The Blowhole, Port Campbell

Reef Dive | Boat access

The Blowhole, Port Campbell

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 20 m (66 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.

The Blowhole, Port Campbell is located off the Great Ocean Road (B100) about 6.5 kilometres south-east of Port Campbell on Victoria's Shipwreck Coast. The entrance lies within the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park between Thunder Cave, to the west, and Loch Ard Gorge, to the east. The Blowhole itself is within the Port Campbell National Park.

If you have been to the Port Campbell National Park on land, you would have probably taken a look at The Blowhole. It has a thrust of water that stupefies the mind rushing into it. The thrust crashes into rock and reef and ends up wetting all spectators. The Blowhole is the result of constant erosion of the sea against the limestone cliffs, along with the seepage of surface rain water cutting through the limestone cliffs which have caused it to cave in over the tunnel that the ocean has been carving. The Blowhole is particularly loud, as one can hear the waves churn through the chamber of the blowhole and resonate against its limestone walls. Of course, if that is happening you can't dive this site.

Diving The Blowhole, Port Campbell

The weather is the big thing. You will have to make sure it is absolutely flat calm with no wind whatsoever! We can not stress this enough.

When you are on the millpond (which happens about three times a year in this area) find a crack in the cliff near where The Blowhole is situated, jump in, have a look around, then, if it is safe to do so, head into the cave entrance.

Swim on the surface or on the bottom through the chasm. You will see where all the big crayfish come from as the entire wall of the chasm is covered with baby crayfish just waiting to get out into open water. Move up the cave and into the main area of The Blowhole. Expect some dumb looks from tourists. Now... the best and most amazing bit.

If you carry on north-east and into the opposite end of the blowhole you will enter a cavern that is at least 50 metres long, 40 metres wide, and 20 metres high. Dependent on the tide you can swim under a rock and end up in a totally sealed off room. It has a small beach you can get up on an take you gear off and feel like Jules Verne for a while... quite exciting and not many people have been here. A great dive and a great experience.

Location: South-east of Port Campbell, Victoria 3269

Ideal Conditions: This dive can only be done when conditions are absolutely flat calm with no wind whatsoever. See WillyWeather (Loch Ard Gorge) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Boat Launching: The Blowhole is a boat dive. Boats can be launched using the Port Campbell Jetty Crane. Restricted access to licenced permit holders. Vehicles not permitted on jetty unless authorised boat launching taking place. Permit inquiries please call Parks Victoria 13 1963. Care must be taken to avoid the wave break east of Port Cambell at the entrance to the inlet.

Twelve Apostles Marine National Park

This site lies in the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park, which is the second largest (7,510 ha) of Victoria's marine national parks and is regarded as having the highest diversity of invertebrates on limestone reefs in Victoria. The park is part of the great-southern-reef.

The surging waves of the Southern Ocean have helped carve out spectacular scenery both above and below the water in the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park. The crumbling pillars that form the world famous rock stacks the "Twelve Apostles" continue deep into the ocean below providing habitat for many different species of marine life. Nearby, to the west of Twelve Apostles Marine National Park, off the coast of Port Campbell is The Arches Marine Sanctuary. Protecting an amazing series of underwater canyons, arches and tunnels, it is a popular place to scuba dive.

Shipwrecks — The Loch Ard shipwreck lies within the park. Built in 1873, the Loch Ard was on the final stage of its voyage from Gravesend to Melbourne in 1878 when sea mist obscured the land causing the vessel to run into Mutton Bird Island near Port Campbell. Of the 54 people on board the ship, only two managed to get ashore. Removal of any artefacts or objects from this site is not permitted.

Twelve Apostles Marine National Park is approximately 280 km west of Melbourne, 8 km south-east of Port Campbell and 1 km south of Princetown. The closest boat access points are located at Princetown, Port Campbell jetty and Peterborough main beach.

Tradional Owners — The Twelve Apostles Marine National Park lies in the traditional Kirrae Whurrong Country (west of the Gellibrand River) and ancient Gadubanud Country (east of the Gellibrand River). We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

See also, Parks Victoria: Twelve Apostles Marine National Park,
Park Note: Twelve Apostles Marine National Park, The Arches Marine Sanctuary
— January 2014, and
Parks Victoria: Twelve Apostles Marine National Park and The Arches Marine Sanctuary A3 Map.

You are not permitted to carry a spear gun while snorkelling or scuba diving in the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park.

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.

 

The Blowhole, Port Campbell Location Map

Latitude: 38° 38.854′ S   (38.647571° S / 38° 38′ 51.26″ S)
Longitude: 143° 3.737′ E   (143.062285° E / 143° 3′ 44.23″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map
Added: 2022-03-31 13:15:03 GMT, Last updated: 2022-05-23 20:17:31 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Thunder Cave, 267 m, bearing 313°, NW
Twelve Apostles Marine National Park.
Port Campbell, Shipwreck Coast.
Depth: 1 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.