Coral Sea & Islands

Queensland’s tropical north remains one of the world’s premier scuba diving destinations for scuba diving vacations on dive liveaboards, based on the dual attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and neighbouring Coral Sea... Because of good year-round scuba diving, an abundance of colourful and exotic life forms and scuba diving safety standards that are among the highest in the world, dive tourism continues to flourish and scuba diving operations and resorts offering scuba diving vacations and packages have continued to spring up along the entire length of the Queensland coast... This is particularly so north of the Tropic of Capricorn, from the Whitsundays to the far north Queensland towns of Cairns and Port Douglas, where the outer edge of the 2,000km long Great Barrier Reef meets the beginning of the Coral Sea.

Although the Great Barrier Reef gets most of the scuba diving press, better by far is the Coral Sea, whose outlying atolls and pinnacles such as Marion Reef offer some of the best adventure scuba diving vacations on dive liveaboards in the world... The other hot spot for Australian scuba diving vacations is clear across the continent on the remote west Australian coast where whale sharks congregate at Ningaloo Reef during March and April, and dive liveaboards visit the remote Rowley Shoals and Abrolhos Islands.

Coral Sea Islands and Reefs – adventure scuba diving vacations

Located east of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and some distance off the continental shelf are a large number of reef formations and small sand cays scattered across the Coral Sea... those reefs and cays to the east belong to Australia (some of which form an external territory of Australia), those in the west form a dependency of the French territory of New Caledonia, while those in the northeast belong to Papua New Guinea.

The Central Coral Seas region... often referred to in Australia as the Northern Coral Sea, contains a large submarine feature known as the Coral Sea Shelf (or Queensland Plateau) which contains most of the reefs and forms the core of the Australian Coral Sea Islands External Territory... this stretches from Osprey Reef in the north to the Saumarez Reef in the south and contains the largest reef formation to be found in the Coral Sea – the 2,500 sq km, largely submerged Lihou Reef.

For scuba divers booking adventure scuba diving vacations on dive liveaboards out of Cairns or Port Douglas, the Coral Sea offers divers a collection of stunning walls, glorious reefs and atolls covering over 100,000 sq km. The reefs are a series of mountain tops that rise from the ocean bed below... scuba divers on dive liveaboards who endure the lengthy sea crossing to the Coral Sea will encounter spectacular scuba diving vacations while enjoying incredibly dramatic reefs dominated by gigantic sponges and large coral formations…It can be quite rough to get there, especially on the smaller dive liveaboards. Consequently, most dive liveaboards that visit the Coral Sea are very stable vessels and built for that purpose. Still, if someone is seriously prone to seasickness this might be a challenge... see motion sickness and diarrhea.

Should the weather conditions be too rough to make a safe crossing most dive liveaboards will change their itinerary as scuba diving safety and diver comfort is the main priority on any dive liveaboards offering scuba diving vacations. In such cases, scuba diving will take place along the more protected Ribbon Reefs... the best time of the year for Coral Sea diving trips is September to January. Rougher sea conditions can usually be expected during the April to August period…The marine life and coral formations of the Coral Sea are similar to those of the Great Barrier Reef, but it is the size of the reef animals that consistently impress visiting scuba divers looking for an adventure diving experience.

The Coral Sea reefs are located 12 to 18 hours east from the coast of mainland Australia – beyond the reach of any day boats… for ease of explanation we have divided the Coral Sea into the southern and the northern sectors. The Northern Coral Sea is accessed from Cairns and Port Douglas.

Reefs in the Northern Sector:

• Osprey Reef…submerged atoll roughly oval in shape, measuring 25 by 12 km, covering around 195 sq km, with a lagoon up to 30m (100 ft) deep
• Shark Reef…small elongated submerged reef 15 km south of Osprey Reef, with a least depth of 7.5 m
• Bougainville Reef…small submerged atoll, 2.5 by 4 km, area 8 sq km with lagoon, dries at half tide
• East Holmes Reef…submerged atoll, about 14 by 10 km, area 125 sq km with lagoon
  West Holmes Reef…submerged atoll 6 km east of East Holmes Reef, about 18 by 7 km, area 125 sq km with lagoon that is open on the West side, two small cays
• Diane Bank…sunken atoll, depths of less than 10 m over an area of 65 by 25 km, or 1300 sq km, along the northern edge 3 m deep, with Sandy Cay in the northwest, 3 m high
• North Moore Reef…small submerged atoll, 4 by 3 km, area 8 sq km including lagoon that is open on the northwest side
• South Moore Reef…small submerged reef 5 km south of North Moore Reef
• Herald Cays, Northeast Cay…encircled by a reef of 3 by 3 km, total area 6 sq km, land area 0.34 sq km
• Herald Cays, Southwest Cay…4 km southwest of Northeast Cay, encircled by a reef of 2 by 2 km, total area 3 sq km, land area 0.188 sq km

The reefs of the Southern Coral Sea are accessed from Townsville and are about 12 hours away and 230km east… these reefs are the tops of ancient mountains. The scuba diving here is similar to that in the northern sector of the Coral Sea... We express no preference for either sector as they are both great destinations for adventure scuba diving vacations... and this region is ideal for divers who love scuba diving in crystal clear water with pelagic action.

Reefs in the Southern sector:

• Lihou Reef and Cays…largest atoll in the coral sea, with a size of 2500 sq km, land area 0.91 sq km
• North Flinders Reef…large atoll, 34 by 23 km, area 600 sq km, with 2 islets, Flinders Cay being the larger one with a length of 200 m and a height of 3 m
• South Flinders Reef…atoll, 15 by 5 km, 60 sq km
• Herald’s Surprise…small submerged reef north of Flinders Reefs, 3 by 2 km
• Dart Reef…small submerged reef northwest of Flinders Reefs, 3 by 3 km, area 6 sq km including small lagoon that is open to the north.
• Abington Reef…submerged reef, nearly awash, 4 by 2.5 km, area 7 sq km
• The wreck of the Yongala is not in the Coral Sea, but it is usually included in these adventure scuba diving excursions…The Yongala lies inside the Great Barrier Reef approximately 90 km’s southeast of Townsville, 10 km’s off the coast of Cape Bowling Green... The S.S.Yongala sank during a cyclone in 1911 with the loss of more than 120 souls. It was not until 1958 that the wreck was discovered. As its location is remote, it has remained mostly untouched. The wreck begins 14 m below the surface and extends to 28m. As it is the only structure in the region, the marine life gathers at the wreck providing an unforgettable scuba diving experience for divers taking scuba diving vacations on dive liveaboards.

The reefs in the Coral Sea are different from those on the Barrier Reef. They are more like an ‘oasis”... in the 'desert’... of the Pacific Ocean... Here the reef is exposed to the never-ending movement of the open ocean and the clarity of water is superb. Such exposed ‘oases’ in the middle of the Pacific attract all sorts and sizes of fish in gigantic schools or as single hunters... but even though this is the open ocean, dive liveaboards look for and anchor at calm and protected lagoons. The reefs come up from 1000 metres and more, to right underneath the ocean surface where strong currents are often experienced, making this region more suitable for experienced scuba divers... and even though the less experienced scuba diver will dive these sites, they need to be careful… You must however allow for a 4 or 7 day dive trip if you plan scuba diving vacations on dive liveaboards into this region.

In principle scuba diving is good all year round, however during April-August it can be rough to get there... Best time for scuba diving is usually September to January... In comparison to the northern Coral Sea the average wind speeds in the southern sector are 5 knots or less!... A huge variety of reef sharks can be seen and include silvertip sharks, hammerheads and grey reef sharks. Also the chances for manta rays and eagle rays are pretty good. The Coral Sea visibility is the best you can get: average is 30-40 meters (100-130ft) and more.