Point Impossible Reef

Reef Dive | Shore access

Point Impossible Reef
© Phil Watson

Depth: 2 m (6.56 ft) to 11 m (36 ft)

Level: Open Water and beyond.

Point Impossible Reef is an interesting diving and snorkelling site east of Torquay and west of Breamlea and Barwon Heads on Victoria's Surf Coast, facing south-east into Bass Strait. It's on the eastern outskirts of Torquay, about a 30 minute drive from Geelong.

Point Impossible is a low, calcarenite point, capped by 10 metre high foredunes and bordered by the mouth of Thompson Creek. The gravel road from Torquay runs out to the point, where there is a large car park. Point Impossible Beach at beach marker 52W, lies in front of the car park and forms the western boundary of Thompson Creek. A foreshore reserve and the road back the 4.5 kilometre long Whites Beach, with car parks and access tracks across the dune. The Point Impossible Reef dive site is on the western side of Point Impossible at beach marker 53W. Further east along The Esplanade is an official Optional Dress (nude) Beach with car parking at beach marker 55W. Further west again is Whites Beach at beach marker 56W. The beaches all face south-east and are protected to the south by Point Danger, and along the central-eastern section by extensive rock reefs. As a result, waves average 1 metre at the beach and usually produce a continuous, shallow bar only cut by rips during and following high seas.

Point Impossible Reef Dive
© Phil Watson

There are extensive offshore parallel reefs all along the coast to the east from Point Impossible towards Whites Beach. The reefs are a limestone network of underwater caves and gullies typical of the great-southern-reef. At any point from the shore, head south out to the reefs. Scuba divers might choose to stay on the surface until they get to the reefs (around 10 metres deep) so as to conserve air. They can always explore the area between the shore and the offshore reefs on the way back.

The Victoria Tower shipwreck lies offshore from the Point Impossible Nude Beach, an optional dress zone on the beach between Point Impossible and Whites Beach.

The inner reefs in the small bay around Point Impossible towards Thompson Creek feature many shallow joints and cracks with seagrass and kelp. Exploring this area is a better option for snorkellers and divers not keen to venture out to the offshore reefs.

The conditions vary with wave and tide conditions. Take care if snorkelling or diving here and watch the deeper tidal channel and currents. Whites Beach at beach marker 56W is a moderately safe beach close inshore, in lee of the reefs. Watch for rips during higher waves, particularly near the reefs and rocks.

On a very calm day with no wind and no swell it is a snorkelling and diving site for the experienced practitioners to explore. Point Impossible Reef is potentially hazardous, with usually moderate waves and persistent and often strong rips. Westerly winds intensify longshore and rip currents.

The Point Impossible Reef site makes for interesting snorkelling and diving when conditions permit.

Point Impossible Reef Parking
© Google Street View

Location: Torquay, Victoria 3228
MELWAY Ref: Page 494 F11
Beach Marker: 53W

Parking: Heading south from Melbourne or Geelong along the Surf Coast Highway (B100), turn left before Torquay onto Blackgate Road, then right onto Point Impossible Road. At the southern end of Point Impossible Road you'll find a large car parking area and beach marker 53W. If you turn right and head west along The Esplanade you'll come to a track to another car parking area with access to the middle of the Point Impossible Nude Beach at beach marker 55W. If you head even further west along The Esplanade you'll come to Whites Beach at beach marker 56W.

Entry/Exit: Take a look at the conditions. If you see lots of white water, head on home. If conditions are just right, gear up, walk back down onto the beach and enter the water.

Warning: This is a highly hazardous area dominated by strong rips. Always go with a buddy and be extremely careful. Experienced divers and snorkellers only. You need good physical fitness to dive this site in case the conditions change and the swim back from the offshore reefs becomes hard.

Ideal Conditions: Only attempt to dive or snorkel here if conditions are very calm with little wind, flat seas, and no swell. The beach faces faces south-east, so light offshore westerly to northerly winds can be acceptable. See WillyWeather (Point Impossible) 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.

See also, Point Impossible in "Shore Dives of Victoria" by Ian Lewis, 3rd edition page 45.

Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) country

Traditional Owners — This dive site is in the traditional Country of the Wathaurong (Wadda-Warrung) people of the Kulin Nation. This truly ancient Country includes the coastline of Port Phillip, from the Werribee River in the north-east, the Bellarine Peninsula, and down to Cape Otway in the south-west. We wish to acknowledge the Wathaurong as Traditional Owners. We pay respect to their Ancestors and their Elders, past, present and emerging. We acknowledge Bunjil the Creator Spirit of this beautiful land, who travels as an eagle, and Waarn, who protects the waterways and travels as a crow, and thank them for continuing to watch over this Country today and beyond.

 

Point Impossible Reef Location Map

Latitude: 38° 18.369′ S   (38.306158° S / 38° 18′ 22.17″ S)
Longitude: 144° 22.663′ E   (144.377719° E / 144° 22′ 39.79″ E)
Datum: WGS84 | Google Map | Get directions
Added: 2022-04-04 13:46:17 GMT, Last updated: 2022-04-10 14:41:38 GMT
Source: Google Earth
Nearest Neighbour: Victoria Tower, 1,472 m, bearing 220°, SW
Torquay, Surf Coast.
Depth: 2 to 11 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.