Mettams Pool

Meet the site

Mettams Pool is the best-known snorkelling spot on Perth's northern beaches: a lagoon enclosed by limestone reef on West Coast Drive, inside Marmion Marine Park. The inner pools are less than 2 m deep and sheltered enough for children and people with limited mobility, and the main entrance has a ramp. The outer reef, reached through gaps from the lagoon, drops to about 7 m and has swim-throughs, ledges, holes, passages and at least one arch.

The outer reef is surprisingly colourful. Sea fans in yellow, pink, orange, white and red grow in the gutters, along with sponges and sea stars, and Port Jackson sharks shelter in caves in winter. Western blue devils, juvenile buffalo bream, wrasse, scalyfin, old wives, stripeys and schools of small fish move through the reef, and rays rest on the sand. Coral bommies and seaweed beds add variety in the lagoon.

The drawback is exposure. Howies describes conditions as difficult on most days of the year, because swell over 1 m surges through the reef and wrecks visibility. The best days come after easterly weather in late summer and autumn, on glassy mornings before the sea breeze.

Mettams suits families, snorkellers and beginner divers on calm days, and experienced divers looking for an easy shore dive with good structure. It is busy on summer weekends, so go early. Water temperatures range from about 17 °C in winter to 22–23 °C in late summer. A sanctuary zone protects parts of the Marmion reefs, so look but do not take.

What you might see

Sea fans (multiple colours), sponges, sea stars, western blue devil, juvenile buffalo bream, wrasse, scalyfin, old wives, stripeys, Port Jackson sharks, rays, coral bommies

Location

A reef-sheltered lagoon on West Coast Drive between Trigg and North Beach, inside Marmion Marine Park, with shallow inner pools and outer reef with swim-throughs and ledges.

Facilities nearby

Street parking, toilets and disabled ramp at the main entrance near Lynn Street; cafes at Trigg and North Beach. Air fills in Osborne Park, Innaloo and Hillarys.