Katie Cove, Williamstown

Shore Dive | Shore access

Katie Cove, Williamstown
© Google Street View

Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft) to 6 m (20 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Katie Cove (aka Bunbury Pools and The Bunburys) ia a shore diving and snorkelling site located off the Esplanade at the end of Cole Street, Williamstown. Katie Cove lies between Williamstown Beach (to the west) and Point Gellibrand (to the east), facing south-west into the northern end of Port Phillip. It has an easy shore entry and exit and there are lots of critters to see. It's also close to the Melbourne CBD and while fascinating during the day, also makes for a pleasant night dive.

Diving and Snorkelling at Katie Cove, Williamstown

Walk across Hatt Reserve, down the embankment to the shore, enter the water and head south-west. There is a small pointed rock showing the entrance to the cove, but it may not be visible at high tide. Proceed on the surface out to the right, keeping the pointed rock on your right hand side.

While on the surface, look back towards the opening and get a shore reference for your return journey. Once you are out of the cove the reef drops down to 3 metres. Head south-south-west and it will take you over three reefs and down to 5 to 6 metres deep. Keep an eye on your air consumption to ensure you have enough for the return journey.

There can be plenty of boat traffic so always tow a buoy with a dive flag displayed.

Katie Cove, Williamstown Dive Site Map | © The Scuba Doctor

Katie Cove, Williamstown Parking
© Google Street View

Location: Esplanade, Williamstown, Victoria 3016
MELWAY Ref: Page 56 C11

Parking: There are car parks off the Esplanade between Giffard Street and Thompson Street, Williamstown. There is also roadside parking along the Esplanade. Of course, getting a car park is problematic on busy days in Summer. Before gearing up check out the water. If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Facilities: Hatt Reserve features a playground, BBQ, pavilion, toilets, and water tap nearby.

Warning: Always go with a buddy and carry a dive knife. Make sure you tow a dive buoy with dive flag.

Entry/Exit: Shore entry from the shore fronting Hatt Reserve, opposite the intersection of the Esplanade and Cole Street.

Ideal Conditions: There is little background swell in this part of Port Phillip — the water is calm when the wind is still. In moderate winds the waves are choppy and under 0.5 metre. Best with light to moderate offshore northerly to easterly winds, or light onshore south-easterly to north-westerly winds. Not diveable in strong southerly winds. Avoid after rains due to the rain runoff reducing viability. Though high tide is ideal, you are able to dive at Katie Cove on any tide. See WillyWeather (Williamstown Beach) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Sea Urchin Dive Site
© Julian Finn, Museum Victoria

Divers have the opportunity to catch Sea Urchin at this dive site. Remember your catch bag, dive gloves and Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence. Please abide by all current fishing regulations if you intend to catch Sea Urchin.

See article-catching-sea-urchin for practical Sea Urchin catching advice from The Scuba Doctor, and melbourne-sea-urchin-dives for other dive sites where you can catch Sea Urchin near Melbourne.

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.

 

Katie Cove, Williamstown Location Map

Latitude: 37° 52.243′ S   (37.870719° S / 37° 52′ 14.59″ S)
Longitude: 144° 53.916′ E   (144.898595° E / 144° 53′ 54.94″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-01-30 12:39:30 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-17 21:52:41 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Williamstown Beach Rotunda, 456 m, bearing 301°, WNW
Williamstown, Port Phillip.
Depth: 2 to 6 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.