Cathedral Rock, Lorne

Reef Dive | Shore access

Cathedral Rock Dive | © Phil Watson

Depth: 1 m (3.28 ft) to 8 m (26 ft)

Level: Advanced Open Water and beyond.

Cathedral Rock, Lorne (aka The Springs) lies on the Great Ocean Road (B100) between Lorne (to the west) and Aireys Inlet (to the east) on Victoria's Surf Coast, facing south-east into Bass Strait. Cathedral Rock is another of the prime surfing spots along this section of coastline, but on a very calm day with no wind and no swell it is an interesting snorkelling and diving site for the experienced practitioners to explore.

Cathedral Rock

The Great Ocean Road hugs the 20 metre high bluffs along this section of the coastline and you cannot miss seeing the beach, adjoining rock platforms and reefs. There is a small beach with rock platforms at either end and deep water off the northern end of the beach. Permanent rips run out at each end.

Location: Lorne, Victoria 3232

Cathedral Rock Parking
© Google Street View

Parking: When heading west from Aireys Inlet you'll come to a car parking area where Broadbent Road intersects with the Great Ocean Road (B100) above Cathedral Rock Beach about 3 kilometres to the east from Lorne. A sign says "The Springs, Site of the Last Toll Gate — 1929– 1936". If you see lots of white water, head on home.

Entry/Exit: Gear up and walk down the steps to the beach. There is a lovely little beach cove entry/exit point just to the south-west from the bottom of the steps.

Ideal Conditions: Cathedral Rock is a dangerous beach dominated by rocks, reefs and strong rips. Always go with a buddy and be extremely careful. Only attempt to dive or snorkel here if there is no wind, or just a light offshore north-westerly wind, with calm seas and no swell. See WillyWeather (Lorne) as a guide for the tide times and the height of the tide.

Bass Strait Warning: Always keep an eye on sea conditions throughout any shore or boat dive in Bass Strait on Victoria's coastline. Please read the warnings on the web page diving-in-bass-strait before diving or snorkelling this site.

Eastern Maar country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Eastern Maar people of south-western Victoria between the Shaw and Eumerella Rivers and from Yambuk in the south to beyond Lake Linlithgow in the north. This truly ancient Country extends as far north as Ararat and encompasses the coastal townships of Port Fairy in the west, Warrnambool, Peterborough, Port Campbell, Apollo Bay, Lorne, and Airies Inlet in the east, including the Great Ocean Road area. It also stretches 100 metres out to sea from low tide and therefore includes the iconic Twelve Apostles. "Eastern Maar" is a name adopted by the people who identify as Maar, Eastern Gunditjmara, Tjap Wurrung, Peek Whurrong, Kirrae Whurrung, Kuurn Kopan Noot and/or Yarro waetch (Tooram Tribe) amongst others. We wish to acknowledge the Eastern Maar as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Cathedral Rock, Lorne Location Map

Latitude: 38° 30.359′ S (38.505983° S / 38° 30′ 21.54″ S)
Longitude: 144° 0.294′ E (144.004901° E / 144° 0′ 17.64″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2022-04-03 02:34:55 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-03 02:11:44 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Osprey, 3,969 m, bearing 215°, SW
Lorne, Surf Coast.
Depth: 1 to 8 m.

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DISCLAIMER: No claim is made by The Scuba Doctor as to the accuracy of the dive site coordinates listed here. Should anyone decide to use these GPS marks to locate and dive on a site, they do so entirely at their own risk. Always verify against other sources.

The marks come from numerous sources including commercial operators, independent dive clubs, reference works, and active divers. Some are known to be accurate, while others may not be. Some GPS marks may even have come from maps using the AGD66 datum, and thus may need be converted to the WGS84 datum. To distinguish between the possible accuracy of the dive site marks, we've tried to give each mark a source of GPS, Google Earth, or unknown.