Piccaninnie Ponds (First Pond, Chasm and Cathedral)

The dive area of the Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park: a shallow weedy pond, a deep fissure called the Chasm and a white limestone chamber called the Cathedral. Closed to diving and snorkelling until further notice after an algae outbreak (park notice published July 2024).

The park service allows divers into three parts of the ponds: the First Pond, an open depression about 10 m deep with a silt floor and abundant aquatic life; the Chasm, a narrow sinkhole that drops beyond 100 m; and the Cathedral, an enclosed area of limestone formations about 35 m deep. Diving has always been limited to members of the Cave Divers Association of Australia with the required rating, booked in hourly slots.

The ponds are prized for clarity and for plants growing deep below the surface. In a notice published in July 2024 the park service suspended all diving and snorkelling while vegetation and fauna recover from a filamentous algae outbreak, and it was not issuing permits when this record was checked.

Spring-fed fresh water rising through limestone into a shallow pond, a deep open fissure and an enclosed chamber. Aquatic plants grow to about 15 m below the surface.

The park service describes visibility as excellent, potentially beyond 40 m, in normal conditions. A filamentous algae outbreak has damaged aquatic vegetation, and the water has been closed to divers and snorkellers since the park notice of July 2024.

Phạm vi thông thường từ các nguồn đã công bố, không phải điều kiện hiện tại.

Interpretive information shelter, toilets, accessible toilets and a divers' changing shelter. Camping is not permitted.