Curlewis is a quiet north-facing beach on the outer harbour of Corio Bay, reached by a dead-end road through the market gardens and vineyards between Geelong and Drysdale, and it is one of the Bellarine's lesser-known shallow shore dives. The Scuba Doctor calls it a delightful shore diving and snorkelling site, and the description is apt: a gently shelving sand bottom with seagrass, hydroid beds and patches of low rock and shell reef in 1-4 m, sheltered from the prevailing southerlies by the land behind it. The attraction is small life.

Seahorses and pipefish live in the seagrass and among the hydroids, nudibranchs graze the hydroid colonies, globefish hover over the weed, southern fiddler rays and stingarees rest on the sand, and octopus, dumpling squid and flathead appear at night, when the site is at its best. Fish are few and small, but the invertebrate and syngnathid life is as good as at the Clifton Springs pier ruins a few kilometres east, with which it shares a character. There are no facilities and no crowds; on a weekday you will have the beach to yourself.

It is very shallow, so it is a high-tide site, and it is realistically a snorkel or a long, slow, shallow dive rather than anything with depth. For Geelong and Bellarine divers it is a reliable refuge in a southerly, a good first night dive and a fine place to practise macro photography, and the Wilson Spit and Moolap shellfish reefs lie a few kilometres offshore for those with a boat.

From Geelong take Portarlington Road (C123) east for about 12 km toward Drysdale; just east of the Sands Caravan Park entrance turn left into Grand Scenic Drive and follow it to its end at the shore (about 20 minutes from Geelong). Park at the end of the road (free, informal) and walk 50-100 m to the beach. Enter from the sand and fin out over the shallow flats to the weed and reef patches.

Exit on the same beach. There are no facilities here; the nearest are at Clifton Springs 5 km east.

The beach faces north, so it is best with an offshore southerly wind and is well protected from even fairly strong southerlies, which makes it a useful refuge when the Bass Strait coast and the Bellarine's northern piers are blown out. Northerlies and north-westerlies put chop onto the shore. Dive at high tide; it is very shallow at low water.

Visibility 3-6 m on a good day, better in winter, reduced after rain. No swell. Boat traffic from Clifton Springs and Portarlington passes offshore, so tow a flag.

Enter from the beach at high tide, fin out to 2 m, descend and work slowly along the weed and low reef parallel to the shore at 2-4 m, checking the hydroid and seagrass patches for seahorses and pipefish, turn at half gas or 30 minutes and return along the same line to the beach.

No regular commercial operator – dived independently and by Geelong clubs; Bay City Scuba in East Geelong is the local shop and dive club and uses the Corio Bay and Bellarine shore sites for training and club nights.