Major Reef Sites

From Cairns

Approximately 20 reefs lie within a 1 1/2- to 2-hour boat ride from Cairns. These are the reefs most commonly visited by snorkelers and divers on day trips, because they are so close and so pretty. Some reefs are small coral "bommies," or outcrops, that you can swim completely around in a matter of minutes, whereas others are miles wide. Some reefs have more than one good dive site; Norman Reef, for example, has at least four. Three of the most popular reefs with snorkelers and divers are Hastings, Saxon, and Norman, which are all within a short boat ride of one another. Each has a wonderful array of coral, big colorful reef fish, schools of pretty rainbow-hued small reef fish, and the odd giant clam. Green sea turtles and white-tip reef sharks are common, especially at Saxon, though you will not necessarily spot one every day. Divers may see a moray eel and a grouper or two, barracuda, reef sharks, eagle and blue-spotted rays, and octopus. Norman is an especially lovely reef with several nice sites. South Norman has lovely sloping coral shelves. If you are an experienced diver and like swim-throughs, the Caves at Norman is a good spot; all have boulder and plate corals.

Some of the best diving anywhere on the Great Barrier Reef is on the Ribbon Reefs on the outer Reef edge, which fringes the continental shelf northward off Cairns and Port Douglas. Glorious coral walls, abundant fish, and pinnacles make these a rich, colorful dive area with lots of variety. The currents can be strong here, because the reefs force the tidal water flow into narrow channels into the open sea, so drift dives on a rising tide are a possibility. The Ribbon Reefs are beyond the reach of day boats, but are commonly visited by live-aboard boats . For divers, experts recommend Steve's Bommie and Dynamite Pass. Steve's Bommie is a coral outcrop in 30m (98 ft.) of water, often topped with barracudas, and covered in colorful coral and small marine life. You can swim through a tunnel here amid crowds of fish. Dynamite Pass is a channel where barracuda, trevally, grouper, mackerel, and tuna often gather to feed in the current. Black coral trees and sea whips grow on the walls, patrolled by eagle rays and reef sharks.

Cairns's most famous dive site is Cod Hole, where your guide may hand-feed giant potato cod as big as you are. The site also has Maori wrasse, moray eels, and coral trout. Cod Hole is about 20km (13 miles) off Lizard Island and 240km (149 miles) north of Cairns, so it is not a day trip unless you are staying at exclusive Lizard Island. However, it is a popular stop with just about every live-aboard vessel, often combined in a trip to the Ribbon Reefs, lasting about 4 days, or in a trip to the Coral Sea , lasting between 4 and 7 days. Either itinerary makes an excellent dive vacation.

Keen divers looking for adventure in far-flung latitudes can visit the Far Northern region of the Great Barrier Reef, much farther north than most dive boats venture. Up in this region you will find a wide choice of good sites, little explored by the average diver. Visibility is always clear. Silvertip City on Mantis Reef has sharks, pelagics, potato cod, and lionfish that patrol a wall up to 46m (150 ft.) deep. Another goodie is the Magic Cave swim-through adorned with lots of colorful fans, soft corals, and small reef fish. Sleeping turtles are often spotted in caves on the reefs off Raine Island, the world's biggest green turtle rookery. Visibility averages 24m (80 ft.) at Rainbow Wall, a colorful wall that makes a nice gentle drift dive with the incoming tide.

More than 100 to 200km (63-126 miles) east of the coast, out in the Coral Sea, isolated mountains covered in reefs rise more than a kilometer (half-mile) from the ocean floor to make excellent diving. Although not within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the Coral Sea is often combined into an extended live-aboard trip that also takes in Cod Hole and the Ribbon Reefs. The entire trip usually takes 4 to 7 days. In addition to showing you huge schools of pelagic and reef fish big and small, a wide range of corals, and gorgonian fans, the area is a prime place to spot sharks. The most popular site is Osprey Reef, a 100-sq.-km (39-sq.-mile) reef with 1,000m (3,300-ft.) drop-offs, renowned for its year-round visibility of up to 70m (230 ft.). White-tip reef sharks are common, but the area is also home to gray reef sharks, silvertips, and hammerheads. Green turtles, tuna, barracuda, potato cod, mantas, and grouper are also common.

Closer to shore, Cairns has several coral cays and reef-fringed islands within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Less than an hour from the city wharf, Green Island is a 15-hectare (37-acre) coral cay with snorkeling equal to that of most other places on the Great Barrier Reef. It is also a popular diving spot. You can visit it in half a day if time is short.

The Frankland Islands are a pristine group of uninhabited rainforested isles, edged with sandy beaches, reefs, and fish, 45km (28 miles) south of Cairns. The islands are a rookery for green sea turtles, which snorkelers and divers often spot in the water. In February and March, you may even be lucky enough to see dozens of baby turtles hatching in the sand. Michaelmas Cay and Upolu Cay are two pretty coral sand blips in the ocean, 30km (19 miles) and 25km (16 miles) off Cairns, surrounded by reefs. Michaelmas is vegetated and is home to 27,000 seabirds; you may spot dugongs (cousins of manatees) off Upolu. Michaelmas and Upolu are great for snorkelers and introductory divers, but experienced divers are probably better off visiting the excellent sites at such reefs as Norman, Hastings, or Saxon.

From Port Douglas

The waters off Port Douglas boast just as many wonderful reefs and marine life forms as the waters around Cairns; the reefs are equally close to shore and equally colorful and varied. Some of the most visited reefs are Tongue, Opal, and St. Crispin reefs. The Agincourt complex of reefs also has many excellent dive sites; experts recommend the double-figure-eight swim-through at the Three Sisters, where baby gray whaler sharks gather, and the wonderful coral walls of Castle Rock, where stingrays often hide in the sand. Nursery Bommie is a 24m (79-ft.) pinnacle that is a popular haunt with such big fish as barracuda, rays, sharks, and moray eels; under the big plate corals of Light Reef, giant grouper hide out. Other popular sites are the staghorn coral garden (so named because the coral looks like a stag's antlers) at the Playground; one of the region's biggest swim-throughs at the Maze, where parrot fish and an enormous Maori wrasse hang out; the Stepping Stones, home of the exquisitely pretty clownfish (like Nemo!); Turtle Bommie, where hawksbill turtles are frequently sighted; and Harry's Bommie, where divers see the occasional manta ray. Among the 15-plus dive sites visited by Poseidon are Turtle Bay, where you may meet "Killer," a friendly Maori wrasse; the Cathedrals, a collection of coral pinnacles and swim-throughs; and Barracuda Pass, home to coral gardens, giant clams, and schooling barracudas.

The closest Reef site off Port Douglas, the Low Isles, lies only 15km (9 miles) northeast. Coral sand and 22 hectares (55 acres) of coral surround these two coral cays; the smaller is a sand cay covered in rich vegetation and the larger is a shingle/rubble cay covered in mangroves and home to thousands of nesting Torresian Imperial pigeons. The coral is not quite as dazzling as the outer Reef's -- head to the outer Reef if you have only 1 day to spend on the Great Barrier Reef -- but the fish life here is rich, and you may spot sea turtles. Because you can wade out to the coral right from the beach, the Low Isles are a good choice for nervous snorkelers. A half-day or day trip to the Low Isles makes for a more relaxing day than a visit to outer Reef sites, because in addition to exploring the coral, you can walk or sunbathe on the sand or laze under palm-thatched beach umbrellas. Note: If you visit the Low Isles, wear old shoes, because the coral sand can be rough underfoot.

From Mission Beach

Mission Beach is the closest point on the mainland to the Reef, 1 hour by boat. The main site visited is Beaver Cay, a sandy coral cay surrounded by marine life. The waters are shallow, making the cay ideal for snorkelers eager to see the coral's vibrant colors and novice divers still getting a feel for the sport. It's a perfect spot for an introductory dive.

From Townsville

Townsville's waters boast hundreds of large patch reefs, some miles long, and many rarely visited by humans. Here you can find excellent coral and fish life, including mantas, rays, turtles, and sharks, and sometimes canyons and swim-throughs in generally good visibility. One of the best reef complexes is Flinders Reef, which is actually located in the Coral Sea, beyond the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park boundaries. At 240km (149 miles) offshore, it has 30m (100-ft.) visibility, plenty of coral, and big walls and pinnacles with big fish to match, such as whaler shark and barracuda.

What draws most divers to Townsville, though, is one of Australia's best wreck dives, the SS Yongala . Still largely intact, the sunken remains of this steamer lie 90km (56 miles) from Townsville, 16km (10 miles) off the coast, in 15 to 30m (50-98 ft.) of water, with visibility of 9 to 18m (approximately 30-60 ft.). A cyclone sent the Yongala and its 49 passengers and 72-member crew to the bottom of the sea in 1911. Today it's surrounded by a mass of coral and marine life, including barracuda, enormous grouper, rays, sea snakes, turtles, moray eels, shark, cod, and reef fish. You can not enter the ship, but swimming along its length allows you to see an amazing array of marine life.

The Yongala is not for beginners -- the boat is deep, and there is often a strong current. Most dive companies require their customers to have advanced certification or to have logged a minimum of 15 dives with open-water certification. The boat is usually visited on a live-aboard trip of at least 2 days, but some companies run day trips. There are also open-water certification dive courses that finish with a dive on the Yongala, but freshly certified scuba hounds might be wise to skip this advanced dive.

From the Whitsundays

Visitors to the Whitsundays get to have their cake and eat it too; they can visit the outer Reef and enjoy some good dive and snorkel sites in and around the islands. Many islands have rarely visited fringing reefs, which you can explore in a rented dinghy. The reef here is just as good as off Cairns, with many drop-offs and drift dives, a dazzling range of corals, and a rich array of marine life, including whales, mantas, shark, reef fish, morays, turtles, and pelagics. Visibility is usually around 15 to 23m (49-75 ft.).

The Stepping Stones, on 800-hectare (1,976-acre) Bait Reef, is one of the most popular sites on the outer Reef. It is made up of a series of pinnacles that abound with fish life and offer caverns, swim-throughs, and channels. A family of grouper often greets divers at Groupers Grotto on Net Reef, and a pod of dolphins hang around Net Reef's southeast wall. Oublier Reef has plate corals over 2m (7 ft.) wide in its coral gardens.

Among the island sites, most folks' favorite is Blue Pearl Bay off Hayman Island, whether they're snorkeling or diving. It has loads of corals and some gorgonian fans in its gullies, and heaps of reef fish, including Maori wrasse and sometimes even manta rays. It's a good place to make an introductory dive, walking right in off the beach. Mantaray Bay on Hook Island is renowned for its range of marine life, from small reef fish and nudibranchs to bigger pelagics farther out. Mantas hang around here in November. Other good snorkel and dive spots are on Black and Knuckle Reefs. A little island commonly called Bali Hai Island, between Hayman and Hook islands is great place to be left to your own devices. You'll see soft-shelf and wall coral, tame Maori wrasse, octopus, turtles, reef shark, various kinds of rays including mantas, eagles and cow-tails, plus loads of fish.

From Bundaberg

The southern reefs of the Great Barrier Reef are just as prolific, varied, and colorful as the reefs farther north off Cairns. However, because this part of the coast is less accessible by visitors and the reefs farther offshore, fewer snorkel and dive boats visit them. Many are the virgin reefs in these parts that have never seen a diver.

The only reef visited by snorkelers and divers on a daily basis from Bundaberg is pretty Lady Musgrave Island, a vegetated 14-hectare (35-acre) national-park coral cay, 52 nautical miles off the coast. It is surrounded by a lagoon 8km (5 miles) in circumference, filled with hundreds of corals and some 1,200 of the 1,500 species of fish and other marine creatures found on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lady Musgrave Island is one of the Bunker Group of islands and reefs, which lie approximately 80km (50 miles) due north of Bundaberg. They are due east of Gladstone and closer to that town, but only live-aboard boats visit them from there. Farther south of Bunker Group is Lady Elliot Island, which is accessed by air. Bundaberg's Woongarra Marine Park lies outside the borders of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is a popular destination for divers visiting the Reef. This small park hugs the town's coastline in an area known as Bargara, and has loads of soft and hard corals, nudibranchs, wobbegongs, epaulette sharks, sea snakes, some 60 fish species, and frequent sightings of green and loggerhead turtles. Most of this is in water less than 9m (30 ft.) deep, and you can walk right into it off the beach.

Beyond Woongarra, 2.5 nautical miles (4.6km) offshore, is Cochrane artificial reef, where a few Mohawk and Beechcraft aircraft have been dumped to make a home for fish. Other sites off Bunbaberg, in about 23m (75 ft.) of water, include the manta "cleaning station" at Evan's Patch, a World War II Beaufort bomber with lots of marine life.