Explore Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula has some of the best beaches across Southern Australia. Located on the eastern side of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, avid divers come to the area to dive over sixty incredible wrecks, extraordinary vertical wall dives, and shallow sites with an abundance of marco life. With such a range of sites, from calm to those with ripping currents, Mornington Peninsula diving is accessible for divers of all levels whether you’re planning your first dive or are a seasoned veteran.
Scuba diving in Mornington Peninsula is possible from a number of dive centres in the area with dive resorts less common. If you want to venture further into VIC diving, hop on visiting liveaboards to explore Australia’s southern coast.
Dive Activity
Diving in Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula has over sixty nineteenth-century shipwrecks and four submarines sunken during World War I. While many of these wrecks such as the SS Coogee are reserved for experienced divers, beginner divers are invited to explore the marine life under Mornington’s many piers. In Flinders, Mornington, Dromana and Portsea Pier visitors can discover scuba diving for the first time and take part in a variety of dive courses. Even if you are not ready to fully submerge underwater, the 200-metre long Octopus Garden trail has fun underwater signs for snorkelers. At the Portsea Hole and Port Phillip Heads, there are impressive vertical wall dives with thriving underwater communities and strong currents.
Top Wildlife Sightings in Mornington Penisula
While scuba diving in Mornington Peninsula you are likely to spot lots of crayfish among interesting rock formations carpeted-thick with soft coral and kelp. It is not unusual to see bottlenose dolphin while at deep sites and sharks can often be seen swimming alongside you at vertical wall dives. Weedy sea dragons are common in shallow sites along with nudibranch, flounder, gurnards while angel sharks are seen resting on rocks or sandy flats. Port Jackson shark are known to the area and you may even witness seahorse, bobtail squid and the Moreton bay bug.
Wildlife Sightings are Based on User Generated Content
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 300
Alamy/Reinhard Dirscherl
306 Sightings
J
33
F
51
M
53
A
37
M
24
J
4
J
4
A
7
S
11
O
24
N
20
D
38
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 600
iStock/ultramarinfoto
Wrasse
56 Sightings
J
2
F
17
M
10
A
10
M
3
J
6
J
0
A
1
S
7
O
0
N
0
D
0
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 80
iStock/Extreme-Photographer
Stingrays
950 Sightings
J
157
F
167
M
148
A
88
M
42
J
25
J
18
A
20
S
43
O
69
N
75
D
98
iStock-Rob Peatling
Weedy Seadragon
439 Sightings
J
73
F
46
M
50
A
24
M
21
J
13
J
18
A
20
S
15
O
36
N
48
D
75
Alamy-WaterFrame
Common Seahorse
392 Sightings
J
50
F
72
M
83
A
60
M
29
J
16
J
14
A
11
S
8
O
12
N
14
D
23
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 130
AdobeStock-JirinaVFR
Pufferfish
370 Sightings
J
60
F
64
M
77
A
52
M
11
J
2
J
6
A
9
S
27
O
21
N
19
D
22
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 7000
iStock-Michael Zeigler
Crab
316 Sightings
J
48
F
46
M
57
A
50
M
25
J
15
J
8
A
5
S
23
O
17
N
10
D
12
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 3000
SSI-Peter-Schinck
Nudibranch
228 Sightings
J
40
F
44
M
35
A
13
M
14
J
4
J
5
A
9
S
12
O
26
N
22
D
4
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 9
AdobeStock-Dmitry Kokh
Fur Seal
92 Sightings
J
20
F
15
M
32
A
0
M
0
J
0
J
0
A
0
S
13
O
2
N
0
D
10
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 120
SSI-Peter-Schinck
Cuttlefish
66 Sightings
J
5
F
18
M
21
A
4
M
0
J
1
J
0
A
2
S
3
O
2
N
3
D
7
The image shown is a representative illustration and does not depict every individual animal in this category.
Total number of species: 90
Shutterstock-Levent Konuk
Goatfish
63 Sightings
J
0
F
27
M
17
A
4
M
0
J
3
J
1
A
9
S
2
O
0
N
0
D
0
The best Months to dive in Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula diving is best during the summer season from November through to April. Outside of these times, the weather can cause choppy seas and swells that make it unsuitable for diving. To view pods of dolphins, head to the peninsula from October through to April, where you may even be lucky enough to see them on your dive!
