The top 437 dive and snorkel sites in Australia, ranked by diver reviews, with maps and photos. Read the Australia guide
The most popular dive site at Montague Island. Accessible all year round as it is well protected from prevailing wind and sea conditions. Interact with the friendly seals as they twist and turn to the delight of divers of all skill levels. Don't dive here without a camera. Kelp beds cover large rocky areas with a full range of fish species available. Access via private boat or Local Charter Boats
Tangalooma Wrecks is a 5.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Australia, QLD, Southern Queensland, Moreton Island which is accessible from shore based on 4 ratings.
From the Exmouth Visitor's Center web site (link below) : THE NAVY PIER RE-OPENS FOR DIVING News Date: 1/07/2007 Closed since the 31st July 2006, the Navy Pier will be re opening for diving in July 2007. After a lengthy tender process, the Navy Pier, which is one of Australia's BEST TEN SHORE DIVES, will re open for certified divers. The successful tender was won by Ningaloo Reef Dreaming. To take a dive on this magnificent site please contact the Exmouth Visitor Centre for more information. A dive on the pier, as described by Ningaloo Reef Dreaming: After we pick up all the customers we will drive to our warehouse and meet at the briefing room. Here we will meet and greet and have coffee and tea and cookies! Yes, paperwork needs to be done, and then the Exmouth Navy Pier briefing. Once everyone knows what to do, with who and where and also what not to do and everything is clear, it is time to set up dive gear, including a safety sausage and compass for every diver. Time to drive to the Naval commander office for the key and correct passes, we are nearly there where we want to be, the water! A short site briefing, wetsuits on, kit up, buddy checks done and there we go! Unbelievable! The first thing we see is a large school of Barracuda, to the other side we see Batfish, large Cods and also a large school of Giant Trevally is swimming by. Well that is a start! We keep descending following one of the pylons of the Pier and we are surprised by all the coral we see, just fantastic. Coral trout, Snapper, Cods, Lion fish, you name it, we have seen them all. Then suddenly coming from behind one of the pylons appears a Queensland Groper, bigger than I am! Resting on a piece of the Pier structure is a Wobbegong Shark, just under the main Pier structure. We are heading South and challenge our buoyancy in between the pylons and Pier structure and on our way we welcome more coral with lots of Nudi Branches in all different colours, waving to us, fantastic macro opportunities-- this is a photographer's dream! White tip reef Sharks, Frog fish(es), and the Tawny Nurse Shark! There, an octopus is changing its colour and if we look up, all we can see are schooling fish. Time to go up and whilst we stay on the 5 meter mark we are surrounded by Trevally until we reach the surface. This was just unbelievable, now we know why the Exmouth navy Pier is rated amongst the top 10 shore dive sites in the world!!!! Warm Regards, Jeroen de Vries, Ningaloo Reef Dreaming (see link below) The NorthWest Cape covers a huge area with the Ningaloo reef stretching 260 km from slightly north of Exmouth to Amherst Point, south of Coral Bay. Exmouth is a small town of approximately 2500 people and is situated 1270 km north of Perth.
Short walk down some stairs from the car park. Roughly 10 meters of rocky beach to the water. Sandy bottom once in a few meters
The ski slop name refer to a mild sandy slop starting at 4-5m and gently opening at 15m in the middle of a wall like reef. Plenty of little reef fish to see and also bigger ones when you go deeper. Turtles are often spotted. Located on Flynn Reef.
Nice reef with sharks and turtles. 60km northeast of Cairns (2hrs).
Home to resident sea turtles and white tipped reef sharks, Petaj is an exciting site with some great swim-throughs. The wall of the main 'bommie' is an excellent place to search for tiny, yet colourful nudibranchs - a delight for photographers Milln Reef. 55km east of Cairns (2 hrs). Milln Reef - Petaj is also known as Great Barrier Reef.
Classic dive site for anyone to practice skills. The bottom is mostly sandy and the pylons are covered in colorful sponges.. Portsea, at the end of Mornington Peninsula; Port Phillip Bay.
SS Yongala was a steel passenger and freight steamer, owned by the Adelaide Steamship Company. SS Yongala and her sistership, Grantala, were built in Newcastle upon Tyne, England between 1903 - 1904 Yongala was named after the town Yongala, in South Australia. En route from Melbourne to Cairns on the night of 23 March 1911, she steamed into a cyclone and sank without a trace until during WWII when the wreck was located outside Townsville, Australia. The actual cause of the sinking remains a mystery. Grantala avoided the force of the cyclone in shelter of the nearby Cape Bowling Green. Yongala would probably not have suffered this tragedy had it had installed a wireless radio that could have warned them about the imminent danger. Ironically Yongala was due for a refit in Cairns, including installing a radio, at the end of her last journey. 124 passengers and crew were on the manifest. Children were usually not included, so the actual numbers were most likely higher. All passengers and crew perished along with a prize bull and a race horse named 'Moonshine'. Located as an 'unidentified wreck' during WWII, she was rediscovered in 1958 and positively identified by a serial number on a Chubb strongbox in 1961. The wreck of Yongala is 109 meters in length. The bow points in a northerly direction (347º), and although it lies listing to starboard at an angle of between 60º - 70º, the vessel's structural integrity has been retained. The depth of water to the sea floor is approximately 30 metres, with the upper sections of the wreck 16 meters below the surface. The wreck has become an established artificial reef, providing a structurally complex habitat for a diverse range of marine life. The sea floor surrounding the wreck is open and sandy. In 1981 the wreck was sketched by marine biologist Leon Zann. Although the superstructure of the wreck remains intact and very much like this sketch, the significant build up of sand around the starboard side of the vessel has been scoured away, and the ventilators and railings have collapsed. The wreck of Yongala lies within the central section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is approximately 48 nautical miles (89 km) south east of Townsville and 12 nautical miles (22 km) east of Cape Bowling Green. SS Yongala is today a major tourist attraction for the dive industry in Townsville. In late 2002, the site had several moorings installed to ensure that no more impact damage occurs by careless anchoring practices. A policy of 'No Anchoring' was also introduced within the protected zone following the installation of the moorings. The wreck is protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976 and is managed through the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville. Penetration diving and interference with artefacts is prohibited under the terms of the Act. Access to the site is through permit only, obtainable from the Maritime Archaeology Section of the Museum of Tropical Queensland. Source: Wikipedia ******* It is reputedly rated as one of the top ten dives wrecks in Oz, possibly the world. Having dived it many times and also having dived the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in numerous spots, I can say unequivocally, that its easily rates as the best shallow shipwreck in Australia. After having completed a Thesis on shipwrecks in Townsville area for a science degree in archaeology, what I tell everyone who cares to asks about this wreck is that, if they are going to go to the GBR, then forget diving the GBR quays (keys), which are overloaded with tourists and essentially unprotected (over-dived), as such and go straight to the Yongala. It shits on the reef for a dive site in terms of both, marine biodiversity and as a shipwreck. It has everything the quays have and more, all in the confines of the wreck site. Human bones can still be found and are protected of course, so the sense of tragedy still very much surrounds the wreck site.y reasons for this are simple. My reasons for this advice are simple. It cost good money to dive in this region. Don't spend your money diving two or more sites to see the same thing in different spots (such as Cairns and the Whitsunday's) and then miss the opportunity diving the Yongala, which I have seen people do (because they wished to dive the Cairns reef region, and have then missed getting down to Townsville or Ayr). Go straight to the S.S. Yongala and fork your money out there, before heading north or south on the coast. Doing an overnight trip will give you a greater chance of success of seeing the wreck and possibly some reef in the local area as well. Keep your eye out for the supposed local tiger shark and Whale (when in season)!!! My last dive here I saw a albino whale (minke?) with calf. They were really motoring south bound about 60 ft away from the wreck! Huge!!! This can easily go from being a fantastic to a spectacular dive in seconds. Enjoy! P.S. Additional information regarding the wreck can be obtained from either the Maritime Museum in Townsville (see also the informative display on the18th Century PANDORA wreck- located 700klms north of Townsville) or from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). Garth Henderson B.Sc. B.A. (ARCH) Maritime Archaeologist The wreck of Yongala lies within the central section of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. It is approximately 48 nautical miles (89 km) south east of Townsville and 12 nautical miles (22 km) east of Cape Bowling Green. By boat: about 3hrs from Townsville. The site can be dived from Ayr, via a RIB. This makes the trip to the wreck much shorter but somewhat more exposed. Sea conditions can vary greatly and reasonably quickly so be prepared if travelling to the area that you may get to Ayr/Townsville and may not be able to dive on that day in question.
This dive has spectacular growth on the rock, and is one of our best dive sites. Every time you go there, you will see something different. Pelagic fish are a certainty, along with the usual nudibanchs, and other marine life. If dived correctly you should get a good bottom time.
Great wall dive. Soft corals on the wall and nice coral garden. East of the Big Rock
Twenty concrete modules each weighing 23 tonnes and standing more than 5 metres tall Deep boat dive only Port Macquarie Artificial Reef is also known as Aartificial Reef Port Macquarie.
Barolin Rocks at Innes Park is a 5.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Australia, Queensland, Pacific which is accessible from shore based on 1 ratings.
Poor condictions but great for beginers of with the kids snorkling. Only if there is no surf!! Drive up to Kawana pocket then just go anywhere off the rocks.
Lat: S 35.48536 Long: E 150.33902 The gantry at Bawley Point is a popular fishing and diving spot easily accessible by car. Many dive stores do their training there. It is also a historical site with remains of an old lumber shipping facility.
Large isolated bommie. Reef sharks, turtles... Milln Reef
North of Exmouth (Western side of the cape), on Commonwealth Land (Naval Waters)and makes up part of the Murat Sanctuary zone. Navy Pier is also known as Point Murat Navy Pier.
Reef sharks, eagle rays... very nice dive. Flynn Reef
White sand and a natural reef of boulders and rocks. Sea dragons, dusky whalers, small rays... but not much fixed life. Parking available in Council car park at end of Bower St - parking $4+ or free if you park on the residential streets further away. Short walk down to sandy beach - park benches and open space available near entry.
Based on Zentacle reviews, the top-rated sites in Australia are The Seals (5.0 from 7 reviews), Tangalooma Wrecks (5.0 from 4 reviews) and Exmouth Navy Pier (5.0 from 4 reviews).
The top-rated beginner sites are The Seals (5.0 from 7 reviews), Tangalooma Wrecks (5.0 from 4 reviews) and Bushrangers Bay (5.0 from 2 reviews).
Tangalooma Wrecks, Exmouth Navy Pier, Bushrangers Bay and Busselton Jetty are the top-rated sites you can enter from shore.
