St Leonards Pier is the best pier dive on the Bellarine Peninsula and one of the top three or four in Port Phillip, a long structure running out from a sheltered west-facing shore into 4-6 m of clear, weedy water. It has the depth that the Portarlington and Geelong piers lack, the shelter from southerlies and westerlies that the Mornington piers lack, and a density of small life that rivals Blairgowrie on a good day. The pylons are heavily grown with sponges, sea squirts, mussels and algae and host seahorses (both short-head and big-belly), nudibranchs in variety, puffers and globefish, old wives, wrasse, leatherjackets and blennies, while the sand and seagrass beneath hold common stargazers buried to the eyes, stingarees, fiddler rays, smooth stingrays and sea stars.

At night it becomes one of the state's better critter dives, with octopus, giant Australian cuttlefish, southern bobtail squid and calamari all regular. On the northern side of the pier the wooden ribs of an unidentified wreck, thought to date from the 1850s, protrude from the sand and give the dive a historical footnote. A 2020 council warning about deteriorating concrete on the underside of the pier prohibits swimming or diving directly beneath the piles, so the dive is now run alongside the structure, which changes little in practice.

Fishing pressure is heavy and line is everywhere, so a cutter is essential. With free parking, a lit pier, a park with BBQs beside it and Queenscliff and Geelong dive shops within half an hour, it is the Bellarine's default training, night and macro dive, and worth the drive from Melbourne in its own right.

St Leonards is 30 km east of Geelong via the Bellarine Highway, Drysdale and the St Leonards Road, or 14 km north of Queenscliff. Park in the car park off The Esplanade between Harvey Road and Murradoc Road (free, busy in summer), a carry of 50-100 m to the beach. Enter from the sand and swim out under the pier, or walk out and giant stride from the lower landing on the northern side.

Note that a 2020 council notice prohibits swimming or diving directly beneath the pier and its piles because of deteriorating concrete overhead, so dive alongside rather than under the structure and exit by the landing ladder or the beach. Harvey Park, south of the pier, has BBQs and a playground.

Protected from west and south winds by the peninsula; ideal in north-westerly, westerly and south-westerly winds. A fresh northerly or north-easterly puts chop onto the pier and stirs the sand. Dive at high tide for depth and clarity; visibility 3-8 m, best in winter, reduced after rain.

No swell, and the Rip tidal streams do not reach this far north, so there is no current to plan around. Well lit for night dives and heavily fished, so carry a line cutter.

Enter from the beach or the northern landing, follow the pylons out alongside the pier (not beneath the piles) to the head at 5-6 m, cross to the northern side to find the wooden ribs of the old wreck on the sand, work back along the northern pylons and the seagrass edge, and exit at the landing ladder or beach. Turn at half gas at the head.

Popular club and shop training site: Bay City Scuba (Geelong) and Dive Victoria Group (Queenscliff) run regular training and night dives here; Scubabo Dive Victoria and Melbourne clubs visit. No boat required.