Lake Bullen Merri

Shore Dive | Shore access

Lake Bullen Merri
Source: Visit Victoria

Depth: 3 m (9.84 ft) to 66 m (217 ft)

Lake Bullen Merri dive site is an attractive volcanic crater lake located in the Western District of Victoria, approximately 2 km south-west of the town of Camperdown. The brackish water lake lies in a deep maar crater of a clover-leaf outline measuring 3.2 km x 2.8 km.

The best entry and exit points for a shore dive are on the northern side of the lake from Sadlers Road. Park in one of the car parks and walk to the shore. Care needs to be taken on entry and exit. Light Northerly or North Westerly winds are best.

The lake has shallow areas 3 to 7 metres deep and walls that drop away to 50 metres deep. Maximum water depth is 66 m (217 ft). The water is generally green, so allow your eyes to adjust. The visibility can be poor and it gets dark quickly at depth so carrying a good dive light is recommended. Best dived in March to October when the visibility is better, and avoid in summer when the visibility is typically poor.

Care must be taken on a shore entry as fishing line can be left in the water, so a dive knife is essential and a line cutter recommended.

Boat diving offers a greater variety of dive sites within the lake. Boat access is available by entering through the Lake Bullen Merri, Sadlers Road Boat Ramp, the Lake Bullen Merri, Bullen Merri Road Boat Ramp, or the Lake Bullen Merri Angling Club Boat Ramp. There is a boat speed limit of 5 knots (9.26 kpm) on the lake.

Lake Bullen Merri is sometimes used by technical divers and freedivers for training as deep dives are possible from shore without a boat.

Location: Camperdown, Victoria 3260

Lake Bullen Merri is 80 m (262 ft) above sea level. The US Navy tables recommend that no alteration be made for dives at altitudes lower than 90 m (295 ft) and for dives between 90 and 300 m (984 ft) correction is required for dives deeper than 44 m (144 ft) of sea water. Most recently manufactured decompression computers can automatically compensate for altitude if properly set. For more, please see Altitude diving.

 

Lake Bullen Merri Location Map

Latitude: 38° 14.283′ S   (38.23805° S / 38° 14′ 16.98″ S)
Longitude: 143° 6.313′ E   (143.10521° E / 143° 6′ 18.76″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-06-10 11:28:21 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-27 17:38:37 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Lake Purrumbete, 10,885 m, bearing 117°, ESE
Camperdown, Victoria
Depth: 3 to 66 m.

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.