 38° 34′ 56.99″ S)
Longitude: 142° 49.306′ E   (142.821774° E / 142° 49′ 18.39″ E)

Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2021-06-04 14:21:49 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 19:39:46 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Boat Bay, 577 m, bearing 73°, ENE
Peterborough, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 2 to 20 m.



DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.

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