Established 16 October 1969 Phone +61 8 8735 1177 | Area 8.64 km² | |
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Managing authorities Website Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park Similar Ewens Ponds, Bool Lagoon Game Re, Nene Valley Conserva, Penguin Island Conserva, Poocher Swamp Game Re | ||
Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park is a protected area of 862 hectares (2,130 acres) located in southeastern South Australia near Mount Gambier.
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Description
The Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation Park is located in the south-east of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Wye on the continental coastline overlooking Discovery Bay about 490 kilometres (300 mi) southeast of the state capital of Adelaide and 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-east of the city of Mount Gambier.
The conservation park conserves a wetland fed by freshwater springs in a karst landscape.
It is close to the border with Victoria and is part of the Discovery Bay to Piccaninnie Ponds Important Bird Area, identified by BirdLife International as being of global significance for several bird species. It is a listed Ramsar site. The park contains a walking track through coastal woodland to a viewing platform overlooking the wetlands.
Recreational diving
Piccaninnie Ponds is a popular site for both snorkelling and cave diving. It contains three main features of interest to cave divers. The ‘First Pond’ is an open depression about 10 metres (33 ft) deep with a silt floor and much aquatic life, the ‘Chasm’ is a sinkhole with a depth of over 100 metres (330 ft), and the ‘Cathedral’ is an enclosed area with limestone formations and a depth of about 35 metres (115 ft). Underwater visibility is excellent and may exceed 40 metres (130 ft). Snorkelling and cave diving at Piccaninnie Ponds is by permit only.