Piccaninnie Ponds Snorkel
LOCATION Mount Gambier in South Australia
DEPTH 10-100 Meters
WATER TEMP 12-14 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Medium
It’s deep so you won’t be able to stand up and it’s cold
FEATURE
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Piccaninnie Ponds Snorkel
LOCATION Mount Gambier in South Australia
DEPTH 10-100 meters
WATER TEMP 12-14 degrees
DIFFICULTY Medium
It’s deep so you won’t be able to stand up and it’s cold
FEATURE
Piccaninnie Ponds Snorkel
The spring fed sinkhole and cave system is a stunning snorkelling landscape. Looking around the sinkhole is magic but the highlight for us was floating over the 100m deep Chasm. Swimming in the crystal clear fresh water is a unique experience.
What Can I See?
We saw lots of common and spotted Galaxias. If you are lucky, you could also spot eels, long necked tortoises and crayfish. But the highlight is not so much what you can see but how far you can see. Visibility in the freshwater sinkholes can be 60m+
Getting There
Piccaninnie Ponds are 30 minutes from Mount Gambier in the southeast of South Australia. Mount Gambier is 435km from Adelaide and 421km from Melbourne.
Follow the turn off onto Piccaninnie Ponds Road and look for the turn off to the carpark.
Where & How do you get in?
Access to Piccaninnie ponds is from a pontoon which is at the end of a path about 60m from the car park.
Best Season
The water temperature is always cold – between 12 and 14 degrees – so it doesn’t matter what time of the year you snorkel. If you can pick a sunny day, the underwater landscape will look a bit brighter.
How Busy/Crowds
Because of the booking and permit system, there should not be more than 6 people in the ponds at one time. You have a 60 minute time slot to look around the ponds and with the cold water that is long enough!
Recommended Gear
When you snorkel at Piccaninnie Ponds a full length wetsuit is a requirement of the permit. Gloves and hood are recommended too. Snorkellers are not permitted to wear a weight belt.
If you need to hire gear, you can get everything you need from The Allendale East General Store which is about halfway between Mount Gambier and Piccaninnie Ponds.
We have hired gear from here and they are very easy to deal with and good value.
Visability
Underwater visibility is excellent and may exceed 40m.
Costs / Permits
To snorkel at Piccaninnie Ponds you need to book a time and purchase a permit through the National Parks and Wildlife Service website. For snorkellers, permits are about $15 – 17. At the time of registration you also have to complete an indemnity form.
If you have made it to Piccaninnie Ponds, make sure you also check out nearby Ewens Ponds. It is quite a different experience at Ewens Ponds where you drift down a channel between three different sinkholes. Permits and booking are also required for Ewens Ponds. Also keep in mind that Ewens Ponds closes each year from 1 September to 30 November.
The information for each snorkel spot is provided by people who have snorkelled there. However, snorkelling conditions change daily. Please be aware that wind, swell, tides and cloud cover can all affect visibility and your experience in the water.
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Facilities at Piccaninnie Ponds
Toilets
Picnic Table
Shade
Parking
About the Snorkel
We had already snorkelled at nearby Ewens Ponds so knew we were in for more of the stunning clarity that you get in these freshwater snorkels. We were also better prepared with head to toe neoprene, so it was a much more enjoyable experience comfort-wise!
Unlike Ewens Ponds which is a drift snorkel, at Piccaninnie Ponds there are a couple of designated snorkel zones. The first is the 10m deep sinkhole where you enter the water. It is a great spot to explore with lots of vegetation and plenty of little fish which is something you don’t see at Ewens Ponds.
But for us the highlight was hovering over the 100m deep feature called The Chasm. The water is so clear it is only the lack of light that stops you seeing all the way into the blue abyss.
The Chasm is easy to find, it is on the opposite side of the sinkhole where you get in. You snorkel over a small ridge and there it is in front of you. It is about 30m long and 10m wide. We spent ages hovering over the top of it, looking down the walls and watching air bubbles appear from the depths.
As we made our way back from The Chasm we stopped and watched schools of small fish hover around pieces of floating weed and shelter near the banks.
If you want a different kind of snorkelling experience, it is worth heading to the south east of South Australia to try Piccaninnie and Ewens Ponds – just get your permits and times booked first. The tour into Kilsby Sinkhole is also worth doing – you experience the same amazing clear water in a cave-like enviroment.
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