Australian Great Barrier Reef Divesite Reviews
Updated June 2, 1998. slh
Ribbon Reef dive sites
All of the dive sites listed here are visited by the major charter boats from Port Douglas and Cairns. These divesites can be visited only by boat and it is recommended that one use an experienced charter boat service.
Agincourt Reef
Kerry's Mooring
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 20-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Kerry's Mooring is a good site for the first dive of a trip. It is a fairly shallow spot that allows divers getting into the water for the first time in a while to get a buoyancy check done, wander around amongst the coral and get an idea of the things there are to see along this section of the GBR. Kerry's Mooring has a great assortment of hard corals and lots of bommies. The bommies are home to many small animals so one needs to dive this site slowly to benefit from what it has to offer. This site features shrimp, nudibranchs, Parrotfish, anemones, clams, whitetip sharks, caves, and a maori wrasse.
Dive site briefing:
At this divesite, the best plan is to go to the right of where the boat is moored and wander around in the area. I have been to the left of the boat mooring (to the second mooring) and there are the same items, just fewer of them.
Escape reef
Ruby's Reefette
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-130 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Ruby's Reefette is one of those divesites that has many interesting things to see. This site is known for cuttlefish on the southern end of the divesite near a cave. Ruby's reefette has many caves, with some of them quite long. One of the caves at this dive site ends in a hole at the top of the reef leaving the diver in 6 feet of water to explore the colorful corals that cover the top of the reef. This divesite also has several large bommies that take on the effect of mountains when the dive is made during dusk. This site features many small reef fish such as tangs, anglefish, eels, and pufferfish.
Dive site briefing:
The dive site is a large oval shaped reef structure with many caves and swimthroughs. All of these structures can be explored safely, as the end of the swimthroughs can be seen when entering. On the southern end of the reef is a large arch that has a large fan in the middle. Swimming under the arch is not advised as this will damage the fan. The best way to enjoy Ruby's reefette is to start in a northly direction so that the swimthroughs and caves can be explored when the diver has the most air. After exploring the swimthroughs on the northern and eastern parts of the reef, continue around the eastern part of the reef moving south to the arch. Follow the reef around the arch and the diver should find the boat.
Kremlin
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 70 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This site has no resemblance to the Kremlin in Moscow, so I cannot explain how the sigth gots its' name. This site is an old coral bommie that is breaking apart and forms large piles of coral. Within the coral piles are lots of fish, gorgonian fans, nudibranchs, anglefish, and eels.
Ribbon Reef #1
Little Anderson
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 80 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Little Anderson is a shallow dive site good for checking out buoyancy on divers that are new to the area. It offers a well protected area for divers getting their feet wet for the first time, or for those that have been out of the water for a long time. Little Anderson features an area that has many large clams scattered among the corals. One of the residents of little Anderson is a hump headed parrotfish. This fish is unmistakable as it has a large forehead.
Dive site briefing:
Little Anderson is a small site but has alot to see. The boat mooring is parrallel with four bommis that reach 70 feet in depth. Start by exploring those bommies and work north to a set of bommies in 35 to 45 feet of water. From there, follow the reef back to the shallow area in front of the boat. There are several small coves worth exploring.
Ribbon Reef #2 and Ribbon Reef #3
Whaler Station
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 80 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Whaler Station is an interesting dive site with a set of bommies on one end and a very long wall on the other end. Along the wall below the bommies are numerous nudibranchs and sea whips. On the area of the bommies a banded anemone can be found. The wall structure of Whaler Station is very different in appearance from the bommie part of the wall. This part of the wall slopes down to the sand and has many varieties of coral (plate and staghorn) lining the wall down to the sand. This is a very nice divesite for a relaxed dive aling a wall.
Whitecliffs
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 75 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
The Whitecliffs divesite got its' name from the familiar looking cliffs of Whitecliffs, England. The northern end of the divesite features the namesake cliffs, while the southern end of the divesite has numerous bommies for exploration. This divesite also has some interesting caves in the wall.
The south end of the divesite is a bit barren, although there are a few bommies in the shallows that make up for this. Sweetlips, featherstars, six-banded angelfish, and triggers are found around this shallow bommie. The middle of the divesite features numerous bommies with featherstars, giant clams, trumpetfish, and masses of coral. This area makes a good starting point for a dive. The northern end of the divesite features the namesake wall. On this end of the diveiste, bullrays, unicorn fish, and anemonies can be found.
Divesite briefing:
I have found that the best way to see the whitecliffs divesite is to start in a northerly direction, starting under the boat and visit the soft coral formation. From here proceed to the wall and visit the bottom of the wall and the caves. The end of the wall makes a good turnaround point. Swim back along the wall, shallower this time, to see the ginat clams, anemonies, and featherstars along the wall and wall floor. Following the wall until it becomes reef shelf begins a progressivley shallower dive allowing for a scenic safety stop on the bommie at the southern end of the divesite.
Temple of Doom
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
The temple of doom is an outstanding divesite for divers that like lots of colorful fish and coral. The divesite consists of a large bommie that is roughly oval shape. The bommie has steep walls on which alot of colorful life makes its' home. On the walls one will find soft coral, crinoids, fans, and many small colorfull reef fish. The top of the bommie is the best part of this fantastic divesite.
The top of the bommie is a fantastic array of hard corals and small fish that inhabit the reef. The top of the reef is somewhat bowl shaped allowing the diver to enter and wander around in shallow water for a close-up view of the sea life. In the bowl shaped area of the bommie the diver will find schooling fish, lion fish, parrotfish, wrasses, wobbiegongs, trumpetfish, tangs, anemonies and thier attemdant clown fish, jacks, and triggerfish and many varieties of hard coral like plate coral and staghorn coral with many crinoids (featherstars) nearby.
Steve's Bommie
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Steve's Bommie is a site named for a dive instructor in the area. The instructor was found at cod hole, dead from unknown causes. Steve's Bommie was his favorite site and his friends tribute to him is the divesite itself. His friends placed a plaque honoring him and his favorite divesite on a small bommie near the main pinnacle in 65 feet of water. The plaque is now gone, but the memory remains. This divesite is very diverse with surrounding sealife. The divesite is somewhat of a pinnacle, with a cave at 25 feet.
The sea life surrounding this divesite includes a sea turtle, lionfish, trevally, lionfish, anemonies, Moorish idols, nudibranchs, sea fans, anglefish,soft coral, pipefish, christmastree worms, featherstars, and eels. Occasionally there is a large Maori wrasse that visits the bommie.
Dive site briefing:
The best way to dive Steve's bommie is decend to about 60 feet, and slowly swim in a clockwise direction while slowly increasing depth. Much of the life around Steve's bommie is concentrated above 60 feet so a visit deeper may not show much except the occasional white tip reef shark. Work your way around the bommie several times.
Take time to explore the cave, but do not enter the cave as there is not enough room for a diver without damaging the beautiful sea fans that are attached to the walls. One side of Steve's bommie is a bit bare, but the other side makes up for this. On this side of the bommie there are many anemonies, most of them near the top. Near the top there is a large brain coral with a small lionfish near by. Spend some time swimming slowly about the top and the many reef fish will come for a closerlook. The small wrasses on this bommie seem to be more territorial than others that I have found. One such wrasse pecked at my mask as a warning that I was in his area and that he would not go away.
Century Bay
Century Bay
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Century bay is an outstanding dive site for variety. This dive site makes an outstanding night dive. Century bay has a variety of small colorful fish that find refuge in the vast sea of coral in the area. Over half of the dive site has staghorn coral. The coral is located between the line of bommies in the deeper water and the edge of the reef. The inhabitants of century bat include undulate trigger fish, moorish idols, small parrotfish, tangs, surgeonfish, wrasses, lionfish, batfish, and some barracuda. During a night dive one may find white tip reef sharks.
One of the known inhabitants is a large barracuda. This barracuda is sometimes seen during the day, but is most often seen at night. During night dives, this large barracuda will move along side a diver with a light. As this is a large animal, it can be quite frightening for someone not accustomed to an animal this large so close. Do not shine the dive light in the barracuda's eyes. It will leave. Instead, shine the divelight on the body of the barracuda. This will enable the divers to see the barracuda and not frighten him away. As the dive progresses, eventually a diver will shine thier light on a small fish. When this happens, the small fish is blinded. The blinded fish is no match for the smart and fast barracuda.
Dive site briefing:
The best way to see century bay is to start the dive around the bommies that are in about 50 feet of water. After inspecting the bommies, work up to the northern end of the reef above the coral. Watch buoyancy control here carefully as the staghorn coral is delicate.
Ribbon Reef #41/2
Explorer
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 50 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Explorer is a divesite that turns out to be an excellent spot for a night dive. This divesite offers shelter for the night and is shallow to allow a nice end to a full day of diving. This divesite also ahs some interesting features such as cuttlefish and caves. The caves are numerous and there is one large cave on the northern end of the site that is full of life. Giant clams, glass shrinp, anemonies, and parrotfish are found here also.
Divesite briefing:
I have enjoyed the most success at explorer by starting out by dropping to the bottom under the boat and working north along the bommies. After a suitable distance, start going toward the reef and explore the caves along the reef wall. In the shallows you will find many of the giant clams and many of the other creatures in the caves. Continue in this direction until passing the boat mooring and continue into the shallow water (15-20 ft) with the multiple bommies. This is an excellent spot to do your safety stop.
Ribbon Reef #5
Jayenems Wall
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Jaynem's Wall is a very pretty divesite. There is wall that has lots of small creatures hidden on it that make the dive a good one if you move slowly. Off to the right of the boat off of the mooring line, there is a bommie with the top about 45 feet. On this bommie are eels, and Banded Coral Shrimp. There are also several nudibranchs and sea whips near the base of the bommie. Other features are the hard corals along the wall, the occasional white tip shark, and a few small caves.
Divesite briefing:
Explore the bommie off of the mooring line first. This will be the deepest part of the dive and allows the diver to wander off to the wall later. Follow the wall to the left (keeping the wall on your right). When your turnaround point has been reached, keep the wall on your left, move up a bit shallower, and the mooring line (and the way back to the boat) will appear on your trip back.
May Hole
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Andy's Postcard
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Ribbon Reef #51/2
Dali's Garden
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Plan "B" Bommie
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Harrier Reef (Ribbon Reef 7 1/2)
Plates
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 150 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Plates is a realatively new divesite at the northern end of Harrier reef (Ribbon Reef 71/2). This divesite is named after the vast anount of plate coral in the area. This divesite has some deep areas that do not have much to see, as the dead coral from the top of this picturesque reef finds its way to the bottom. As this divesite is at the northernm end of the reef, strong currents can be found during the dive as the diver heads toward the eastern side of the reef. This dive should only be done during an incomming tide.
Among the many things to see here are the myriad of coral formations. Plate coral, staghorn coral, and soft coral all make their home here. Some of the animmals found living among the coral include anglefish, butterfly fish, wrasses, moray eels, and cuttlefish. On one dive I found an epaulette shark nestled among the corals.
Divesite briefing:
From the boat, proceed north along the wall, working against the current. Follow the wall around to the northern end of the reef, gradually work up to the shallows. On the wall there will be many sof corals, some hard coral, and a few eels. Near the top, it is an easy drift dive back to the boat. The is a wonderful variety of corals on the top of the reef and one can see an entire field of coral while drifting by. The current will diminish near the boat mooring. Take time here to investigate the reeftop corals during the safety stop.
Cuttlefish Cove
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 50 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This is a divesite that is usually visited near the end ot the day. It is a relatively shallow site with less life than most of the other divesites in the area, but the chance of seeing a cuttlefish usually makes up for this. There are several cuttlefish in the area, and are usuall found hovering around the bommies in the area. The cuttlefish is an interesting little animal. as it has similar behaviors as the octopus. The cuttlefish rivals the octopus in its ability to change color in an instant. I prefer the watching the cuttlefish change color it has some irridescent qualities to the colors around its fins. Other animals that are here include blue spotted rays, anemonies, and featherstars.
Divesite briefing:
Cuttlefish cove is a small divesite and all one needs to do is wander around the bommies in the area and wait. It is best to move slowly as cuttlefish have excellent eyesight and will probably see you first. Wait around the bommies and explore all of them. There is also the reef wall to explore, where numerous small caves are found.
Ribbon Reef #8
The Drop
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Gently Sloping to 12 Meters
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 120 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Gently Sloping to 12 Meters is a relatively new divesite that is desperatly searching for a new name. This is a small divesite that has alot of potential. It is located in an isolated area inside the GBR protected by Ribbon Reef #8. As it is isolated, I would expect ot see many pelagics there (I did see barracuda) but my dive there did not have many. This site has many coral varieties in the shallow areas and many different types of animals including parrotfish, unicorn fish, fusiliers, trumpet fish, flutemouths, pufferfish, nudibranchs, featherstars, and seawhips. There was a large shelf area that had many of the schooling fish. This is a good site for an easy dive with lots of color for landscape photos.
Ribbon Reef #9
Wonderland Reef
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Vertical Gardens
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Esther's Place
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 120 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This dive site is named for a Dutch woman visiting the ribbon reefs in May of 1995. This was an exploratory dive site for the crew and passengers of the M. V. Reef Explorer. It was named for Esther as a celabration of her 100th dive.
Challenger Bay
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 50 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This is one of the best places on the ribbon reefs for a night dive. The diving at challenger bay during the day is also very good, but my most memorable dives here have been night dives. Challenger bay is a dive site that has many interesting sites to see in addition to the sea life. Challenger bay features a fantastic shallow area great for looking at the multi-colored corals that pack the area. Along with the corals, there are many varieties of angelfish, parrotfish, wrasses, and triggers. It is also common to find large batfish under the boat looking for an easy meal.
When diving on challenger bay during a night dive there is something else to remember. There are many parrotfish in the area. A parrotfish makes a mucos cocoon every night to sleep in. The mucos cocoon is to mask its' scent to other predators (such as the white tip reef shark). Do not shine a dive light directly on the parrotfish as it may become frightened and bolt from its' cocoon. Since the parrotfish can only make one cocoon each night, a parrotfish frightened from its' cocoon may soon be a meal.
On one particular night dive, my buddy and I were the only divers in the water. My dive buddy was leading the dive. We worked our way along the southeren end of the reef, finding lobster and sleeping fish. As we hit our turn around point a strange thing happended. I noticed that my dive buddy was ALOT closer than normal. I signaled to her to see if she was O.K. and she responded that she was. Although she indicated that she was O.K, I noticed that she maintaind a close distance, keeping herself between me and the reef. We continued our dive and reached the boat after an uneventful dive. On the dive deck the first thing my buddy said to me was "Did you see the shark?" As I had seen a few sharks cruising in the deeper water during the dive I reacted with amusement and told her that there were several sharks with us during the dive. It was then that she told me that she came face to snout with a large shark at our turn around point and was spooked with this unexpected close encounter.
Dive site briefing:
The best way to dive challenger bay is to dive in a "T" pattern. Ask the dive master about the direction of the current and start at the mooring line by swimming against the current. The mooring line is tied to a coral head that makes for a good reference marker. After one third of the air us used, turn back and let the current take you back to the mooring line. Pass the mooring line by a short distance and work up into to shallow area of the reef. Work your way back to the mooring line following the reef system in the shallows. The shallows provides an excellent area to perform a safety stop while enjoying thre scenery at the same time. It is always a good idea to work up to a shallow area for a safety stop. After many days of diving a safety stop is an excellent way to minimize any diving related maladies from spoiling your diving holiday and enjoy the surrounding scenery.
If the currents allow it, there is another notable item about challenger bay. At the southern end of the is an enormous coral polyp formation. This formation is larger than the boats that visit the ribbon reefs and many thousnads of years older. The formation streaches from about 60 feet up to 20 feet and is over 50 feet accross. This is a sight not to be missed .
Pixie Pinnacle
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Pixie's pinnacle is a underwater photographers paradise. This divesite is a single spire rising from the sand to a depth of 10 feet with an amazing amount of life packed onto the sides and top of the pinnacle. Pixie's pinnacle is unique wonder; the closer one looks, the more there is to find. A diver can circle the pinnacle in a few minutes, but this divesite requires careful study to enjoy it. I have found that every time I dive Pixie's, I find something new and I also find that I am looking at smaller and smaller patches of an area that I am familiar with.
Pixie's pinnacle has the most diverse life found on the ribbon reefs. Divers find a myriad of animal life around Pixie's, including but not limited to lionfish, nudibranchs, crinoids, triggerfish, tangs, surgeonfish, corals, small clams, fans, sea whips, parrotfish, and anemonies. This site is also home to six of the seven types of anemonies found on the ribbon reefs. Pixie's is surrounded by schooling fish waiting for a chance at the smaller fish inhabiting the reef. Following the schooling fish is a school of barracuda, waiting for the easy meal.
Dive site briefing:
The best way to enjoy Pixie's is to relax. Start at about 60 feet and circle the pinnacle slowly, moving in a constant upward direction. At about 40 feet, this divesite really comes to life. Most of the things to see are above 40 feet so plan on spending most of your time there. Slowly look over the details of the life living on the walls on the northern and western faces where the nudibranchs, lionfish, and grouper congregate.
On one such dive I found a free swimming crinoid (featherstar) making its' way to a new perch, waiting for the current to pick up to resume feeding. Near the top you will find densly packed life. Small clams, anemonies, sea fans, hard corals, and clouds of fairy basslets make Pixie's a kaleidascope of color. The visual effect of so many colorful fish is breathtaking - at times blocking the view in a cloud-like swarm of color. Spend the reminder of your air at the top, hovering over the hard and soft coral, enveloped in a sea of color, swimming with the ever-present barracuda, enjoying the fantastic lighting conditions and abundant sea life found in the shallow water.
Pixie's Wall
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 50 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Pixie's wall is an alternate dive site when pixie's pinnacle is inaccessable due to the tides and currents. Pixie's wall is on the edge of the reef and offers many interesting sights. Among the sights at pixie's wall are many swimthroughs along the reef that start at the sand and end up at the reef top. The inside of the swimthroughs have many cracks and crevices that hold many types of life. On one such dive I found a cuttlefish hiding in a small cove. The other animal life found at pixie's wall include wrasses, barracuda, staghorn coral, several barramundi cod, lionfish, batfish, and clams.
Dive site briefing:
On the south side of the dive site there are many giant clams and on the north side is a large coral formation. Seeing both depends onthe current. Since the mooring for the site is located in the center, the best dive profile is a "T". Start in the direction with the current and go only ofr a few minutes. This should take the diver to one end of the divesite. Then start working back staying close to the reef as this will lessen the force of the current for the swim back in the direction of the boat. Continue past the mooring to the other end of the divesite. Explore a little while as the current can then be used to take the diver back to the mooring line. Around the morring line is a shallow area that has many things to look at while using the remaining air.
Gorgonia Plantation
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 160 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Fantasia
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Ribbon Reef #10
Dreamtime
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 75 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Lighthouse Bommie
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 80 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Lighthouse Bommie is a small divesite packed with life, much like Steve's Bommie or Pixie Pinnacle. This site also has a large school of fish near a gently sloping mound a short distance from the bonnie that makes for great photography (when the conditions are right). One thing Lighthouse Bommie has that few other sites offer is many sea whips. Some of the sea whips at Lighthouse Bommie are up to 12 feet long. A close look at the sea whips reveals the small animals that call a sea whip home. One can usually find several small green gobies that live their entire lives on the sea whip. A closer look may reveal similarly colored crabs and shrimp. The are difficult to see, but well worth the effort. Another organism that makes its home on a sea whip as a type of soft coral that looks like a fungal growth during the day, but comes out to feed at night, looking like an anemonie. Another nocturnal organism that calls Lighthouse Bommie home is the daisy coral. The daisy coral is a small yellow coral that hides during the day. At night, Lighthouse Bommie is covered (in some spots like a carpet) with the feeding daisy corals. This makes for some interesting night photography.
Lighthouse Bommie also has a few other creatures worth noting. At the base of the pinnacle, there is a moray eel that lives in hole in the base. There is also a banded coral shrimp with him. Further around the pinnacle, there are many nudibranchs and anemonies to be found. Near the top, where the hard corals start to become abundant, there are anemonies, another eel, and many small reef fish.
Divesite briefing:
This site is a small one so depending onthe number of people diving, it may be wise to break the dive into two groups. Circle the pinnacle starting at the base and slowly work around the pinnacle to the top. Be careful of the sea whips as they are delicate. The top of the pinnacle makes for a nice safety stop.
Atlantis
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Cod Hole
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 40 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
The Cod Hole is a dive site that every boat traveling the ribbon reefs stops to visit. This dive site is world famous for the large potato cod that frequent the area. The potato cod are very tame and will come very close to the diver, enabling photographers to get outstanding photo opportunities.
These large fish range from 100 lbs. to over 600 lbs and come close enough to touch. Please do not touch the potato cod as touching them wipes the protective mucous coating away from the fishes' skin The mucous acts as a protective barrier against infection and disease.
Other large fish that can be seen at the cod hole are the large Maori wrasse and moray eels. The Maori wrasse (or Napolaen fish) is a green colored fish with a large hump at its' head. There are several in the area and you are sure to see one on the feed that takes place at the cod hole. Sometimes during the feed one of several moray eels will join the divers. The moral eel is very curious and is looking for the food that it knows is there. The best thing to do is to keep your hands tucked away to avoid getting the attention of the moray eel. If the moray does come close to you, make no sudden moves and keep your hands closed. One on of my many trips to the cod hole, one of the moray eels thought that the white nylon line (saftey line) on my BC was food. The eel came out of its' hole (well after the feed was over) to investigate the gently flowing nylon line. The eel nibbled at the nylon line on my BC, decided that it was no longer interesting and continued on in search of food.
Dive site briefing:
The fish feed is performed with the divers all entering the water and following the dive master down to the feeding site. The divers arraing themselves in a circle around the dive master with the feeding bucket. The dive master removes the fish from the feeding bucket and the larger fish come in for the feeding. At this point the divers will be surrounded by many fish, both large and small. The small fish do a fair job at getting the leftovers from the larger fish (and try to avoid becomming a meal themselves). Before the feed is a photographers best opportunity at getting clear shots as during the feed the water clarity diminishes rapidly.
Other interesting features of the cod hole include many swim throughs. The swim throughs are in the shallow area of the cod hole closer to the reef. The swim thoughs offer and exciting end to the cod feed as some of the most colorful corals are found in this area. With the light current that runs in the area of the swim throughs, there is the occasional sleeping shark that can be found resting on the bottom.
Shark Alley
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 30 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
This is site very close to the cod hole. It is a shallow site located near the swim throughs close to the reef easily reached from the boats moored at the cod hole. As the name implies, there are sharks here. There are usually 3-5 white tip sharks that are swimming around or resting on the bottom. If one is careful and slow, they can get to within a few feet without disturbing the shark and get a close look. Other things to see at this site are the Titan triggers (be careful during mating season), Clown triggerfish, Eels, and the occasional turtle.
The Abyss
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 130 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
The Abyss is a gully a short distance from the Cod Hole. The dive site should only be accessed when the tide is comming in so that the current is against the divers at the beginning of the dive. This also avoids the risk of being swept around the corner of the reef into open ocean. To reach The Abyss, the tinny is needed to drop the divers off if the conditions allow.
It has been at this site that I have experienced some of my best diving to date. I have done about 15 dives at the Cod Hole and The Abyss and one of them had an unexpected surprise for me and Belinda (Nimrod hostess). I was diving with Belinda during the cod feed. As I have seen several cod feeds, I decided to explore the nearby dive site of the Abyss. Belinda had not seen that site before so it was settled. At the start of the dive, I was surprised to find a medium size bronze whaler cruising in the deeper section of the gully. As we got closer we noticed that there was a grey whaler in addition to the bronze whaler. At this point I was happy about the dive as it had been almost two years since seeing a bronze whaler. Little did I know the dive was about to get better. After seeing the two sharks cruising in the gully, we noticed that all of the large cod and the large Maori wrasse was in the area also. The large cod and the Maori wrasse did not go to the feed. We were the only divers to see them. Then about halfway through the dive, I noticed that there were several white tip sharks together. I thought this would make a nice photo (three white tips close together). After I took the photograph, I notice that the larger of the sharks was female and one of the smaller (male) sharks had bitten the pectoral fin of the female and was holding on. At this point I realized that the white tip sharks were MATING! What luck! As I regained my composure, realizing I had a camera and madly dashing off to follow them, I turned around to motion to Belinda to follow. By this point she thinks I am crazy to chase off after the sharks. I got a few pictures and when she caught up the sharks had disappeared from sight and I had a chance to write on my slate "MATING WHITETIPS". At this point Belinda understood but did not know what she was in for. We waited for about 10 minutes for them to return without success. We started heading back for the boat when they appeared again. I started finning over in the direction of the spectacle and was fortunate enough to get one or two more shots. The action was hidden from Belinda's view by a bommie but she soon got an eye full. Just as she was able to catch up to me by the bommie, the female and four males cruised by (no pectoral grabbing at this point) and rounded the bommie within 6 feet of Belinda. Until this point Belinda had not been very close to sharks. I was busy clicking away as Belinda waited for fate. As the preoccupied white tips wandered off, Belinda heaved a sigh of relief and then indicated it was time to go. In all of the excitement, she had used up more air than either of us had anticipated (as did I) so now it really was time to go back to the boat. Fortunately, the current was in a favorable direction so we just drifted back to the boat. I spent the next 6 hours bouncing around the boat excited about having seen mating sharks (and hopefully) catching it on film. This is the type of unexpected things that pop up in the Abyss. Some people have mentioned seeing manta rays (given the current flow from the Coral Sea, this is not a surprise, but I would like to find a manta ray here too), turtles, and a large school of sweetlips. This divesite is accessable from the Cod Hole, but beware of the strong currents.
Dive site briefing:
This dive should be done before the cod feed at the cod hole due to the depth.
Work around to the deeper water to see the pelagics that frequent the area. Shark alley has a fish cleaning station located between two bommies. You may find some of the other potato cod being cleaned at this station. Other animals to see are the sea turtle in the alley, jacks and the usual white tip shark.. On occasion there are grey reef sharks in the area. Beware of the ever present currents in the area.
Dynamite Pass
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 120 Ft. | 110-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Dyanmite pass is one of those dives that leaves the beginner and experienced diver excited after the dive. Dyanamite pass is a narow channel between two reefs just west of the cod hole. Dynamite pass is a drift dive and the current races through the channel at a brisk 4-6 knots. The dive site has many animals to see as the current brings a wealth of nutrients for the plant and animal life to feed on. The dive features multi-colored marin growth that literally covers the channel walls. Sponges, soft coral, sea whips, and hard coral formations can be found attached to the walls of the channel. On the bottom are thousands of sea fans, combing the nutruient rich water for food. Just off of the wall are the pelagic fish which include gropers (potato cod), barracuda, jacks, and the occasional shark. A bronze whaler shark frequents the area and will usually make a pass by the divers, satisfying his curiosity.
Dive site briefing:
Although dynamite pass is a narrow pass and both sides of the channel can be seen while drifting through the center, it is recommended that the drift dive be done close to one of the walls for maximum benefit of the variety of color that awaits. The divers are dropped in the water on the ocean side of the pass (incoming tide) and drift to an area where the current dies. The dive terminates as the divers run out of air or the current places the divers in a "dead zone" where the current stops and the boat is waiting. The dive usually lasts 35 to 45 minutes.
Snake Pit
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 65 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
The snake pit is a small set of bommies located a short distance fromlizard Island. The snake pit has two bommies that come up to about 8 M from 25 M. Around these two bommies are coral formations thatform a sort of border around the divesite just before the bottom rolls off to the deep. One great fieature of snake pit is that it is a manta ray cleaning station. The manta rays come in for a cleaning and if everyone remains still, the manta rays WILL come in for a closer look!
Snake pit features sea snakes (of course). Sea snakes are very curious creatures and will not harm you if you do not provoke them. Do not try to touch a sea snake, as with any wild animal the results can be unpredictable. Other creatures that can be found at the snake pit are octopus, many small reef fish, crown of thorns starfish, ribbon eels, nudibranchs, lionfish, manta rays, and eagle rays.
Dive site briefing:
A dive at the snake pit is usually done after diving the cod hole. This reduces the dive profile in term of depth that the diver should go. For a dive at the snake pit this is usually important. There are some deep areas around the snake pit but there is not much to see. Most of the sea life is above 60 feet. The best dive profile around the snake pit depends on visibility. When the visibility is low there is a good chance that there is enough food in the water for a manta ray. The manta ray cleaning station is a wide coral bommie away from the main diving area. Waiting in this area can produce manta sitings, if one is patient and does not move quickly.
The other way to dive the snake pit when the visiblity os good os to swim around the twin bommies following an excursion to the deeper end of the dive site. At this end of the dive site one can usually find a sea snake or two, and several lionfish. Follow the ridge of coral formations for a short distance and then turn back toward the bommie. Circle the bommie, starting at the bottom. I have found many inteesting creatures at the bottom of the bommie where the twin bommies meet. In this region there one can find octopus, ribbon eels, crown of thorns starfish, and sometimes a sea snake. Continue following the bommie until reaching the top of the bommie. At the top of the bommie there is an amazing assortment of color similar to Pixie's pinnacle. Near the top of the bommie there are many nudibranchs.
Yonge Reef
3 Sisters
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 65 Ft. | 30-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This site has a lot to offer. There is a lot of coral, a few white tip sharks, and a large Queensland grouper that frequent the area. The fascination of this site is the small animals. The site is 3 bommies, two together, one apart, with a coral ridge in between. Going around this site takes about 15-20 minutes, allowing time to go slowly, or multiple times. Make an effort to spend some time around the third bommie as there is a large number of small creatures that hide on the wall, like the scallops that give off an iridescent blue glow along the outer edge of the animal. This is really fascinating thing when you can find it.
Australian Coral Sea Divesite Reviews
Dive sites in the Coral Sea.
Cod Wall (Flinders Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
The Cod wall is argueably the best dive spot in the Fliders reef area. This spot is the corner of a reef structure and is exposed to the open ocean of the Pacific. The reeftop is protected from the ocean be means of passesges that channel the water surge away from the more delicate areas, leaveing some areas very undisturbed allowing for a vast range of life at this one site. Sitings of large sharks, including grey whaler sharks, whale sharks, and hammerhead sharks are common. Manta rays, potatoe cod, barracuda, and humphead parrot fish are also found at this site. One other sea creature in abundance here is the gorgonian fan, including one of the largest found. This one gorgonian fan (at a depth of 140 feet) is over 15 feet across. There are thousands of fans at this dive site, both on the outside wall and the protected area inside the reeftop. Inside the reef top some of the more intricate shapes are founds as there are many caverns in which the fans are found. This makes for many outstanding photo opportunities. Among the life found in the reeftop area are many fans, anemonies, many different species of coral, and small reef fish. This makes an ideal sport for a deep dive to the fan, followed by a shark watching ascent to the shallow part of the reef for a truly colorful safty stop.
China Wall
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
China wall is a divesite similar to the Cod wall although china wall is a usually drift dive. China wall has many outstanding features that most wall dives include. Eagle ray and shark sitings are common here as the interface between the deep water animals look for an easy meal among the smaller reef fish. This divesite also has a spectacular reeftop for a safety stop.
Whaler Station
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 150 Ft. | 80-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This divesite is named for the many grey whaler sharks that move around the area. The divesite consists of a few bommies on a plataeu structure. At the edge of the plataeu, the bottom slopes away to about 200 feet into a gully. In the gully are the whaler sharks. Since the gully is mostly sand, the dark colored whaler sharks are easily seen. In the protected area of the divesite, many of the smaller animals are found. The smaller animals include clams, nudibranchs, potato cod, lionfish, pufferfish, featherstars, coral, and angelfish.
Watanabe Pinnacle
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 150 Ft. | 100-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This is a pinnacle that rises out of the depths and has an outstanding variety of animals to see as this is a feeding ground for the pelagic fishes. The pinnacle rises from the bottom at 150 feet and is the only underwater feature for miles. This makes the Watanabe pinnacle an oasis in the underwater desert. Many of the pleagic predators (sharks, barracuda, and jacks) cruise around the pinnacle waiting for the unsuspecting pinnacle dweller to make the fatal mistake of wandering too far from the safety of the pinnacle.
Midnight
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-130 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This is one of my favorite divesites. This site is best when seen during a dusk dive. During a dusk dive the changing character of the reef is marked and photo opportunities abound here. The divesite is a realtively shallow bommie that is roughly oval in shape. Around the outside of the divesite, the pelagic fish await the unsuspecting reef fish. On the outside of the divesite, white tip reef sharks, barracuda, and jacks are common sitings. There is also a school of unicorn fish that group around several gorgonian fans on the backside of the divesite. There is also a turtle that inhabits the area, but is difficult to get close to. One of the creatures that makes Midnight an excellent dusk dive is the octopus that lives near the mooring line. This octopus is nearly 3 feet in lenght (arm tip to arm tip) and wanders around the reeftop stalking the reef fish looking for a place to sleep.
Eel Gardens
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 40 Ft. | 50-200 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Eel gardens is the name of the divesite of the Flinders cay lagoon. It is aptly named as the is a colony of garden eels in 60 feet of water. They are very difficult to get close to as there protection mechanism is to hide in a burrow in the sand when any animal comes close. The live in a colony to protect each other as many eyes have a greater chance of seeing danger before it arrives.
There are many animals that are seen in the lagoon. There are many coral species as the reef and cay structure is shallow. Other animals that inhabit the lagoon are lionfish, anemonies, shrimps, moray eels, and the occasional shark. On one dive at this spot, my buddy and I were on our way back to the boat when a dark shaped loomed in the distance. Since the visibility at the time was over 150 ft (we were in shallow water at 30 feet), we were not too concerned. As we continue on the large shape started to move closer and became recogniseable. The shape turned out to be a 10 foot long bull shark and by that point it had obviously seen us as it started to circle us. It continued to circle until it was within 15 feet, at which point it was directly in front of us (we turned to face that shark despite its attemps to get behind us) and swimming toward us when it abruply turned and swam away.
Tank Slapper
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 80 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
This is a divesite that is home to many grey whaler sharks. This particular divesite was where I got one of my best shark photos. This divesite was explored during an exploration trip on the spoilsport. When the boat arrived at the dive site there were sharks sited feeding near the surface. The passengers and crew were so excited to see this that everyone jumped into the water in snorkle gear as soon as the skipper had anchored the boat. It would have taken too long to get into scuba gear so all went snorkleing to get a close look at the sharks in the area. This proved to be not required as all throughout the next two dives that we did there, the sharks were constant (and close) companions. The sharks at this dive site were very curious about the divers and made numerous close passes. The sharks (mostly grey whalers) appeared territorial in nature as when we moved from one part of the reef to the next, different sharks came to join us. As we made our way back to the boat, the sharks that joined us as we got into the water visited us again. It was during the second dive experienceing this behavior that one particular grey whaler came in very close (less than three feet) and I managed to get a good photo.
This divesite has other spectacular features. There is an abundance of coral in the area and it is very easy to find octopus in the area. There are also many pelagic fish cruising around.
Softwood Forrest
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Tablelands
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 50 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
Orange Maker
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-150 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
You are sitting on it, Stupid
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 100 Ft. | 50-100 Ft. | Novice - Experienced |
The Abyss (Holmes Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
The Cathedrals (Holmes Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Papua New Guinea Coral Sea Divesite Reviews
Neptunes Garden (Eastern Fields Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 60 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Carl's Ultimate Reef (Eastern Fields Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 200 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Craig's Ultimate Wall (Eastern Fields Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Shaw Thing (Eastern Fields Reef)
| Depth | Visibility | Experience |
| 3000 Ft. | 100-200 Ft. | Advanced - Experienced |
Mail me: Steve.Hogan@trw.com -
Steve Hogan
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