VICTORIA: FINDERS PIER

Flinders Pier - Western Port Harbour, Victoria, Australia.
Flinders is a favourite site of mine, approx 2 hrs drive from Melbourne situated just around the corner of Western Port Heads in a sheltered location. Parking can be a bit of a hassle if the day is quite hot especially on weekends. There is no where close to get air/nitrox fills so make sure that you bring enough tanks to last the day. There is a great bakery at the top of the hill (very steep) so grab some food there before you go down to the pier. Diving is mostly done under the pier with a max depth of 8mtrs at high tide (low tide - 2mtrs) therefore check to see what the tides are before going. Visibility can sometimes be a bit of a problem especially after a storm. But most times it is approx 15mtrs. Beware of fishermen also. There is two entry points 1st is half way down the pier at the lower landing (giant stride) or entry from the beach directly under the pier. Exit points are halfway along the pier at the ladder or back up the beach. This site is fantastic for macro photography with nudi's, blennies, sponges and feathers. In abundance are Weedy Sea Dragons and the pier is also home to nursery fish which are great for wide angle photos. There is also the resident Bull Rays 3 of them. I have had the opportunity of watching these rays during mating and it was truely amazing. This is an easy site for diving and the shallow depth gives a longer bottom time for those that are taking photos. There is a fair variety of different areas around and under the pier ranging from sea grasses to rocky bottom, nearly at the end of the pier is a old engine which has a lot of critters and fish living in it and just off the end of the pier is an old shipwreck (not much left of it now). I have dived this site now on numerous occassions and have seen newbie divers right up to more experienced divers with 100's of dives under their belts coming back and saying did you see that great ............. or saying what a fantastic site wished i had known about this years ago. I love taking divers there just for their reactions when they get out of the water and are eager to go back under. As for topside there is not much for you to do between dives, have a walk down the pier and chat to the fishermen, watch the hanggliders take off from the top of the cliff or go for a walk around the rocky headland (which is also a marine reserve have not dived there yet) or just laze about on the beach or under a tree whilst the non divers are cooking up a BBQ on the free BBQ's supplied by Council. The small town of Flinders is situated at the top of the hill with some good shops, eateries and pub. There is also a golf course for the non divers to keep themselves occupied whilst you are have a nice long dive. And finally for the kids there is heaps of australian wildlife for them to spot especially the wallabies and kangaroos.