Cowrie Beach is a small west-facing bay a kilometre short of The Nobbies on Phillip Island's western tip, lying inside the Summerland Peninsula penguin reserve and looking across the entrance of Western Port to Seal Rocks. Scuba Doctor lists it as a 2–8 m shore reef dive and describes a rocky bay with patchy weed and reef in the shallows, bordered by basalt platforms and reefs, with a sandy beach backed by low dunes and bluffs and gutters close to shore worth investigating when conditions permit. It is a modest site, and its interest lies in its position and orientation.

Because it faces west it is diveable on easterly winds when the whole south coast is unworkable, and because it sits at the mouth of Western Port the water is a mix of bay and ocean – seagrass and sand in the bay floor, basalt reef and kelp on the points, and tidal flow just offshore that keeps the water moving and the filter feeders healthy. The gutters in the basalt platforms hold crabs, shrimp, small crayfish and abalone; the weed flats have leatherjackets, wrasse, zebrafish and juvenile fish; and stingarees and fiddler rays lie on the sand. Little penguins from the reserve and Australian fur seals from Seal Rocks, 2 km to the south-west, are occasionally seen in the water.

The marine protected status noted in Scuba Doctor's index refers to the wider Phillip Island Nature Parks coast; the reserve's rules – no off-track walking, no dogs, stay off the dunes – apply on land, and there is no marine national park here, although divers should check current Nature Parks conditions. Cowrie Beach suits beginners, snorkellers and anyone based at Cowes who wants a quick, easy reef dive near The Nobbies on an easterly day; it is a short carry, sheltered from the prevailing wind, and combines well with a visit to the Nobbies boardwalk and the Antarctic Journey centre.

From Cowes drive west along Ventnor Road past the Penguin Parade towards The Nobbies (about 14 km, 20 minutes). Just before Point Grant a small car park sits on the grassy bluffs overlooking Cowrie Beach. The carry is short – 50–100 m down the bluff – with entries between the basalt boulders directly below the car park or further south under the steep hill.

Summerland Peninsula is a penguin reserve and off-track walking is prohibited, so stay on the formed access and out of the dunes. The Nobbies boardwalk and visitor centre are 1 km further on.

Cowrie Beach faces west into Western Port's entrance and is best dived during easterly winds at high tide, in Scuba Doctor's words – the opposite of the south-coast sites, which makes it a useful option when an easterly is blowing out Smiths and YCW. It is exposed to westerly and south-westerly swell wrapping around Point Grant, which produces surge over the shallow reef and stirs the sand, so look for a swell under 1 m. Tidal streams through the entrance between The Nobbies and Seal Rocks are strong; inside the bay they are mild but the water clears on the flood.

Diveable year-round in the right conditions.

Enter between the boulders below the car park at high tide, swim out over the patchy weed and reef at 3–5 m and follow the basalt platform edge south or north, exploring the gutters close to shore that Scuba Doctor singles out, to a maximum of about 8 m. Turn at half gas and return along the same edge, exiting where you entered or around the point onto the sand of Cowrie Beach if the swell allows.

No dive shop or dedicated dive charter is based on Phillip Island. Sites are dived by Melbourne clubs (VSAG, Melbourne University Underwater Club, Frankston/Peninsula clubs) and private boats launched at Newhaven or Rhyll; Mornington Peninsula shops (Dive Victoria Group, Portsea; The Scuba Doctor, Rye) run occasional Phillip Island days. Ocean Adventures Phillip Island (Cowes) runs seal-snorkel tours only.