Loch Ard Gorge

Meet the site

Loch Ard Gorge is where the two survivors of the 1878 wreck of the Loch Ard were washed ashore, and it is one of the most photographed places on the Great Ocean Road. For divers it is something rarer: a shore entry on a stretch of coast that otherwise offers none, with sheer limestone walls, undercuts and caves dropping into water that reaches 25 m at the seaward end. The gorge is 300 m long, narrow enough that the two cliffs almost meet at the mouth, and its length damps the Southern Ocean swell so that the 80 m beach at the head is a low-energy pocket of sand even when the sea outside is running. Underwater the inner gorge is boulders, sand and limestone ledges in 2–8 m, with kelp, sponges and ascidians on the shaded walls, crayfish and abalone in the cracks, and the usual wrasse, sweep, zebrafish and leatherjackets. Toward the mouth the floor drops away, the walls become vertical and cut with caverns, and the water clears; this is where the dive becomes serious and where it should only be attempted in a genuine flat spell.

The Scuba Doctor rates the site Advanced and describes it as a sandy bay with steep cliffs that can provide access to the ocean if you are fit. Two cautions govern the dive. First, surf breaks across the entrance in rough conditions and the surge inside the gorge can be strong, so the outer half of the gorge is a fair-weather proposition. Second, the Loch Ard wreck under Mutton Bird Island, only a few hundred metres to the south-west, is emphatically not reachable from here; that is a boat dive from Port Campbell. Within those limits the gorge gives a memorable dive in an extraordinary setting, and a snorkel of the inner gorge is possible on many more days than a dive to the mouth. It suits experienced divers with surf sense who want to see the Shipwreck Coast from below, and it carries the added interest of the cemetery and the Loch Ard story a few minutes' walk from the car.

What you might see

Southern rock lobster, black-lip abalone, blue-throat wrasse, sea sweep, zebrafish, leatherjackets, sponges and ascidians on the walls, kelp, occasional seals and short-tailed shearwaters from Mutton Bird Island

Location

Narrow limestone gorge with an 80 m beach set 300 m back from the open sea, where the Loch Ard survivors came ashore in 1878, 7 km east of Port Campbell.

Facilities nearby

Large sealed car park, toilets, picnic tables, interpretive walks and the Loch Ard cemetery; Port Campbell township 7 km with cafes, fuel and visitor centre; no air fills nearer than Warrnambool.