Latest Dive Sites
Crystal Palace is one of the lesser dived dives around Rottnest Island, but certainly not less beautiful.
A list of the best rated scuba dive sites in Australia.
Yongala Wreck
While there are many shipwrecks along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, one of the best wreck dives is this one, the S.S. Yongala. This ship, made out of steel and timber, sank during a cyclone just about 60 kilometers from Townsville at Cape Bowling Green, taking the lives of all 121 passengers. The wreck lies in the middle of a flat and sandy shipping channel in about 30m of water. You can still see the aft, the rudder and forward masts, engine and steam rooms, toilets, port-holes and most of th...
Fish Rock Cave
The only true ocean cave dive in Australia is running 125 meters right through Fish Rock which lies two kilometers south-east of Smoky Cape, South West Rocks. Fish Rock Cave is home to a completely unique ecosystem. The temperature inside the cave is always at least one degree warmer than the surrounding ocean and the water is always clear. Although the Rock is usually prone to current, it is this current that brings the nutrients to the area and attracts the fish life. It is easy to plan your d...
Cod Hole
The Cod Hole is one of the best known dives in the world and it is visited by many liveaboard cruises out of Cairns and Port Douglas. It is famous because here you can dive with huge cods that are accustomed to divers and will come very close. The famous giant potato cod is still fed by dive masters. Dive down to the sandy floors area between the bommies, where you will see the fish feeding from beneath. Other marine species common in these waters are leopard morays and Maori wrasse, but it is t...
Navy Pier at Exmouth
The Exmouth Navy Pier has been documented for some time. There have been collected thousands of photographs and hours of underwater material that reveal the variety of marine life that live around and beneath the Pier. Diving here near the Pier is considered to be amongst the top ten dive sites in Australia, and you can see more individual fish and species here, than most people will see in their lives! One of the reasons for this variety is that fishing from the Pier is prohibited and that the ...
Snake Pit
Halfway between Lizard Island and Ribbon Reef nr 10 is a great dive site named Snake Pit. It lives up to its name as almost all divers encounter more than just one sea snake. The dive site is made up of 8 coral bommies roughly aligned in two lines and surrounded by a white sandy ocean floor. Many species of soft corals can be found, such as leather and palm corals. But there are also quite a few hard corals, sea fans, sponges and invertebrates such as clams, sea stars, nudibranches and sea cucu...
Osprey Reef
Osprey Reef is the most northern coral reef, situated far out on the edges of the Queensland Plateau, oval in shape and 25km times 12km in size. It is located more than 100km offshore and can only be reached by crossing the rough open sea on long multiple day liveaboard trips. In the middle of Osprey Reef is a 30m deep water lagoon, where the boats can safely anchor. Osprey Reef is constantly maintained by marine scientist and known for its abundant marine life. The fact that Osprey Reef is the...
RMS Quetta
The RMS Quetta is one of the oldest and best known ship wrecks in Australia. This originally 116 meter long Scottish passenger liner sank the 28th of February 1890, when she struck a coral mount at low tide, and lost 133 people of the total crew of 290. This dive site is located just south of Adolphus Island and requires a permit and good planning skills. The huge currents and variable tides make this a very difficult dive. The Quetta lies in 6 to 18 meters of water and is home to millions of f...
Ningaloo Reef, Exmouth
Ningaloo Reef near Exmouth is known as the world's largest fringing reef and second largest Marine Park in Australia. It is a 260km long fringing reef starting at Bundegi Reef, Exmouth Gulf all the way around the North West Cape, Ningaloo, Maud's Landing, to Amherst Point, Coral Bay. A shallow protected lagoon is formed between the reef and shore with a wide diversity of coral and marine species, all because of the warm Leeuwin Current which runs southward and brings in warm tropical waters. The...
Bushrangers Bay
In 1982 the local diving community with much assistance from Fisheries achieved that which they had been pushing for a number of years; namely having Bushrangers Bay named as an Aquatic Reserve. Thus this much protected hourglass shaped bay has a lot to offer. Access to the bay is via a purpose built stairwell which leads onto a pebbled beach. This can be a spectacular dive with easy navigation due to the shape. The inner bay is only 5-6 meters maximum, following the channel into the outer bay d...
North Horn
Dive site North Horn is the northern most post of Osprey Reef. This part of the reef looks like a unicorn fish's horn, which explains its name. Currents, rich sea life, sharks feedings and the solitude of this dive site make it a perfect spot to meet sharks. Some of the species often seen are whitetips and silver reef sharks. But also hammerheads and tiger sharks occasionally come in to take a look. At 5 meter deep, the reef drops down almost vertical to 20 meter to continue to 40 meters deep f...