Brisbane – Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is one of Australia’s largest estuarine bays, including the Pumicestone Passage and islands of Moreton, North and South Stradbroke, Bribie and numerous others. The Moreton Bay Marine Park covers the bay and islands area and includes zones to restrict disturbance to threatened marine life. Moreton Bay Marine Park protects more than 3400km2 of open and sheltered waterways and dotted with islands, Moreton Bay Marine Park includes some of Australia’s premier wetlands. Extensive mangroves and tidal flats support fish, birds and other wildlife. Sandflats provide roosting sites for migratory shorebirds. Recognised as an internationally significant wetland under the Ramsar convention, Moreton Bay is one of Australia’s top 12 shorebird habitats. Thousands of migratory wader birds flock to roost each year between September and April. Seagrass beds are habitats for fish, shellfish, dugong and turtles. There are 1000 fish species and six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles. The critically endangered Grey Nurse Shark and Beach Stone Curlew, vulnerable Manta Ray, rare Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin are also found there.
It is said that Moreton Bay is the only place in Australia where dugong still gather into herds, but they live right next to one of Australia’s busiest cities.
The Eastern Banks region of the bay supports 80–98% of the dugong population at any one time. Within this region, there are several dugong ‘hot spots’ that were visited repeatedly by large herds. These ‘hot spots’ contained especially nutritious seagrasses that dugongs prefer to eat and they may even eat it down in a way that makes it resprout with more easily digestible shoots. In that sense the dugongs ‘farm’ these hotspots. It has also been suggested that as their habitat declines, they may simply be forced to graze smaller areas of suitable seagrass.
The major concentrations and the largest aggregations of dugongs are repeatedly found over the same seagrass beds at high tide. These seagrass ‘hot spots’ on the western Maroom and northern Coonungai Banks
Apart from the eastern banks seagrass area, only patchy dugong habitat remains in Moreton Bay. Relatively small seagrass areas in the southern bay are used by considerable numbers of dugongs year-round and dugongs may move between these areas and the eastern banks.
If you are in the area you may have dugongs come over, but do not chase or harass them. The main thing to do is slow down, boat strike is seriously depleting dugong, turtles and whale populations in the bay.
Visibility in Moreton is usually around 15-20m on the eastern coast of the outer islands. Over spring and summer day temperatures average 27C, with water temperatures ranging from 25-27C in summer to 19-22C in the winter months.
Inner Bay
The major rivers feeding the bay carry a rich sediment load into the bay, and at places like the mouth of the Brisbane River it is dark and relatively lifeless for diving purposes. The main diving areas are around Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands where fresh ocean waters improve visibility and biodiversity. There are some spots of interest around the islands of the inner bay. The best conditions are at slack water in winter after calm and dry weather.
Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef
6m
Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef was created for recreational fishers and is one of Australia’s oldest artificial reefs. In 1975, the idea was to recycle waste like old car tyres and more than 17,000 tyres were deployed at the site over a five year period. In 1987, 200 shopping trolleys were placed on the reef. A lot of this material dispersed over time as tyre reefs tend to do. It covers an area of 92 hectares and is located 7km east south east of St Helena Island.
In December 2008, the reef was ‘renovated’ with better materials likely to be more stable and able to support more marine life, 150m3 of quarry rock, 450 tonnes of concrete pipes, and a 24m, 96 tonne, ex-tuna fishing vessel, the Tiwi Pearl. The Tiwi Pearl was scuttled just on 12 March 2010, about 18km offshore from Manly and east of St Helena Island. In November 2014 a 26m, 60t Port of Brisbane barge was also sunk there.
Expect poor visibility and be happy with 2.5m. One diver who has defied the rules reported that there isn’t much fish life, except rays. Diving isn’t currently allowed on the reef without a permit, but hopefully this attitude relaxes over time. Worth a look maybe once or twice. It is always ringed with fishing boats and draped in abandoned fishing line. Bring a knife.
East Coochie Artificial Reef
12m
This sheltered reef is located east of Coochiemudlo Island and consists of 174 ‘reef balls’ distributed over 15ha in 13 clusters. The development of East Coochie Artificial Reef was completed in February 2011. The Reef Ball heights range between 50cm and 80cm off the sea floor and are spread over a 15ha area. Expect poor visibility and fishermen unwilling to share the space. Worth a look once maybe. Diving isn’t currently allowed on the reef without a permit. Snorkelling is allowed but not spearfishing. As a small site with very average visibility its unlikely to attract many divers, and hopefully this attitude relaxes over time.
West Peel Artificial Reef
West Peel Artificial Reef is located west of Peel Island and north-east of Cleveland Point. It consists of 341 ‘reef balls’ distributed over 50ha in 19 clusters. The development of West Peel artificial reef was completed in late 2010. The Reef Ball reefs are designed to attract baitfish, providing them with cover inside the balls. The balls are also designed with rough surfaces. This allows weed, algae and sponges to easily attach, improving the immediate habitat. It is also likely that the Peel Site Reef Balls will attract corals from Peel Island, creating more unique southern coral habitat in the inner bay. Diving isn’t currently allowed on the reef without a permit. Snorkelling is allowed but not spearfishing. As a site with very average visibility its unlikely to attract many divers anyway, and hopefully this attitude relaxes over time.
A reef ball is home for a grey carpet shark.
Peel Is
2m
During the mid-19th century Peel Island was used as a quarantine station. Remains of the old quarantine station are at the south west corner of the island. Peel Island was then used as an asylum for vagrants from Brisbane. Between 1907 and 1959 the island was a leper colony. Horseshoe Bay, with its sandy beach, is popular with boating visitors. The island itself is national park and is popular with boaters. This area offers some shallow snorkelling on fringing reefs, good for a day out, or kids dive. Be happy with 3-5M of visibility, high tide being clearer. At the eastern end of the island lies the abandoned 189ft long hulk of the bucket dredge Platypus. She was built at Paisley in 1883, and sailed out to Brisbane in 1884.
The dredger worked on the maintenance of the channels of the port until she was dismantled and beached on Peel Island in 1930. Most of the wreck is above water with the hull plates providing shelter for some fish and small critters.
Turner Artificial Reef
6m
27° 11.660’S 153° 7.804’E
Turner Artificial Reef is located 1nm east of Scarborough. The reef consists of six clusters of purpose-built concrete modules. It can’t be dived without a permit. Snorkelling is allowed but not spearfishing.
Wild Banks Artificial Reef
35m
Wild Banks Artificial Reef lies east of the Wild Banks, which are east of Bribie Island. At this site, ‘fish caves’ have been deployed within a 175ha area. The ‘fish caves’ are fabricated from steel and stand 11m high, 11m wide and weigh 14.4t. The ‘fish caves’ create a tall profile designed to attract pelagic fish species like mackerel, dolphin fish and wahoo. Diving isn’t currently allowed on the reef without a permit. Snorkelling is allowed but no anchoring is allowed. Hopefully this attitude relaxes over time.
Moreton Island
Comboyuro Point
25-40m
This siteis a drift dive along a “coffee rock” shelf running parallel to Moreton Island. Head towards the beach and the sounder will jump from 35 to 15 meters.Around here you will find large boulders, walls, ledges and shallow caves. It is home to large fish including grey nurses, estuarine cod turtles, and schools of pelagic fish. Among the small bommies you will encounter plenty of smaller fish and invertebrates. This site appears to be an extension of the same feature called the Pines further south.
Comboyuro Point Wrecks
Along the shore at Comboyuro, there are three hulks sticking out of the sandy shallows. They are suitable for an easy family snorkel. Scuttled to form a breakwater, these crumbling remains are the Kallatina, the Mount Kembla and the Hopewell. The S.S. Kallatina was a North Coast Steam Navigation Co. ship, 179 feet length, and built in 1890. She previously carried passengers and cargo. The S.S. Mount Kembla was a 180 feet long, 716 ton vessel built in England in 1885 for the Mount Kembla Coal and Oil Company. She was later used in Brisbane as a sanitary barge. The S.S. Hopewell was a timber carrier from Maryborough built in Scotland in 1900 for Hyne’s of Maryborough. She was 145 feet long, 337 tons, lower rail freights and high running costs made her uneconomical.
The Pines
10 – 18M
The Pines consists of a wall of “coffee rock” which is the dark brown cemented sand formed from the ancient bed of the Brisbane River. The wall and its associated scattered bommies travel north to south about 100 metres off the beach between Bulwer and Cowan Cowan. It is a great drift dive on an incoming tide. It offers big schools of fish, wobbegongs, turtles, rays and lionfish. The visibility averages 8-10M.
Wreck of the “Grace Darling”
9-11M
-27 3.820998 153 21.6449999
This small 75 foot long wooden sailing schooner was built in the Manning River in New South Wales in 1876.
But it came to grief in massive storm in 1894 on its way from Brisbane to Normanton and Croydon. It was carrying a cargo of 90 tons of coal, 440 cases of dynamite and 15 cases of detonators and it made its way to Bulwer (Moreton Island) where the pilot station was. It stayed there for three days trying to ride out the storm. Eventually it was dragging its anchors and taking on water and the captain ran her aground to try and save the cargo and the crew.
The wreck now lies just offshore from Bulwer on a sandy bottom. It mainly consists of a large ballast mound, with some ship’s timber showing. There is a large iron oven on site. The coal mound is 1.5m above the sand and is orientated north-south with bow to south. The wreck can be periodically covered by sand, is current affected and must be dived at slack water. Visibility is often 15m. Sponges, corals, fish, octopus and wobbegong sharks can be seen at the site.
Curtin Artificial Reef
12 -27M
Curtin Artificial Reef is a popular dive site. It lies on a sandy seabed between Bulwer and Cowan Cowan Point on the western side of Moreton Island and is easily accessible from Brisbane. Curtin artificial reef is one of the largest reef projects in Australia, started by the URGQ in 1968, a local dive club. Over 32 shipwrecks and aircraft, concrete pipes, steel pontoons, tyres and cars were sunk to create this artificial reef. There are several self-propelled barges, gravel barges, two tugs, two whale chasers, the Cairncross Drydock Gate, tug Loevenstein, the 50 metre coal barge the Bremer, a Brisbane tram and many more. Today a large variety of marine life such as tropical fish, turtles, wobbiegongs, giant grouper (some up to 500 kg), cod, kingfish, turrum, red emperor, trevally, tuskfish, rays and other schooling fish is visiting the wrecks. With a depth range of 16-27 m and the risk of currents, Curtin makes a good fun dive for experienced diver. This site is best dived on slack high, which normally occurs 30 – 60 minutes after the high tide time.Visibility averages 10m.
Tangalooma Wrecks
6 – 12M
Just north of Tangalooma Resort a series of disused vessels were scuttled as a breakwater by the old Harbours and Marine Department. These consist of steam-driven dredges and barges and they lie half out of the water on a sandy bottom. They include the Platypus II, Maryborough, Remora and Morwong, the Seal and Stingaree, as well as many barges. The Maryborough was built by Walkers Ltd. in the 1880s as a bucket dredge. She was lengthened in 1913 on Peter’s Slip to enable her to dredge deeper, and worked on to complete nearly 80 years of active life. The bucket dredge Platypus II replaced the first Platypus, already mentioned on Peel Island, but had a relatively short life for a dredge. The Remora was built in 1912 in Prussia, and was the fore-runner of many of the subsequent suction dredgers built for the Department.
They are great for a lazy and shallow snorkel amongst the wrecks, or an exciting drift dive. The large propellers are photogenic and are home to large schools of fish. Wobbegong sharks, lionfish, stonefish and moray eels are found among the plates. It is best dived on slack high or on an outgoing tide for a drift dive. Visibility averages 8m.
North Moreton Artificial Reef
14m
This artificial reef site is located north of Moreton Island. This reef is primarily a spearfishing site, designed to attract pelagic fish species at a shallower depth than the Wild Banks site. 25 ‘fish boxes’ were deployed in clusters over an area of 200ha. There are three clusters, each consisting of a least six individual ‘fish boxes’. Scuba diving isn’t currently allowed on the reef without a permit, but you can free dive it.
Gotham City
22-37m
Gotham City is a large block of rock facing, 50 m long by 25 m wide and facing East West. It lies 8.5 km North of Cape Moreton and 1 km North of Flinders Reef. The wall on the East side offers black corals. On the Western site there is a small cavern at 28 m. The rock is overgrown with barnacles, turf algae and some soft coral. Tropical fish can be seen including large schooling sweetlips. It can be current affected.
Las Vegas
25-35 metres
This is a very pretty rocky wall/reef with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Possibilities of lots of big pelagic fish and good viz on the right day. A dive for Experienced divers only.
Flinders Reef
3 – 16m
Flinders-Reef is a small isolated reef north-west of Moreton Island. It has the highest number of coral species of any sub tropical reef system along Australia’s east coast (more than 175 species). It was made a marine park in 1998. It offers lots of tropical fish including Wrasse, Wobbegongs, Sweetlip, Trevally, Parrot, Batfish and eagle rays. It gets leopard sharks in summer, grey nurse sharks and Manta Rays. Humpback whales will pass by in winter (June to September), and turtles year round. It is one of Queensland’s most popular dive sites. Flinders reef also has many pinnacles, swim throughs and ledges.It is also renowned for colourful invertebrates, egg cowries, nudibranchsand feather duster worms. Visibility averages 15m in summer and 30m in winter.
Smiths Rock
6-21 metres
These granite pinnacles are located between Cape Moreton and Flinders Reef. The site is full of swim-throughs and little caverns with lots of crayfish. Visibility on an average day is about 15m up to 20 – 30m in Winter. Swell and strong currents are common, slack tide dives are advised
Wreck of the Marietta Dal
12 – 14M
While diving Smith Rock you may see machinery spilled form the wreck of the Marietta Dal. She hit Smith Rock and sank in 1950 with a cargo of oils, chemicals, machinery and 76 tractors. Farm machinery and the giant prop shaft (almost 50mlong) can still be identified on the site. The Marietta Dal was a “liberty” ship design quickly built after WW2 to restore shipping losses. She struck while entering the bay. By 8.30pm she had broken in two. A barge was brought alongside in an attempt to do this, but the seas increased and salvage work was abandoned.
Wreck of the St Paul
38-43 m
-27 0.249996 153 29.829996
The-St-Paul was a steel, single screw steamer built in France in 1912. She was 229.9ft and was registered at 1660 tons. In 1914, the St Paul left port in New Caledonia for Brisbane with 2800 tons of chrome ore. Arriving off Cape Moreton the captain signalled for a pilot but soon ran aground on Smith Rock and sank in approximately four minutes, roughly 1000 meters to the east of Smiths Rock on a gentle sand slope. 18 lives were lost including the captain.
The site can be affected by currents of up to 2 knots and should only be dived at slack water. Most of the superstructure has collapsed. The bow of the wreck lies partially buried in a north-west position leaning slightly to port, the twin boilers, engine, winches, propeller and an anchor are identifiable. The St Paul’s is covered in sponges, corals, pelagic and reef fish, rays, octopus and wobbegong sharks. Large estuary cod can be seen under the wreckage. This is a deep dive for experienced parties.
Wreck of the Cementco ex Crusader (AV 2767)
16- 35 m
Crusader (AV2767) was an amphibious operations support ship built during WWII. She was a big ship of 500 tons, and 200 ft (61.0 m) long, with six vehicle loading ramps, six propellers and could carry 1,500 tons of cargo and 40 vehicles as deck cargo. She was fitted with self-defence guns at the bow and stern. Launched shortly before the war ended, she was mainly used to return Australian Army equipment from the islands off New Guinea. A shipping shortage saw her moving construction equipment and timber between Melbourne and Tasmania. She was sold in 1947 to the Queensland Cement and Lime Company which operated her as a coral barge on the Brisbane River until the mid-1980s. The ship was scuttled in 1986 near the north-eastern tip of Flinders Reef. The vessel is upside down with most areas easily accessible to experienced divers. The wreck is home to lots of crayfish, rays, corals, Queensland groupers and schooling fish.
Wreck of the Aarhus
18-21M
This 640 tonne, 170ft long, iron sailing barque was built in Hamburg, Germany during 1875. The Aarhus left New York for Brisbane on 24 February 1894 with a cargo of kerosene and general merchandise. Arriving off Cape Moreton the captain signalled for a pilot. In the early evening the vessel struck very hard three times on Smith Rock and within 12 minutes it sank. Lying on a sandy bottom, the Aahrus is mostly covered by sand. The stern has collapsed but a large section of the starboard bow stands above the seabed. The bowsprit, large anchors, deck plating, and wire bales are visible. Occasionally the stern and midships can be exposed. Large schools of fish such as bigeyes cover the wreckage and large pelagics also visit the wreck. The wreckage also houses sponges, corals, rays, octopus and wobbegong sharks.The Aarhus is in a protected zone and requires a permit to dive. Visibility averages 20 – 30m. The site can be affected by currents of up to 2 knots and the site should only be dived at slack water and in good sea conditions.
China Wall
30 m
This tall vertical granite outcrop lies on the eastern side of Moreton island. It boasts a 2 m wide swim-through at the top at the pinnacle. The shallows are covered with a thick layer of broad leafed kelp. Around the deeper parts of the pinnacle there are sea whips and fans. Fish include tuna, mackerel and barracuda and the occasional shark. The site is deep and exposed and is suitable for experienced divers.
Hutchison Shoals
3 – 30M
This site offers deep drop-offs and caves and is renowned for the masses of pelagic fish. It is rarely dived as it is very exposed, weather conditions must be almost perfect.Visibility averages 15 – 30m.
Brennan & Roberts Shoals
12 – 25M
This series of shoals lie just east of the Cape Moreton Lighthouse. Both sites are very similar with pinnacles and big caves. Fish life is good, often with schools of big pelagics. The site is not usually current-affected, but it is an exposed site in poor weather. Visibility averages 20m
Hendersons Reef
12m – 25m
This extensive granite reef lies 4.5 km out on the ocean side of Moreton Island. At the 24m mark there are several kelp-covered ledges, overhangs, and caves. There you may find sea horses, pipe fish and nudibranchs, large schools of pelagic fish and batfish. Around the gutters and caves there are wobbegongs sharks, gummy sharks and Queensland groupers.
To the SE of the pinnacle there is a long gutter that is often home to grey nurse sharks in Winter. There are also large caverns further out in water around 25m deep. This is considered one of Brisbane’s best dive sites but is rarely visited. It is exposed and far from boat launching points. It tends to be dived more frequently in winter due to westerly winds and calmer seas.
Cherub’s cave
20-30 m
This lies just to the north of Henderson’s Reef on the east side of Moreton Island. It’s a cave surrounded by gullies. The cave measures around 15m by 20 m but it quickly narrows. The site offers big schools of fish, turtles, wobbegongs and the grey nurse sharks in Winter.
Nth Stradbroke
Wreck of the Rufus King
-27°22’40.12″S 153°27’53.67″E
“Liberty ships” were a series of standardised ship designs created to replace the huge shipping losses caused by German submarines. Modular construction techniques were created and conventional tools and ways were abandoned. The man-hour requirements to build a ship of that size were reduced by one-third. From 1941 to 1945, the United States increased its shipbuilding capacity by more than 1,200% and produced over 2,700 Liberty Ships. They made a major contribution to the Allied victory.
On the 7th July 1942, SS Rufus King ran aground off Amity Bar and broke in two. She mistook the South Passage below Moreton Island for the North West Channel at the northern end of Moreton Island. She was inward bound to Brisbane from Los Angeles with military equipment including nine Mitchell bombers in crates, aviation fuel and medical supplies. Most of the cargo from the wreck was salvaged including the machinery and there were no casualties among the crew. The forward section was refloated, converted into a lighter, then used as a workshop at Finschaven, New Guinea, where she was renamed Rufus Half.
Now the remaining wreck attracts fish and is visited by spearos fairly regularly. The tangle of debris also makes for an interesting shallow dive in good weather. The stern lies on the western side of the South Passage Bar between Moreton and North Stradbroke Islands just outside the breakers. The tide here is one and a half hours before the Brisbane bar tide time. The stern is still visible at low water and is a navigation hazard at certain tides. Look out for a dark patch in the water.
Amity Point
5-15m
This is a shore dive from the north western end of North Stradbroke Island used mainly in bad weather and for training dives. Visibility can be average to poor at times (5-15m) and each dive is different. The best visibility is on the flood tide and currents are strong. It is usually planned as a drift dive. Some areas may have only a few fish, and at other times there are wobbegongs, squid,scorpionfish and eagle rays. Beware of stonefish and cone-shells which are common in the area. There is a low wall offshore and the wreck of the Bandicoot,a few relics of a scuttled steam launch which once worked as an anchor tender to dredges in the Brisbane River. There are numerous man-made wrecks at Amity such as car bodies and tractor tyres that have been sunk there for divers.
Myora Reef
The shoreline is dominated by fringing mangroves which give way to a long inter-tidal foreshore flats. As the water deepens there are extensive seagrass beds including Zostera, Halophila and Syringodium. Bream, flathead, cobia, snapper, garfish, spotted, school mackerel, sea mullet, tailor, whiting, banana prawns, eastern king prawns, bay prawns, mud crabs, wobbegongs, bamboo shark, sand crabs and oysters are found in the area, but it’s a no fishing zone. There is always something around for photographers
There is also a small natural reef at Myora which is unusually rich in corals. There is 46 percent hard coral cover, mostly plate coral growth forms (Acropora). Eighty percent of rock surfaces are covered with turf algae which is grazed on by Diadema urchins. It isn’t picture postcard coral reef in clear waters, but it is a unique habitat for this kind of embayment.
The reef area is also adjacent to some vast seagrass beds on the eastern banks of Rainbow Channel. Seagrass meadows form one of the most important marine habitats globally and occur in shallow coastal waters including Moreton Bay. The extensive seagrass flats and in particular the Eastern banks Region are very important for fisheries, turtles and dugongs. Do not seek out dugongs as they are easily disturbed, but if you are in the area, they may come over as they are quite curious, a highlight of any dive. Also, when boating in the bay travel slowly and keep an eye out for dugongs. Severe population losses are being caused by boat strikes.
South Gorge
5-15m
This is about the only shore dive on the east side of Stradbroke and is a challenging dive involving a long surface swim. It can only be attempted in very calm weather. There are also strong currents in the area. The south gorge is located on the southern side of Point Lookout’s main headland. Divers follow along the bottom of the cliff, which forms the underwater wall. This leads to whale rock. On the wall there are corals, and the cliff offers tropical fish and nudibranchs, rays, turtles, wobbegong and leopard sharks and Manta Rays (Nov-Apr).
Flat Rock
Flat rock is located approximately 2.5 nautical miles north of Point Lookout. The town offers dive services, so the accessible reefs are very popular dive sites. It is a fully protected marine park, with no-fishing zone within 1.2km radius of the reef. It offers a diverse range of coral and fish. In winter it also offers mantas and grey nurse sharks.
Flat Rock itself is actually divided into 4 dive sites – The Nursery, Shark Alley, The Bowl and The Turtle Caves.
The Nursery – Flat Rock
12-35m
This dive site is located on the south-western corner of the reef. It is the shallowest of the Flat Rock dive sites offering smaller creatures and juvenile fish. Divers will find nudibranchs, turtles, wobbegong sharks, leopard sharks (in Summer), eagle rays, barracuda, octopus, eels, hard and soft corals There is a small amount of current on this site, but it is still manageable for beginner divers.
Shark Alley – Flat Rock
This site is located on the eastern edge of the Flat Rock reef. The site consists of two sandy channels in the reef where grey nurse sharks aggregate from June – October. Schools of rays, turtles, wobbegongs and groupers are also seen. Visibility ranges from 10-30m
The Bowl – Flat Rock
10-34m
Coral Gardens, Sharks, rays, turtles, octopus, eels, nudibranchs, large pelagics, tropical fish varieties
Turtle Caves – Flat Rock
5-16m
This site offers coral gardens, tropical fish, wobbegongs, leopard sharks (Nov-Apr), rays, octopus, eels and of course turtles.
Manta Ray Bommie
5-16m
Manta Bommie is about the most popular dive in SE Queensland as the mantas in winter (Nov – Apr) are spectacular and it isn’t far from the boat launching site. Manta Rays, Hard and soft corals, leopard sharks, guitar sharks, turtles, wobbegong and bamboo sharks, octopus, eels, pelagics, bull, eagle and other large rays, nudibranchs, lionfish, plus hundreds of tropical fish varieties
It is a group of rocky reefs with small caves and walls, broken by sand patches. The bommie is a cleaning station for large marine life, manta rays, bull rays, eagle rays, leopard sharks, guitar sharks, turtles, wobbegong and bamboo sharks. The smaller life is also varied, octopus, lionfish and lots of small subtropical fish species. There is a moderate current over the site but its manageable. Visibility ranges from a few meters after summer storms to 20m in Winter.
Middle Reef
10-32m
Middle Reef is a dome shaped rock. This rock is home to a variety of tropical fish, soft corals, nudibranchs, Moray Eels and Queensland groper hiding in the nooks and crannies. Middle reef is a site for more advanced divers, as the site is deep and prone to strong ocean currents.
Shag Rock
8-16m
Shag Rock is an exposed rocky reef only a short boat ride from Lookout Point. It is the most protected dive site on this part of the coast and is popular when conditions are marginal, or for beginner dives. There is still plenty to see with lots of coral, smaller sharks, turtles, rays, octopus, eels, nudibranchs, stonefish and urchins. Both sides of the reef are linked by an interesting swim through. As an inshore site the visibility can be variable, and improves in Winter and after calm weather.
Boat Rock
30m
Boat Rock is a pinnacle offering colourful caverns and good fish life. The dive site often prone to high current and is an advanced dive.