Pope's Eye (Marine National Park)
Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park (highly protected no-take zone: no fishing, no collecting). Pope's Eye is an unfinished 1870s horseshoe-shaped stone fort (under 100 m across) in the Port Phillip entrance, protected since 1979 as the Harold Holt Fisheries Reserve. Water is about 9 m on the south side; snorkelling inside the ring is good, and more experience is needed on the outside, where tides matter. A boat dive: on ebb the south side is easiest, on flood the north half. Best visibility is usually at the end of the flood.
Facts
- Region: Southern Australia – South Australia, Victoria & Tasmania
- Area: Port Phillip Heads (Point Lonsdale & Nepean)
- Depth: 0–12 m
- Level: beginner
- Current: moderate
- Type: reef, boat, snorkel, historic
- Coordinates: -38.276702, 144.697617
- Highlights: old wives, warty prowfish, annular stone fort, gannet colony (on the structure), kelp
- Tips: Boat only; time dives with the tide (ebb: south side, flood: north half). Charters run from Queenscliff and Sorrento (Scubabo lists 0–12 m). The Parks Victoria diver guide lists it for snorkellers, Open Water and Advanced divers.