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HOOKAH DIVING
Hookah diving systems, also known as Surface Supply Diving Systems, provide a lightweight, low-hassle alternative to traditional scuba gear. The quality hookah dive equipment and hookah accessories available from The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop ensure recreational and commercial divers can get the most out of their surface-supplied air equipment.
Please read Introduction to Hookah Diving for more information about things you need to consider with a hookah diving setup.
We strongly recommend that all Hookah divers take an Open Water Scuba Diving course and become a certified diver. All of the safety precautions that apply to scuba diving also apply to hookah diving. You need to learn and understand things like decompression stops, how to use compressed air and dive computers, and other safety factors. Decompression sickness (DCS), commonly called 'the bends', happens when a diver comes to the surface too quickly. It's a serious health and safety issue and can happen with hookah diving. You should also read books on the subject of underwater diving safety and study them thoroughly. This will further familiarise you with the rules of the deep.
Hanging Gardens
Reef Dive | 
Boat access
Depth: 20 m (66 ft) to 60 m (197 ft)
Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.
The Hanging Gardens dive site can be found on the southern side of Nepean Wall near The Rip, just outside The Heads of Port Phillip on the Point Nepean side. The site features ledges forming a wall starting around 20 metres and going down to 60 metres. The reef ledges are covered in kelp that hangs over them, hence the name Hanging Gardens.
Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park
This site lies in the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park. The park is made up of six separate marine areas around the southern end of Port Phillip: Swan Bay, Mud Islands, Point Lonsdale, Point Nepean, Popes Eye, and Portsea Hole.
Thirty-one of the 120 shipwrecks known to have occurred within a 10 nautical mile radius of Port Phillip Heads are thought to be within the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park in Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean.
Aboriginal tradition indicates that the Bellarine Peninsula side of the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park is part of Country of the Wathaurung people, and the Mornington Peninsula side, including Mud Islands, is part of Country of the Boon Wurrung people.
See also, Parks Victoria: Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park,
Park Note: Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park,
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park - Map,
Divers Guide - Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park,
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park Identification Booklet, and
Taxonomic Toolkit for the Marine Life of Port Phillip Bay.
Port Phillip Heads Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
Point Lonsdale Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
Point Nepean Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
Popes Eye Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
Portsea Hole Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
Mud Islands Bathymetry
Source: Parks Victoria
You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park.
Finding the Hanging Gardens
Over the years we've been provided with different GPS marks for the Hanging Gardens. The GPS marks we know of in circulation for the Hanging Gardens are:
- Dive Victoria
Latitude: 38° 18.263′ S (38.30438° S / 38° 18′ 15.77″ S)
Longitude: 144° 38.416′ E (144.64027° E / 144° 38′ 24.97″ E) - Geoff Rodda:
Latitude: 38° 18.146′ S (38.302433333333° S / 38° 18′ 8.76″ S)
Longitude: 144° 38.413′ E (144.64021666667° E / 144° 38′ 24.78″ E)
217 m, bearing 358°, N
Boon Wurrung / Bunurong country
Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Boon Wurrung / Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes parts of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson's Promontory in the south-east, including the Mornington Peninsula, French Island and Phillip Island, plus Western Port. We wish to acknowledge the Boon Wurrung as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.
Hanging Gardens Location Map
Latitude: 38° 18.263′ S (38.30438° S / 38° 18′ 15.77″ S)
Longitude: 144° 38.416′ E (144.64027° E / 144° 38′ 24.97″ E)
Datum: WGS84 |
Google Map
Added: 2021-03-28 15:07:13 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-06 21:29:14 GMT
Source: Dive Victoria
Nearest Neighbour: Inner Corsair Wall, 268 m, bearing 336°, NNW
The Heads, Port Phillip.
Depth: 20 to 60 m.
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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.
