Description

From being a small town, Portland then blossomed into a city with more jobs to offer to almost 12,000 urban dwellers. The melting pot of amazing Portland talents included pottery, music and arts, quilting, wood turning, photography, print making, sculpture and design, as well as writing, and they all draw inspiration from the great landscape of coral reefs and unique finds underwater.

The forest scenery is absolutely breathtaking, but it is the beautiful coastal sites that leave tourists and voyagers in great awe with the port's fishing spectaculars like bluefin tuna, yellowtail kingfish, and snapper, while gummy sharks are also seen frequenting the Lawrence Rocks. Offshore, in the harbor, or from the breakwall, fish hunting and diving are among the best experiences this place has to offer.

Diving in Portland

Portland Harbour is an excellent location for "all weather" diving due to its three protective arms which provide shelter from the elements and tidal flows. Added to this, the harbour is relatively shallow making it a superb venue for dive training and for novice divers to practice their skills.

One of many secrets of Portland is its great diving experience. There are not many places in the world where you are able to dive with fur seals from the shore. Blue whales migrate to the waters off Portland to feed on the abundant swarms of krill which are nourished by the Bonney Upwelling, a marine phenomenon in which cold nutrient-rich water is brought to the surface from deeper in the ocean. They generally arrive in November and remain off Portland until May.

Explore the fascinating caves and colorful sponge gardens, guide your way around the beautiful kelp forest and be mesmerised with drop down walls of up to 70 metres.

Situated within the arms of the breakwater is a wealth of wrecks, many of which are superbly intact. Here is a taster of just some of the wrecks to be found in Portland Harbour

Enjoy the artificial shipwrecks of Saxon and Emily Shipwrecks, deliberately sunk to form an artificial reef. Many other great diving sites include Bridgewater Bay, Nunns bay, and Southwest Bay.

WDR.