Australia Scuba Diving

Whitsunday Islands Dive Sites

Diving on Great Barrier Reef in Australia is affected to a large degree by tidal movement. The tide flows fastest halfway between high and low water, slowing almost to a stop at the top and bottom of the tide. Visibility at high tide can be 100ft but at low tide on the same day can drop to 20ft. When possible you should plan your dive and even the time of year for your holiday, around the state of the tide. For the best result on any given day, try to commence diving about an hour or so before high tide. This is when the water is clearest.

In North Queensland Australia it is best, if you can, to plan your holiday around neap tides i.e. when the difference between high and low tide is the smallest. Avoid diving on headland dive sites that are exposed to strong winds. Most diving sites are boat dives but there are a few places in the Whitsunday Islands where you can enter the water from the beach.

Australia Diving Flag

United States visitors should be aware that when scuba diving in Australia, the dive flag is a blue and white burgee and not the red and white US type.

Below is a list and description of the best known Australia Whitsunday Island diving sites. These dive sites are known as fringing reefs and they are different in some respects to the ribbon (barrier reefs). Protection from strong currents enables better growth of soft corals which make absolutely stunning coral gardens. Visibility can be more restricted on fringing reefs due to greater movement of sediment but is still often greater than 50ft.

Alcyonara Pt - Bird Island - Blue Pearl Bay - Dolphin Pt - Eaglehawk Reef - Mackerel Bay - Manta Ray Bay - Maureen's Cove - The Pinnacles - The Woodpile

20 03.9 S 148 52.8 E

Top diving site and good snorkelling. Manta rays and giant maori wrasse often seen here. Visibility is affected by northerly winds. Features small valleys, drop -off, gullies, tunnels and overhang. Great display of gorgonia, fans and staghorn corals with some plates. Coral trout under plates, slatey bream and red emperor.

Dolphin Point

Northern tip of Hayman Island.

20 03.3 S 148 52.8 E

Calm weather dive only. 18 metres max depth. Huge boulders on the sloping seabed make this an interesting dive. Large coral bommies (20ft to 50ft). White tip reef sharks and hammerheads often seen here.

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Bird Island

Western side of Langford Reef.

20 05.3 S 148 52.3 E

Very exposed and not often diveable. Good diving in calm conditions. Features gullies, swim throughs caves and overhangs. Beware of cone shells here and on Langford Reef.

Difficult anchorage. Best to drift dive with zodiac standing by. Large variety of sea life.

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Eaglehawk Reef

Safe, shallow dive to 10 metres. A finger of reef extends in north westerly direction form the southern corner of Stonehaven anchorage. A great single vessel anchorage exists between Eaglehawk and the southern shore and snorkelling and scuba diving are good if conditions are right. Fine sediment is in abundance here and the diving can be quite murky if the current is running. However, visibility can be over 60ft in calm conditions. Features soft corals, nudibranchts and sea anenomes.

Alcyonara Point

Northern end of Hook Island.

20 04.1 S 148 56.2 E

Large coral bommies with lots of territorial sea creatures. Bommies rise up from about 13 metres but the tops are well clear of the surface making the site unsuitable for snorkellers. Gullies and ledges in deeper water. Some plate coral. Trout country. Another top diving area and usually good unless in a northerly.

Closer to shore the reef is quite shallow and very pretty. Snorkelling is good from here towards the point.

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Maureen's Cove

Northern end of Hook Island.

20 04.1 S 148 56.2 E

Large coral bommies with lots of territorial sea creatures. Bommies rise up from about 13 metres but the tops are well clear of the surface making the site unsuitable for snorkellers. Gullies and ledges in deeper water. Some plate coral. Trout country. Another top dive and usually good unless in a northerly.

Closer to shore the reef is quite shallow and very pretty. Snorkelling is good from here towards the point.

Manta Ray Bay

Northern end of Hook Island.

20 03.7 S 148 57.4 E

Often billed as the Whitsunday Islands top dive site but probably because of accessibility and the fact that big boats can anchor close in to shore out of the south easterly wind. It is a good dive though and one of the best dive sites. Fish feeding was introduced here several years ago and coral trout, batfish and parrot fish, to name a few, line up to be fed. Also there are caves valleys and swim throughs that make this an interesting dive. There is a small coral beach here so you can dive off the beach if you prefer.

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The Pinnacles

North East tip of Hook Island.

20 03.7 S 148 57.5 E

Good diving and snorkelling. Best in a light south easterly. Fairly exposed anchorage. Not good in northerly winds. Fabulous coral on big bommies that rise from 65ft to within 5 or 6 feet of the surface. Big manta rays and maori wrasse seen frequently with white and black tip reef sharks. Great dive but not for the faint hearted.

The Woodpile

Northeast tip of Hook Island.

20 03.6 S 148 57.6 E

Adjacent to The Pinnacles and a similar dive. So named because of pillars of basalt that have been overturned to look like a pile of massive logs when seen from seaward.

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Mackeral Bay

Eastern coast of Hook Island.

20 05.4 S 148 57.2 E

Difficult to get Mackerel Bay in the right weather conditions because it is exposed to the South Easterly wind but a good dive if conditions are right. I dived the southern side near a huge wind blown overhang and found a spectacular cave with big coral trout and slatey bream hovering in the upper reaches. Current can be quite strong here so drift diving is probably the best option. Some big wrasse often seen here. Really needs to be a light northerly on neap tides.

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Two good reference books for Whitsunday Islands scuba diving are :

• 100 Magic Miles of The Great Barrier Reef - The Whitsunday Islands - by David Colfelt

• Scuba Divers Guide to the Whitsunday Islands - by Tom Byron.