The Far Side is the wall that lies furthest from either shore – halfway between Shortland Bluff on the Queenscliff side and Point Nepean on the Portsea side, in the middle of the shipping lanes at the inner end of The Rip. The Scuba Doctor listing calls it 'a fantastic wall dive' and gives a range of 20–60 m, with the wall commencing at 18 m and descending 'with overhangs and steps to a depth of 40 metres', running east–west with 'the very sheer wall drop-off to the north'.

That orientation – face to the north, into the bay – is unusual for the Heads and gives the site its character. The sheer face is in shadow for much of the day and the listing is specific that a torch is needed to see the hard and soft corals, which are otherwise muted greys and browns until lit; under a light the overhangs are the full spectrum of orange, yellow and purple sponges and soft corals, with crayfish and southern blue devils calling the overhangs home. Fish life is that of the channel walls generally – boarfish, old wives, morwong, sweep – with pelagics and seals in the open water.

The Far Side is dived on slack water only, either flood or ebb, and the mid-channel position means it cannot be anchored and demands a shipping report and a live boat with someone watching the horizon as well as the divers. Advanced divers can work the top steps to 30 m; the sand at 40 m and the deeper ground beyond are technical territory. It is a club and request-charter site rather than a daily drop, and one that rewards divers who have tired of the busier Lonsdale sections – the name is apt, and the wall sees few divers.

Boat access only. Charter boats leave from Portsea Pier (Dive Victoria Group, Bayplay) and Queenscliff Harbour (Dive Victoria Group, Red Boats); run time is about 12 minutes. Private boats launch at Sorrento Boat Ramp (Point Nepean Road, Sorrento, all-tide concrete ramp with trailer parking) or Queenscliff Boat Harbour ramp (Larkin Parade, Queenscliff), roughly 12 minutes to the site.

The site is in the middle of the entrance channel inside the Heads, roughly equidistant from Queenscliff and Portsea (10–12 minutes from either). Skippers must call Lonsdale VTS (Point Lonsdale) or listen to VHF 12 for shipping movements before dropping divers, and must carry a dive flag; anchoring is not permitted in the shipping channel, so a live boat and a drop-shot or drift float is the normal method.

It is dived only on slack water, either at the end of the flood (SWF) or the end of the ebb (SWE); most operators prefer the flood slack so that any residual current sets into the bay rather than out to sea. Slack water at Port Phillip Heads does not coincide with high or low water: it falls roughly three hours after high or low water at Point Lonsdale, and the usable window is typically 20–40 minutes. Use the Ports Victoria / Port of Melbourne slack-water predictions for The Heads (also republished by charter operators and WillyWeather 'Rip Bank') rather than a standard tide table.

Inside the Heads it is sheltered from most swell, but a south-west swell over about 2 m still surges across the top of the wall and a westerly or south-westerly wind over 15–20 knots makes the boat work unpleasant; big seas outside drop visibility to a few metres for a day or two. Visibility is best in late summer and autumn (Feb–May) when the water is clear and the westerlies have eased; winter brings 11–13 °C water and bigger swells but often the clearest days after a run of settled weather. Heavy rain has little effect this close to the ocean.

The listing states it 'can be dived during slack water only'; being mid-channel the shipping check is critical.

Shot onto the reef top at 18 m. Drop over the sheer north-facing face to the planned depth (30 m recreational, 40 m at the sand for tech), follow the overhangs and steps east or west with a torch for the coral colours, return to the top, DSMB and drift.

Sand at 40 m, deeper beyond; nitrox for 30 m profile, trimix optional; mid-channel – shipping report and tracking boat mandatory.

Dive Victoria Group (Portsea/Queenscliff) – runs the deep Heads walls for advanced and technical divers on suitable slack-water days; Red Boats (Queenscliff) – deep-wall and technical charters on request; otherwise private club boats (VSAG, Power House Underwater Club, Scuba Diving Melbourne). Not a routine training-boat site.