Lake Purrumbete

Shore Dive | Shore access

Lake Purrumbete
© Fishing Monthly

Depth: 5 m (16 ft) to 45 m (148 ft)

Lake Purrumbete dive site is an attractive volcanic lake located in the Western District of Victoria, approximately 15 km south-east of the town of Camperdown. The freshwater lake is in a shallow maar with a diameter of 2.5 km that originated about 20,000 years ago. It was caused by a volcanic eruption when glowing lava came in contact with groundwater. The lake forms the source of the Curdies River which flows into the ocean near Peterborough.

The banks of Lake Purrumbete are heavily weeded at places. In some places around the lake edge, the depth drops sharply once away from the bank. The maximum depth is 45 metres out in the middle of the lake. The visibility can be poor and it gets dark quickly at depth so carrying a good dive light is recommended.

Shore access is down a rock wall. Care must be taken if entering from here as fisherman often use this point and 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 Purrumbete Caravan Park Boat Ramp or the Lake Purrumbete Angling Club Boat Ramp. There is a boat speed limit of 5 knots (9.26 kpm) on the lake.

Lake Purrumbete is an interesting dive site with schools of small fish hiding in the weed. Technical divers and freedivers use this lake for training as deep dives are possible from shore without a boat.

Location: Koallah, Victoria 3260

Lake Purrumbete is 145 m (476 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.

 

Lake Purrumbete Location Map

Latitude: 38° 16.979′ S   (38.282988° S / 38° 16′ 58.76″ S)
Longitude: 143° 12.958′ E   (143.215965° E / 143° 12′ 57.47″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2021-06-09 15:13:01 GMT, Last updated: 2022-03-27 17:16:59 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Lake Bullen Merri, 10,885 m, bearing 297°, WNW
Camperdown, Victoria
Depth: 5 to 45 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.