Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park, formerly the Piccaninnie Ponds National Park, is a protected area of located in southeastern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

near

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

Description

The Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park is located in the south-east of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Wye on the continental coastline overlooking

Discovery Bay Discovery Bay (DB) is a resort town on Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It consists of mixed, primarily residential, development, in particular upmarket residential development and private and public recreational facilities, including garden houses, ...

about southeast of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and south-east of the city of

. The conservation park conserves a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

fed by freshwater springs in a karst landscape. It is close to the border with

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

and is part of the Discovery Bay to Piccaninnie Ponds Important Bird Area, identified by BirdLife International as being of global significance for several bird species. It is a listed Ramsar site. The park contains a walking track through coastal woodland to a viewing platform overlooking the wetlands.

Recreational diving

Piccaninnie Ponds is a popular site for both

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

and cave diving. In 1964–1965, prior to its proclamation as a national park in 1969, underwater explorer Valerie Taylor described the ponds as "one of the most beautiful sights in Australia" and said that the crystal clear water gave her a feeling of unhindered flight. It contains three main features of interest to cave divers. The ‘First Pond’ is an open depression about deep with a silt floor and vegetated fringe supporting much aquatic life. The ‘Chasm’ is a

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

with a depth of over , and the ‘Cathedral’ is an enclosed area with

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

formations and a depth of about . Underwater visibility is excellent and may exceed . Snorkelling and cave diving at Piccaninnie Ponds is by permit only.

Accidents

Several divers have died while exploring the caves beneath Piccaninnie Ponds, in 1972, 1974 and 1984.

Flora and fauna

The pond contains various species of native plants, freshwater fish, eels and shrimp.

References

External links

Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park official webpage

Ponds Conservation Park Diving and Snorkelling Guidelines (PDF download)Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park webpage on protected planet
{{Recreational dive sites, cavsit Conservation parks of South Australia Protected areas established in 1969 1969 establishments in Australia Limestone Coast Sinkholes of Australia Underwater diving sites in Australia Ramsar sites in Australia