Piccaninnie Ponds

Piccaninnie Ponds is a karst wetland where water filtered through limestone rises into a series of pools and channels with visibility that regularly exceeds forty metres, among the clearest fresh water anywhere. The main features are the First Pond, shallow enough for snorkelling over waving weed beds, and the Chasm, a vertical crack in the limestone descending beyond a hundred metres, whose upper section, called the Cathedral, is dived by qualified cave divers with permits. The area is Ramsar-listed for its wetland values. Access is strictly controlled: numbers, times and qualifications are all regulated, and permits must be booked in advance through the state park service.

What you actually see

• The clear water - visibility often beyond forty metres in the ponds.
• The Chasm and Cathedral - the vertical limestone crack dived on permit.
• The weed beds - the First Pond's snorkelling area over waving vegetation.
• The wetland - Ramsar-listed karst springs and channels.

When to go

Year-round; the water holds a constant temperature of around fifteen degrees, cold enough for wetsuits in any season. Permits are limited daily and book out, particularly in summer and school holidays.

Honest expectations

Nothing here is spontaneous: permits, time slots and, for the Chasm, cave diving qualifications are required and enforced. The water is cold. Facilities are minimal, and the site is a long drive from Mount Gambier.

Nearby

Port MacDonnell lies west; Mount Gambier and its Blue Lake are north.