Rye Pier Snorkel
LOCATION Rye Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
DEPTH 1-6 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
You can snorkel to the end of the jetty for deeper water, but you can also see so much life in the shallow water under the jetty
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2024 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Rye Pier Snorkel
LOCATION Rye Pier, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
DEPTH 1-6 Meters
WATER TEMP 17-22 Degrees
DIFFICULTY Easy
You can snorkel to the end of the jetty for deeper water, but you can also see so much life in the shallow water under the jetty
FEATURE
Google Map data © 2024 Imagery © Airbus, CNES / Airbus, Maxar Technologies
Rye Pier Snorkel
The 450m long Rye Pier on the Mornington Peninsula is a fantastic all abilities snorkel. See the resident octopus, seahorses, enormous smooth rays and tropical reef like gardens of colourful sponges. The easy access from either the beach or platform makes Rye Pier a must see for underwater explorers.
What Can I See?
- This is a great snorkel for spotting a sea horse. Look in the weeds between the pylons. You don’t have to be deep, we saw them in 1.5 – 2m of water between the entry point and shore.
- Sea Stars
- Stingrays
- Octopus
- Goat Fish
- Moonlighters
- Blennies
- Porcupine Fish
- Stargazer Fish
Getting There
Rye Pier is on the Mornington Peninsula about 90 minutes from the centre of Melbourne. It is between Rosebud and Sorrento on the north side of the peninsula.
Where & How do you get in?
There is a platform with steps about 300m along the 400m long pier.
If you want to stay close to shore, enter off the beach and snorkel out under the pier for as far as you feel comfortable.
There is still plenty to see from the beach end. In fact we saw sea horses, an octopus and an amazing star gazer fish all in just a couple of metres of water closer to the beach than the pier platform.
Best Season
There is a platform with steps about 300m along the 400m long pier.
If you want to stay close to shore, enter off the beach and snorkel out under the pier for as far as you feel comfortable.
There is still plenty to see from the beach end. In fact we saw sea horses, an octopus and an amazing star gazer fish all in just a couple of metres of water closer to the beach than the pier platform.
Potential Hazards
- Fishing Nearby
- Cold Water
Recommended Gear
- Wetsuit
- Camera
How Busy / Crowds
This can be a very busy spot on weekends and over the summer and April holiday periods. But it is a long pier and even in the middle of summer we didn’t feel like there were many people around us.
Parking
There are 2 large parking areas off Point Nepean Road right next to Rye Pier. There is a 3 hour limit which is plenty of time for a snorkel and it also means the parks turn over pretty regularly. There is a third park just east of these, it’s just an extra 150m walk to the pier. After trying to get a park at crowded Portsea, parking here was a breeze!
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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Tours
Snorkelling tour options for the Mornington Peninsula are below.
Best Conditions
Light winds and low swell. If there is a breeze, east or southeast winds are ok. Snorkel either side of the change of tide to avoid currents.
Windy Map Instructions – Click on the wind icon in the top right to see other conditions such as swell, temperature, rain. To clear the four day forecast click and close the wind icon.
Facilities at Rye Pier
There is also a boat ramp nearby and a large grassy reserve and playground adjacent to the pier. Food and Drink options are located nearby.
Toilets
Picnic Tables
Parking
BBQ’s
Shade
Food & Drinks
Boat Ramp
About the Snorkel
Rye Pier was one of our favourite snorkels on Mornington Peninsula. Everyone from beginner to advanced snorkellers will love it here.
We got in at the platform and headed out to deep end of the pier. One of the first things we encountered was a big school of tiny silver fish that just glistened in the sun. They were beautiful to watch.
The highlight at the deep end of the pier was the sponges and life of the pylons. The colour and variety was spectacular. Big porcupine fish patrolled every pylon. Little blennies poked their heads out of the holes of the shorter pylons – very cute!
We didn’t see a huge variety of fish, but we spotted goat fish, a few baby moonlighters and some magpie perch. A highlight of the deep end was seeing several huge smooth rays swim past.
We spotted out first pot-bellied seahorse near the platform on our way back to the beach. It was our first ever seahorse sighting which was super exciting. But then the closer we got to shore the more we saw. I think we spotted 4 or 5 more on our way in. Keep an eye on the vegetation at the base of the pylons – once we saw one, we got our eye in for them.
Just after seeing our last sea horse we spotted the most incredible looking thing we have seen in the water – a big stargazer fish. We only noticed its eyes and slowly opening mouth poking out of the sand, but then this enormous mouth emerged followed by its bulky 60cm long body. It swam between us and buried itself by another pylon. Check out the video – it’s a frightening looking thing!
Near the end of the snorkel, by pylon 35, we saw an octopus in the purpose build hide. You need to get right down to see it but that was a fun sight too.
We loved this snorkel and can’t wait to do it again. We highly recommend putting Rye Pier on your snorkel to do list.
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