It was thought for a long time that the weedy scorpion fish would only be found in the waters of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. We were stunned when we saw one on Pixie's Pinnacle the other day!

To see some of the best dive sites at the Great Barrier Reef, you need to give yourself at least 3 nights/4 days to dive and snorkel at the Ribbon Reefs. All of us from Diversion can advise you which trips to pick in the area. The Ribbon Reefs are good to dive all year round, with the best time being between April and January.

Location

The beautiful Ribbon Reefs are a system of 10 large reefs stretching over 100 km along the edge of Australia's continental shelf. They are located about 110 km to 190 km out of Cairns/Port Douglas - beyond the reach of day boats. The average distance is 35 nautical miles from the shore.

Logistics For Ribbon Reef Dive Excursions

The only way to dive here is with one of the live aboard dive vessels. Most trips up here go for at least 3 nights. There are also some 4 and 7 night trips. It is too far for day trips to reach.

Parts of the Ribbon Reefs can also be reached from Lizard Island on day trips, but these trips are very restricted in the number of dives and in their dive site selections, so we don't particularly recommend this.

What To See

Characteristics of the Ribbon Reefs are lush coral gardens and many spectacular pinnacles and bommies (coral mountains) surrounded by schooling fish. The variety of fish is impressive: anemone fish, damsels, parrotfish, cuttlefish, pufferfish, maori wrasse, napoleon fish- you name it it's there!

You also see smaller pelagic fish like all kinds of reef sharks, trevally, tuna, mackerel and barracuda. There are heaps of other marine creatures around, such as molluscs, crabs, nudibranchs, crustaceans and sponges. The variety of life is most stunning and produces a very colourful picture.

Types Of Diving

You can expect to dive depths in the 10 to 30-metre range. The reefs come up to about 4 metres below the surface, ideal for safety stops and snorkelling in between dives. You may sometimes experience slight currents- with stronger currents the crews might organize a drift dive for you. If the conditions are right, some spectacular wall dives are possible along the outer edges of the Ribbon Reefs. Visibility is very much influenced by the daily water exchange with the tides and of course by run offs from the land after strong rainfalls. Expect anything between 12 and 30 m.

Dive Sites

Some famous dive sites are the "Cod Hole", "Steve's Bommie", "Pixie Pinnacle", "Temple of Doom" and also "Challenger Bay".

Pixie Pinnacle: One of our favourite dive sites. It is a column of coral, 15 metres wide that rises from a depth of 40 meters to about 2 meters below the surface. Pixie Pinnacle is located in an opening between two ribbon reefs and experiences regular currents, which feed the enormous variety of life here. The pinnacle is covered with big varieties of soft and hard corals, gorgonians and sponges. It is a very colourful dive which impresses every diver. Small reef fish are to be seen here, such as anemone fish, damsels, lionfish, hawk fish and many more. Pelagic fish also cruise around the pinnacle such as trevally, tuna, mackerel and sometimes barracuda. On Pixie Pinnacle you can spot seven different species of anemones! The trained eye might even spot the brilliantly disguised weedy scorpion fish (rhinopius arphanes), which is a resident here.

The Cod Hole: Famous for its giant potato cods. Those huge cods (up to 3 meters) come in really close and give you good photo opportunities - Especially when your dive master feeds the cods with fresh pilchards in front of your face! If feeding fish is not your favourite activity watch the whole spectacle from some distance. You will see how some big fish (like barracudas) are standing by in the back to wait for left overs of the feeding. There is also beautiful coral and what really catches your eye- large schools of the beautiful yellow sweetlip fish.

Seasonal Events

June and July - Minke Whales: During our winter months dwarf minke whales and humpback whales migrate through the waters of the Ribbon Reefs. The minke whales are very keen to check out snorkellers and divers, so the chances for a close encounter are very good! Peak sightings of the minke whales are in June/ July each year. The dwarf minke whale (belongs to the family of baleen whales) is known as a curious creature. They grow to 7-10 metres and for some unknown reason they seem to like people! They are playful creatures, known for their acrobatic stunts. You get the chance to observe them first hand! Often whales will stay with dive vessels for hours and people can snorkel and dive with them. Many dive operations offer special minke whale excursions during the season. The success rates of sightings during those trips are very high. Minke whale season on the Ribbon Reefs is a life experience, you'll never forget.

November - Coral Spawning: Coral Spawning is often called "Sex on the reef" -That's what it is! Every year it happens again. All corals release their eggs and sperm at the same time. You can really see it! It usually happens 4 nights after the first full moon in November. It is an impressive event and night dives are spectacular. A lot of critters are active, as this is a feast!

Accommodation And Tours

Accommodation and tour options, and general destination information, are also available for the adjacent Cairns-Port Douglas and Daintree-Cape York mainland regions.