South East QLD Scuba Diving Sites
Click one of the following links to jump to that location and find out more about dive sites in that area:
Bargara
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Brisbane (including Stradbroke and Moreton Islands)
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Gold Coast
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Lady Elliot Island
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Mooloolaba
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Noosa
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Redcliffe
More coming soon!
Bargara
BAROLIN ROCKS - Bargara - Queensland
This site is south of an elevated headland, maybe 20 minutes from the Baraga Dive shop. Stop and ask them for accurate directions, as we got lost several times looking for it based on reviews!
This open water site is incredible! It’s really not very deep, ranging between 5 and 9 metres and is accessible by entering and swimming out – it’s not a hard swim at all. The site appears to be visited by everyone, all levels of diving, because it’s in a bit of a protected area, behind a headland. It’s not the best place to come on a hot day, because the whole area will be really REALLY busy, but on ‘off days’, you may find it ok to dive, even when other places would be inaccessible due to currents.
One of the absolute BEST areas is a place called ‘the Moon pond’. I was told about it before we dived, and it was where we entered and exited – calm, even when the sea was a bit high. The current here was nice – the bottom seemed to be made of basalt and sand and was also very pretty – the backdrop was gorgeous and highlighted lots of fish. There was lots of soft coral, that ranged out way past the 40 or so metres that we swam from the front edge – another person on the dive with us told us on the shore that it was 50-60 metres wide in places. The coral was incredible – which is why though this site is accessible by novices, it might be better if they dive in other places – it’s very easy to get it wrong and ruin the area.
I saw lots of fish, clown fishes, sea horses, lots and lots of fish I didn’t recognise, some cod, moray Eels. There was a vast array of rays too – and some turtles that swam close enough to touch on the outside edge of the coral reef. In the coral, I found lots of macro life, and got the fright of my life when a sea snake popped up.
2 MILE ROCKS - Bargara - Queensland
Accessible only by boat, this site is about 10 minutes from Burnett Heads., and is an open water rated dive site. Max depth is a manageable 15 metres, and there’s lots of fish life to see and enjoy – an overabundance in fact. If you don’t do well with lots of excitement and get overstimulated by colour and movement, you will find this dive incredibly difficult. I was excited and enjoyed every minute of this dive, once I got down there.
There’s a massive amount of spiked coral growing down there, along with lots of sponge – though, there seemed to be some fishing line ravelled around and through some of them – which detracted somewhat from the dive. The average visibility of 10 metres meant that we could see lots of things. One of the cutest things I saw while there was something that I think were called Rock fish, or Stonefish – they were amazing – I didn’t realise how many of them there were around till I saw one – then suddenly, they were all over the whole reef.
I’ve seen this site described as an oasis and I’d agree – surrounding by gently banking sand, the reef is somewhere short of five metres high and maybe 150 metres across – it’s a lovely site to explore, and can be traversed and enjoyed over the course of an afternoon. If you’re a macro photographer, this is the site for you – there’s lots of macro life, along with stuff like cod, and moray eels, mackerel, coral shrimp and more. We were taken by Baraga Dive Centre, they are experts on the area, and can advise divers and even take them out. They told us we might see dolphins but in our case, we didn’t – and the Shark Drum Lines didn’t create or cause any sharks to come nearby – which was a pity, as I’d hoped to see one.
4 MILE REEF - Bargara - Queensland
Another open water site, near Bargara, though this one is about 3 miles off Coonarr Creek – Baraga Dive centre runs dives to the area, and you can spend quite a lot of time down there, as the max depth is an easy to manage 13 metres. Average depth is a shade less than 8 metres, but the visibility is crystal clear, from the boat to the bottom – and appears to be about 15 metres while in the water.
Rubble and sand seem to make up the bottom – which seems to rise slightly to a coral reef, of sorts, at eight metres – in which there are also several craters. While we were exploring the first one, we were rather surprised to see sharks shooting past us – our guide told us they call this ‘buzzing’ and they seem to think it’s something to do with the Spearfishing that goes on off one edge of the reef – it wasn’t scary but we’re reliably informed that they can be pretty aggressive – not just sharks, but dolphins and whales too. We were told that there were fewer sharks than people predicted, because they’re only there when there’s spearfishing and they’re caught between the reef and fishers. Given the region is famous for its spearfishing you need to be careful while you’re down there – there’s no danger of being speared, but the area does get quite stirred up.
Once we had gotten past the buzzing and staying still because we didn’t want to antagonise them, we swam from crater to crater, admiring the differences between them. There were different species in each crater, which amazed us. We didn’t get vortexed by fish either, though another man on our dive group said he’d had that happen before. We saw some cod, lots of banner fish, about a half dozen varieties of angel fish, some butterfly fish too. I saw one turtle and several mantas – apparently there have been lots of sightings of more of the bigger creatures.
Brisbane - Moreton Bay (inc. Stradbroke and Moreton Islands)
The Moreton Bay region on the south east Queensland (SEQ) coast, stretches 125km from Caloundra to the Gold Coast. Brisbane boats many fantastic dive sites accessible by boat from Brisbane or from Moreton Island and Stradbroke Island.
Brisbane Scuba Dive Sites Map:
Stradbroke Island Scuba Dive Sites Map:
Manta Ray Bommies – Stradbroke Island – Queensland
Manta Bommie is a rocky reef off Brisbane’s North Stradbroke Island, and is ranked in Australia's top 10 dive sites. Manta Bommie attracts marine life like a magnet, especially over the warmer months – with manta rays, as the Bommie’s namesake, the main attraction. Accessible only from a boat (approach the site from the south), this is an open water dive site with a maximum depth of 18 metres (averaging around 10 metres) and visibility of approximately 10 metres.
This is an intermediate diving site so you need some experience in real water before diving, or alternatively you could take a buddy with you who has a little more experience. One of the main challenges to divers is heavy surge. Located off North Stradbroke Island, Mantra Ray Bommies is a rocky reef site that has a large amount of underwater wildlife to entertain divers.
As the name of the dive site suggests, an abundance of mantra rays are the main attraction here. However if you want to swim with sharks, this is a great dive site to visit because there are a number of different species to be found here including leopard sharks and wobbegong sharks. Eagle rays, sting rays, and turtles mingle with the fish life (especially in the outcrops of rock at the bottom) to provide a site that’s full of interest and colour.
Shag Rock – Stradbroke Island - Queensland
Shag rock is an open water dive site off Stradbroke Island in Queensland. Accessible by boat, this is a site that has an average depth of 10 metres, and a maximum drop of 15 metres. Visibility is a low 7 metres.
You can see Shag Rock from Cylinder Beach so it’s easy to find. Just launch your boat there and head straight for it. There are two islands and unless the sea conditions don’t make this possible, you should be able to leave your boat moored up between the two islands on the north west side. If it isn’t possible to moor the boat, there’s also good diving near the shore at end of the rocks where you should see many squid.
With gullies and swim-throughs, there’s much to see at Shag Rock, and as it’s a relatively easy dive, it is perfect for beginning divers and makes a good choice for a second dive. What you need to watch out for however is the large amount of sea urchins that tend to live in the shallower water. One particular feature worthy of a special mention is a 4m gully on the south eastern side – follow the gully and then go west towards a narrower gully. Here you’ll see a diverse variety of invertebrates. Shag rock is also a good choice for night diving.
Flat Rock – Stradbroke Island - Queensland
Flat Rock is one of Brisbane's most popular scuba diving sites, mainly because of the natural rocky environment and the diverse range of coral and fish that you are likely to encounter. You can see anything from tiny clown fish to the docile giants of the sea, the grey nurse sharks.
Boat Rock – Stradbroke Island - Queensland
Boat Rock is a 30m meter pinnicle featuring caverns and a plethora of species of fish. It is a dive site best suited to Advanced divers, as it often has strong current. We have had the simply amazing scuba dive experiences here playing with curious wild dolphins at 30m. Max depth is 30m with visibility averaging 15m.
Tangalooma Wrecks – Moreton Island - Queensland
These wrecks are filled with a great abundance of marine life from giant Trevally to Crayfish. The dive is best completed in a drift so that in a 40-minute dive you see all the wrecks along the wall. Tangalooma offers every diving environment in 1 dive, including reef, wreck, drift and naturalist, all in about 12 metres of water.
Flinders Reef – Moreton Island - Queensland
Finders Reef has an amazing diversity of fish and marine creatures including more than 175 species of fish, many species of Turtles and in the winter months, the migrating Whales. Flinders reef also has many pinnacles, swim throughs, ledges and even a sunken trawler.
Curtin Artificial Reef – Moreton Island - Queensland
Curtain Artificial Reef is comprised of more than 20 ships deliberately scuttled by the Underwater Research Group of Queensland. The first was sunk in 1967 and even today more are still being added. Curtin is famous for the family of giant groper that inhabit these waters, some of which can weigh up to 500 kg. If you're lucky enough, you can see 4 or 5 in one school so keep an eye out.
Roberts Shoals – Moreton Island - Queensland
Roberts Shoals is located east of Cape Moreton Lighthouse. There are many sites of open water and even some advanced sites that offer little by way of exploration challenges, but this site is strictly for those who know what they’re doing. If you’re an adventurous diver, this is a must-dive for you! The average depth is around 20 metres, but it does drop down to 35 metres in places. Visibility is around 17 metres. You’ll need a boat to get out to Roberts Shoals, but you’ll find it’s worth the time it may take to secure one!
Imagine a landscape of ruined cathedral, and then place this on the ocean floor – and you get an idea of the kind of terrain that awaits you in the Roberts Shoals dive site! It’s an underwater divers’ playground of arches, overhangs, caves, grottos and spires. Although swells can create a problem, currents are not usually an issue at this dive site.
Sea life is prolific and diverse in this area, including wobbegong sharks and the bigger pelagics. If you go down to approximate 25 metres, you should be rewarded for your efforts by spotting some giant cod that inhabit that area and depth.
Rosswall – Brisbane - Queensland
Rosswall dive site can be found north of Flinders in Brisbane, Queensland. A major point to keep in mind before choosing to dive at Rosswall however is that this is an advanced dive site. It’s not for novices, or divers without much in the way of actual ocean diving experience. The history of this site’s name is that it was named by Ross, who was first to dive there from the Oceancat charter boat and discovered a west-east journeying wall. Average depth in this site is around 22 metres and it drops down to approximately 25 metres with around 15 metres of visibility. You’ll need a boat to get out to the site.
Once down you’ll find overhangs and caves to explore. Rosswall is a good site to drift, but if you prefer stationary diving, that works too! It’s a relatively new site but it’s well worth the effort because there’s so much to see. Coral in particular is in abundance here. You’ll see large plate as well as other varieties. There is a wide range of small reef fish such as trumpet fish, angels, fusileers, squirrel fish and painted crays. Pelagics can also be seen in this area.
If you’re unsure if you have the right kind of experience for Rosswall, ring a local dive shop and ask them what other divers have to say – they’ll also be able to recommend a boat ride to help you get out to the site if you need one!
Smith Rock – Moreton Island - Queensland
Smith Rock is an advanced dive site Close to Cape Moreton Lighthouse between Capre Moreton and Flinders Reef. Although it’s not a deep site, dropping only to 21 metres at its deepest point and averaging around 18 metres, and also that it has 20 metres average visibility, there are challenges to this dive site that make it completely inappropriate for novice divers. The main problems are connected to the swell and strong currents that are common in the area so even advanced divers are advised to dive when the water is slack.
The site itself comprises pinnacles of granite that come up from the ocean floor until they taper off approximately 6 metres below the surface. Below the water, the site is full of swim-throughs and little caverns. It’s not a popular site with divers and so there is a large amount of fish – especially crayfish that play in the coral. Should you be lucky, you may see bulldozers also at this site. If shipwrecks interest you (there have been 3 well known ones around here), you’ll also find a lot of ship debris on the sea floor – the remains of the ships that came to a watery end at this site.
The Pines – Moreton Island - Queensland
Moreton Island, Queensland is where you’ll find The Pines dive site. It’s a site with an average of 14 metres average depth, but dropping to a reasonable 25 metres. Visibility is usually around 10 metres. For those of you with GPS devices, you’ll find the dive site by keying in WGS84 27:05:727 (Lat) and 153:21:959 (Lon). If you aren’t so technically gifted, you need to make your way to the northern shore marker (artificial) at Curtin, and then spot the tallest tree that’s approximately 300 metres north of there! From that point swim out until you find the wall. Alternatively, if you are accessing the site by boat, move your vessel in until you see it.
The Pines is a north-south wall site that’s around 500 metres long. With a diving range of between 6 and 25 metres, you’ll find the most interesting part of the site at about 15 metres down. Pay attention as it’s easy to lose the wall behind the sand and you have difficulty finding it again. Drift diving is the best way to experience this site, and you can even safely dive this one at night as your boat can follow the lights and collect you when you reach the end.
Sea life in the area includes wobbegong sharks, stingrays, turtles, lion fish and large schools of fish.
This isn’t a site with great visibility because of the silty base, but it’s more than adequate and the dive itself is well worth the effort.
Cement Co – Moreton Island - Queensland
The Cement Co was a former coral barge and has been sunk to form a small artificial reef near Flinders in a depth of 25-35 m. The wreck is now as popular a site as the reef itself. It is covered in abundant large fish schools and healthy corals, all with the plus of the mystery that can only come from diving large wrecks. The vessel is upside down leaving massive machines hanging from the top, therefore penetration should only be done with appropriate training.
China Wall – Moreton Island - Queensland
China Wall is located at the eastern side of Moreton island and with its depth to 30m, it is more suitable for experienced divers. The outstanding feature is a tall vertical granite outcrop with a 2 m wide swim-through at the top. The area is covered with a thick layer of broad leafed kelp providing protection for crayfish and slipper lobsters, but also making navigation quite challenging. You will also see sea whips, fans, schooling fish, pelagics (tuna, mackerel and barracuda) and the occasional shark cruising by. From May to October the whales are normally sighted here as well and if you are lucky, they swim with you.
Henderson's Rock - Moreton Island - Queensland
Henderson Rock is located 4.5 km from the ocean side of North Moreton Island and consists of extensive granite outcrops. From the top of the pinnacle, which lies in about 12 m, the rock drops gradually at first but then more steeply to about 24 m. Before the 24m mark there are several ledges, overhangs, and caves whose entrances are often obscured by thick kelp. To the south and east of the base of the pinnacle there is a long deep gutter that leads roughly south to about 22m and it is here that grey nurse sharks are often encountered. The areas is characterised with Kelp beds on the western site and bare rock on the top going in to 2 m high walls with swim-through hidden in them. There are also large caverns further out in water around 25m deep.
Cherub's Cave - Moreton Island - Queensland
Cherubs-cave is a true jewel among Brisbane's dive sites located on the east side of Moreton Island. It's a hidden cave which is surrounded by rocky gullies and smaller caves and measures around 15 by 20 m in the accessible area and about the same in the inaccessible part. With 20-30 m depth this site is for the more experienced divers to enjoy the beauty of sea life including big schools of fish, turtles, wobbiegongs, critters and crawlers and the grey nurse sharks that just love this spot.
Gotham City - Moreton Island - Queensland
Gotham city is located 8.5 km North of Cape Moreton, and 1 km North of Flinders Reef. Gotham City is one big block facing East West and is 50 m long by 25 m wide. It comes up along a steep wall out of the sandy base at 37 m, the top of the wall is at around 26 m and the top of the rock is 22 m deep. The wall facing the East is overgrown with black corals. On the Western site of the rock just before the western edge there is at 28 m a small cavern. In the cavern there is a memorial plague of a favourite dive buddy. The rock is overgrown with barnacles, turf algae and some soft coral. Tropical fish can be seen swimming around the edges. Large schooling sweetlips are hanging in the lee of the rock hiding for the current. To the South West of the main rock system there is an granite ridge in deeper water which worth while exploring. The site is known as a deep site and its beauty best viewed with clear water. Although the site is a small site the dive depth limits it from long exploratory dives.
Gold Coast
Palm Beach Reef – Gold Coast - Queensland
Queensland’s stunningly gorgeous Gold Coast is home to the Palm Beach Reef dive site. This site has an open water rating so it’s not too challenging for less experienced divers. The average depth here is approximately 17 metres but at its deepest point it drops down to around 22 metres. Visibility in this dive site extends to around 15 metres. Although Palm Beach Reef is accessible by boat, it’s actually situated between 800 and 1000 metres from the Palm Beach shore.
The reef itself is quite large, and although it does drop down to 22 metres, the top of the reef is a mere 5 metres under the water’s surface. Whether you prefer your sea life to be swimming or waving in the current, you’ll find something at Palm Beach reef. There’s an abundance of sponge life and soft corals that add a beautiful backdrop to the schools of reef fish that swim around this area. Among the larger inhabitants of this area you can also see bronze whalers, stingrays, and leopard sharks. Wobbegongs, parrotfish, wrasse (blue and painted) are also to be found at this dive site.
The rocky outcrops on the reef make it a good exploring ground with the sea life weaving in and out – be sure not to swim around a corner and come face-to-face with a hammerhead!
Southport Seaway – Gold Coast - Queensland
Southport Seaway is a popular dive site on the Gold Coast, found by travelling along Seaworld Drive to the end. Southport Seaway is a shore entry site so just get your gear on, walk towards the cement slab and enter the water when you get there. GPS users can find the site by using the coordinates: WGS84 27:56:232 (Lat) and 153:25:532 (Lon). The average depth at this open water site is only 8 metres but it does drop down to 17 metres. Visibility is only 6 metres but at high tide you may find that visibility is increased significantly.
The site comprises two pipes, one that goes west, and another going east. The west pipe is shorter, approximately 40 metres, and at 10 metres is also the shallower of the two. The pipe facing east goes out as far as the north wall on South Stradbroke Island, and has a maximum depth of 17 metres. The current moves at quite a pace in the Seaway which means this dive is restricted to times when the water is slack, but it is a dive that can be enjoyed as much at night as during the day.
Sea life at the Southport Seaway dive site includes small eels, schools of pineapple fish and leatherjackets.
Lady Elliot Island
ANCHOR BOMMIES - Lady Elliot Island - Queensland
The Anchor Bommies are some secluded reefs that you can get to from the shore, or take a boat, it’s quite a swim if you swim it, but it’s worth it either way. These scattered reefs are around several large and several small anchors – you’ve just got to find them.
We found several schools of fish, swimming around lots of colourful growth that makes the area beautiful. The anchors were overgrown too, with lots of butterfly cod swimming around – their gorgeous colours were a welcome change from the brown coral and rusted anchors. There are some great photo and video opportunities, if you’ve got your kit with you, so keep an eye out and see what you can find.
The average depth here is about 20 metres, with a slight lip that dips away off the bommies down to about 21 metres. The water is fairly clear, at 15 metres, so you feel like you can see almost anything as soon as you get down there. Like I said, for the macro photographer this is quite a good site – I’ve been to better, but there are some great photo opportunities. All in all, a great dive site, one that I would highly recommend.
Anemone Bommie - Lady Elliott Island - Queensland
This *was* a gorgeous open water site with lots to see – named for the anemone growth on the Bommie itself. I’m a huge Anemone fan so this dive was a real treat. I dived pre-hurricane, so I’m not sure if it’s ‘grown back’ or if there’s something else here, but I found the site gorgeous when I was there. The Bommie itself is probably gone, but I’d like to think that there’s something nice there now – the area was so vibrant and alive when we were there.
There were shoals of fish, lots of different types, and the bommie was covered in coral, a sprinkling of kelp and lots of Anemone – gorgeous little things that really made my day. I took my macro lens and camera with me and got dozens of gorgeous shots of nudibranches, Anemone, sea horses. I was delighted to get those shots. I got shots of clown fish, and tiger clowns, which I’ve never seen before, along with the ubiquitous Blue groupers there, plus some fish I couldn’t identify. The shoals were gorgeous, and a bit further off – silver flashes in the water as they shot around. They got quite stirred up while we were there and there was a lot of movement about 10 metres off the Bommie.
There was a half dozen people with us on the dive – it’s a smallish site, so try to go with a smaller group, if there’s anything still there.
Blow Hole - Lady Elliott Island - Queensland
This site is only accessible by boat – ask the local dive shop to take you. This is an amazing place to see sea slugs (nudibranches). There’s a small cave, that the dive site indicated was a blow hole – I’m very nervous of enclosed spaces so I didn’t go, but there’s lots to see outside, so that was ok. Like I said, there are lots of nudibranchs, sponges, and coral – the area was a cacophony of movement and colour. I’d never seen many nudibranches before – and got lots of great macro shots.
We also saw some gorgonian fans, more sponge, and coral and discovered lots of little nooks and crannies. My partner said that she’d gone through the cave, and it descends a bit, then goes in a straight line, and then eventually exits. It was a very pretty place to go all in all.
The wall itself dips to maybe 26 metres inside the cave, and there was lots of life on top of the wall where the cave was, which left me with lots to look at while the others were exploring the cave.
I’d love to come back and try the cave dive – I’m sure it would be well worth it.
Mooloolaba
The Ex-HMAS Brisbane was a 133 m destroyer of approx 5000 tons, commissioned to the Royal Australian Navy in 1967. After 34 years of service, she was decommissioned and sunk off the Sunshine Coast in 2005 as an artificial reef and dive site ranging from 15-28m depth. Today the Brisbane is visited by an endless number of life including resident schools of king fish, large bull & eagle rays, angler fish, lion fish, nudibranchs, sea hares, squid and schools of red emperor and snapper. Other visitors include shovelled nose rays, greasy cod and eagle rays, octopus, QLD grouper and turtles. There’s also a huge amount of soft corals to be seen and hard corals are already becoming established as well.
Blankea - Mooloolaba - Queensland
This open water dive site has an average depth of around 15 metres – have a dive tour group take you there if there’s any chance that you can at all. It’s difficult to find if you’re not used to driving a boat, so it’s always better to take an expert.
We had a local dive take us – and weren’t disappointed when we got there. The site is a coral reef, shot through with sponges, and anemones, nudibranches and more. We were amazed, and got to see coral trout. It was a gorgeous day when we went to visit – the sky was clear and blue, and the light quality in the water was great. Average visibility was around 15 metres, which was also around the average depth. Off the edge of the coral wall – which was three metres deep in places, was a lower sand area. In the sand is some interesting macro life, but most of the best stuff is in the reef, including shrimps, cod, clown fish, lion fish. I think I even saw turtles off the edge of the reef but couldn’t swim over fast enough. We saw so much that we want to return and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone that wants an interesting dive after coming off of novice training.
Old Woman Island – Mooloolaba - Queensland
Old Woman Island, or Mudjimba as it’s also known, can be found in Mooloolah, Queensland. From the mouth of the Mooloolah River you’ll be able to see the island. The Sunshine Coast dive site is rated as open water is almost all the same depth of approximately 15 metres, with about 7 metres of visibility. If you have sat nav technology, you can easily find the site with the following reference points: Lat – S’26’36.931 and Lon – E’153’06.747.
Although the Old Woman Island dive site is around 15 metres deep, and is recommended for intermediate divers, there are stunningly beautiful coral gardens here that are only 2 meters down and perfect for anyone who enjoys a bit of snorkelling. If haven’t much real diving experience this could be a good place to start but don’t be tempted to go too far unless you are accompanied by a more experienced diver.
Macro photographers love Mudjimba. It is teaming with small drop offs, bommies, ledges and gullies that provide a perfect backdrop for stunning colourful angelfish, pufferfish, gobie, surgeonfish, wrasse, damsels, butterflyfish, morwong, lionfish and moray eels. With an underwater garden of both soft and hard coral, sponges and anemones, this is a treasure box of colour that will have your film (or memory card) full in no time at all!
Outer Gneering Shoals – Mooloolaba - Queensland
Mooloolaba, Queensland is home to the Outer Gneering Shoals diving site. This site is, on average around 18 metres deep but does drop down to 25 at its maximum. Visibility is usually a good, clear 15 metres which makes the site feel quite open as you are able to see a lot further than in many other diving areas. Outer Gneering Shoals is an open water site.
As this is a diving site that’s accessible by boat, you should start off from the boat harbour in Mooloolaba and steer out towards the Gneerings bouy. If you have an echo sounder onboard, turn this on and change direction to the south east from the bouy. The dive site is located where your echo sounder marks a peak of around 18 metres.
Anyone with an interest or passion for coral should dive at the Outer Gneering Shoals. Among the rock and boulder formations the coral just spreads out like a vast quilt and amongst it lies the diversity of sea life that coral attracts. In the winter months around the pinnacle you will find larger pelagic fish moving around, but smaller species such as wobbygongs, leatherjackets, baitfish, angels, wrasse, butterfly and urchins are visible at most times of the year.
Noosa
The Caves –Noosa - Queensland
The Caves is a dive site that’s more than a little misleading as any divers who hope to be able to explore actual caves under the water are going to be disappointed! The Caves dive site in Noosa, Queensland isn’t disappointing in any other way however! The dive has an average depth of around 14 metres and the open water site drops down to a maximum of 20 metres with visibility usually around 10 metres. Access to the dive site is by boat and can be a little tricky crossing the Nosa River bar, so unless you are familiar with the area check out a local dive shop or boat operator who can get you there.
Swim-throughs are the best part of The Caves dive site as there are four of them to explore. There are also a multitude of gullies, hills and other assorted gutters and rocky outcrops to keep your attention. The sea life in the area is as varied as the terrain with turtles, eagle rays and even large bull rays during the summer. In the nooks and crannies you should look out for hunting octopus, crayfish and wobbegongs.
The most stunning part of the dive site however are the huge array of nudibrachs – so many in fact that you might have to do this dive more than once if you want to make sure you see them all!
Redcliffe
Queens Reef – Redcliffe – Brisbane - Queensland
Queens Reef dive site can be found by travelling north from Metro Brisbane for about 20 mins. It’s situated on the Redcliffe Peninsular so once you located this, go north easterly past the Redcliffe Esplanade onto Queens Street. You can’t get lost from here as Queens Street leads you right down to the water! The facilities for divers here are great, enough car parking and even a public shower you can use to clean up your stuff after the dive! When you park the car, find the shower and look out onto the water in a westerly direction and you’ll see a white buoy about 50 metres out to sea – that’s where you’re headed. Easy! However, if you need a little more technical direction, load WGS84 27:08:623 (Lat) and 153:26:227 (Lon) into your GPS.
The Queens Reef is an open water site that’s a level 5 metres deep, with a visibility of also around 5 metres. Smaller sized shells are the main thing you’ll find here but it is possible that you’ll see turtles, and perhaps even loggerheads and small sharks. The sea grass is quite a good cover however for a treasure hunt as all sorts of stuff end up in this shallow dive site. One thing you need to watch is that the temps can drop down to 14-15 degrees in winter.
