Eagle Nest Reef is the long limestone reef that lies parallel to the Aireys Inlet shore for many kilometres, and Sunnymead Beach, below the 30-40 m red sandstone bluffs at the northern end of the town, is its main entry. The setting is spectacular even by Great Ocean Road standards: two narrow beaches separated by rock platforms under sheer red cliffs, with the reef showing as dark bands in the water on a calm day. The Scuba Doctor divides the dive in two.

A shallow inner reef within easy reach of the beach in 2-4 m suits beginners and snorkellers when the sea is calm, and the larger main reef structures several hundred metres out in 6-10 m are the real dive, a broad calcarenite platform cut into ledges, gutters and holes whose shaded surfaces carry sponges, ascidians, bryozoans and jewel anemones under a canopy of crayweed and bull kelp. The fauna is that recorded for the adjacent Eagle Rock sanctuary: blue-throat and rosy wrasse, herring cale, scalyfin, sea sweep, magpie perch, leatherjackets, Port Jackson sharks, rusty catsharks, stingarees and banjo sharks on the sand, southern rock lobster, octopus, decorator crabs and sea stars in the reef, and Australian fur seals visiting from the strait. Because the beach faces east it is slightly better protected from the prevailing south-westerlies than the sites around Split Point, and in a light westerly it is often the calmest of the Aireys Inlet options, though a south-westerly swell still closes it.

Permanent rips run off the platforms and past the headlands, the water is deep close in, and the swim to the main reef is long, so it is a site for experienced ocean divers with good fitness who have studied the sea from the lookout. Sandy Gully Beach 1.3 km south-west is the reef's other entry, and Eagle Rock Marine Sanctuary lies beyond it.

Aireys Inlet is 125 km from Melbourne and 48 km from Geelong on the Great Ocean Road. At the northern end of the township turn toward the coast at Boundary Road and park at the Sunnymead Beach parking area and lookout (free). Steps and a track lead down to the beach; enter from the rocky points at the northern end of the beach north of Boundary Road, or walk south along the limestone pavement to an entry near Hopkins Street, a carry of 150-400 m depending on the choice.

Before gearing up look at the water from the lookout; if there is lots of white water, go home. Exit at the same point.

Only attempt it when conditions are very calm with little wind, flat seas and no swell. The beach faces east, so it is best with north-westerly to south-westerly offshore winds and is one of the few Surf Coast sites that tolerates a light south-westerly breeze, though not a south-westerly swell. The Scuba Doctor describes a highly hazardous area with deep water, permanent rips, rocks and reefs, for experienced divers and snorkellers only.

Autumn and early winter give the most days; visibility 5-15 m when clean.

Enter from the northern rocky points on a flat day, fin out over the shallow inner reef at 2-4 m, continue seaward to the main reef structures several hundred metres out at 6-10 m, work along the reef parallel to the bluffs, turn at half gas and return along the inner reef to the entry, keeping clear of the permanent rips at the platform ends.

No regular commercial operator – dived independently by experienced Geelong and Surf Coast divers and clubs on the rare flat days; Bay City Scuba (Geelong) is the nearest shop. Snorkel tours operate under Parks Victoria licence in summer.