The Best Diving on the Great Barrier Reef

Soft coral and feather star at the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, Australia

“Where’s the best diving on the Great Barrier Reef?”

This is not an easy question.  The Great Barrier Reef is over 2000km long and has 2900 reefs.  With thousands of dives on the Great Barrier Reef, in many different areas, I still hesitate at the question. Here is a round up of some of the best diving and experiences to be had:

The Ribbon Reefs offer a diverse range of diving from coral gardens (such as Flare Point, Challenger Bay and the Cod Hole) to isolated coral pinnacles with large schools of fish, macro life and ‘hollows’ which contain sharks, stonefish, octopus and more.  This area is really an underwater photographers delight; the biggest challenge is usually choosing which subject to photograph or for the SLR photographers the agonising choice of which lens wide angle or macro.  The Ribbon Reefs are a unique form of reef only found north of Cooktown.  This section of reefs is very remote and therefore only extended liveaboard trips from Cairns run by Mike Ball Dive Expeditions, Taka or Spirit of Freedom visit this region.  Nimrod Explorer and Undersea Explorer have both ceased operating.  Day trips are available from Lizard Island, but only as a guest of the resort.

Dive sites on the Ribbon Reefs include: The Cod Hole, Steve’s Bommie, Pixie’s Pinnacle, Flare Point, Challenger Bay, Lighthouse Bommie, Acropolis, Two Towers, Snake Pit and Clam Gardens.

Marine encounters can commonly include: potato cod (aka 200kg fish), turtles, sea snakes, leafy scorpionfish, pipefish, white tip sharks, schooling trevally, nudibranchs, lionfish, stonefish, wobbegongs (carpet sharks), grey reef sharks and much, much more.

Dwarf Minke Whale approaching snorkeller

The Minke Whales make a guest appearance on the Ribbon Reefs from May to August, however the heart of the season (last two weeks of June and first two weeks of July) produce the most spectacular encounters with the highest number of whales.  Interactions can include over ten whales and it is not uncommon for the whale to approaching within touching distance.  There are few experiences underwater that can match the thrill of being eyeball to eyeball with a Minke whale.

Diving with a Potato Cod at the Cod Hole

The Cod Hole diving with 200kg fish which are quite happy to approach you, swim alongside you or let you sit quietly beside them is quite something.  These fish are quite literally the same size as a human.  Some operators run feeds where you can see these normally very tranquil fish move with impressive speed, power and agility.  If you are lucky enough to do a night dive at the Cod Hole you will find the cod join you for a dive so they can use the light from your torches to hunt.

The Coral Sea actually starts where the Great Barrier Reef ends.  It was named by sailors because they kept bumping (quite unfortunately for them) into isolated coral reefs which appeared to dot this area.  We now know these as isolated oceanic mountains which raise up spectacularly from the depths to within a couple of metres of the surface.  These reefs are shaped by the strong currents and upflows that contribute to the spectacular life which you can find on them.  Osprey Reef is the most commonly dived Coral Sea reef, as it is serviced by the diving liveaboards from Cairns.  Less commonly visited are Bougainville and Shark.  Holmes and Flinders Reefs are accessed from Townsille.

The Whitsunday Islands

The Whistunday Islands would often not be included amongst the ‘best diving’ category.  The reef is fringing reef and visibility is affected by the land.  However they are an absolutely beautiful set of islands and Whitehaven Beach is consistently voted as one of the best beaches in the world.  In addition, nearby Hardy Reef (part of what has become known as the ‘Outer Reef’) does offer some good diving.  So a trip to the Whitsundays on a boat which takes in all three of these areas is a brilliant experience.

Shark dive at North Horn, Osprey Reef, Coral Sea

Shark Dive at North Horn, Osprey Reef even through the Coral Sea is no the Great Barrier Reef, I am going to include this here as to get to the Coral Sea, you must go through the Great Barrier Reef and this dive is available on dive liveaboards which also access the Great Barrier Reef.  North Horn is an amazing diving in its own right.  With spectacular walls dropping down hundreds of metres and huge soft corals that remind me of fireworks with their display of colours, form and complexity.  Add to this a large number of sharks and some tuna heads to attract them in for a close look and this is one spectacular dive experience.

Yongala Wreck is a dive that will blow you away and leave your neck sore from head swiveling.  All you will do is want to go back for more.  The wreck lies on a sandy bottom at 30m (rising to within 15m of the surface).    The abundant marine life will keep you fully occupied and the wreck almost becomes secondary.  However, it is an advanced dive and can be difficult to access as it is very weather dependent.  Yongala Dive and Adrenalin Dive both operate day trips to the wreck.