Diving in Australia

Great Barrier Reef, Queensland

Don’t miss the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef, a living masterpiece so big it can be seen from space. It stretches almost 2,000 kilometres along the Queensland coast, from Cape York to Bundaberg. Discover the diving havens of Heron and Lizard Islands. Or stay in the Whitsundays and take a sea-plane to spectacular Heart Reef. Base yourself in Cairns or Port Douglas and visit the reef gardens of Green and Fitzroy Islands. Travel further to Agincourt Reef, on the edge of the continental shelf. Kick through coral canyons filled with turtles, sea stars and crabs at Lady Musgrave Island and Fitzroy Lagoon near Gladstone. Explore the SS Yongala shipwreck from Townsville and the Llewellyn shipwreck from Mackay.   More info>

Whale Sharks, Ningaloo, Western Australia

Join the tropical-coloured party at Ningaloo Marine Park, the world’s largest fringing reef. Its home to 200 species of hard coral, 50 soft coral and over 500 species of fish. Snorkel or shallow dive with brightly adorned fish in the Bundegi Bombies reef sanctuary. Get up close to sci-fi sponges, gorgonians and sea whips at the entrance to the Exmouth Gulf. Mingle with turtles, manta rays, dolphins, dugongs, batfish, angelfish and clownfish, among others, at Lighthouse Bay. Discover spectacular reef diving and a glamorous underwater crowd at the Murion Islands.  Between April and June you can even hang out with the whale shark, the world’s largest fish.  More info>

Great White Shark Diving

Since pioneering shark cage diving over 40-years ago, Rodney Fox and his son Andrew have been at the very forefront of human interaction with Great White Sharks. As primary advocates for these creatures, their expeditions and research have educated the public and attracted adventurers from around the world. Join the Fox's aboard the "Princess II" for the worlds ultimate shark adventure. Tours depart Port Lincoln in South Australia out to the famous Neptune Islands, which continues to be the very best place in the world to see and photograph Great White Sharks.   More info>

Fish Rock, New South Wales

Spend two nights and four dives exploring Australia's best ocean cave dive; Fish Rock is located just over two kilometres off Smoky Cape at South West Rocks on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. The thrill of entering a 125 metre long cave and travelling right through the centre of a small island is one dive that you will not want to miss. Fish Rock and Green Island are critical habitat areas for the Grey Nurse sharks, which live here in large numbers all year round.  More info>

SS Yongala, Queensland

One of diving’s Seven Wonders of the World….The SS YONGALA…… Over 100 metres of the most amazing Wreck and Wildlife experienced anywhere in the world. Voted: AUSTRALIA’S BEST DIVE. More info>

Coral Atoll Diving, Western Australia

Dive in and explore the unspoilt paradise of Rowley Shoals aboard a "True North" - a luxurious live-aboard boat. Start your voyage in the frontier pearling port of Broome; lying 300 kilometres due west of Broome, the coral atolls of the Rowley Shoals tower vertically in 400 metres of water to create "the world's last great underwater wilderness" - an area of more than 300 square miles with no significant history of exploitation. More info>

Mornington Peninsula, Victoria

Dive with sting rays, seahorses, cuttlefish, squid, urchins, rock cod and weedy sea dragons in Port Phillip Heads Marine Park. This magical marine world sits off the Mornington Peninsula, just an hour’s drive from Melbourne. Marvel at the abundance of fish, birds and seals in the tiny sanctuary of Popes Eye.  Swim with dolphins at Sorrento. Drop from 8 to 18 metres, past the underwater cliffs, ledges and caves of Kelp Beds Reef.  Or go even deeper at Port Phillip Heads, which offers wall dives, drop-offs and submerged World War I submarines. Learn to dive at Portsea Pier and discover a dreamcoat diversity of fish on the trail around Rye Pier.

East Coast Dive Trail, Tasmania

Hop between 11 spectacular diving spots along Tasmania’s east coast, from Binalong Bay to the Tasman Peninsula. The clear, turquoise water has visibility between 10 to 40 metres. See big-bellied seahorses and weedy seadragons on a shore dive in Waubs Bay, near Bicheno.  Glide past jewelled anemones and schools of butterfly perch in Governor Island Marine Nature Reserve. Swim through the enchanting caves of Isle de Phoque, also home to a large seal colony.  Dive the scuttled Troy D near Maria Island or off the boat into the large reefs and caves of Waterfall Bay. Kick through the Fortescue Bay Kelp Forest or around the SS Nord, which in 1915 sank 40 metres deep. 

Baird Bay, South Australia

Swim, snorkel or dive with playful sea-lions and bottlenosed dolphins in tranquil Baird Bay on the Eyre Peninsula. This fishing village has become famous for the colony of endangered sea-lions that live in a sheltered lagoon offshore.  Watch parents and pups somersault through the clear water, just a whisker away. Stare into their soulful, brown eyes and let them nudge you and invite you to play.  Dive in deeper water with pods of fun-loving, but more elusive dolphins. In nearby Port Lincoln, you can swim with cuttlefish and tuna and even cage dive with great white sharks.

Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory

Dive World War II wrecks and a coastal reef teeming with fish in balmy Darwin Harbour. Approximately every second week, the tidal currents let you discover these underwater secrets.  Swim through moss-covered hulks of ships, sunk in 1942 air raids, and now home to coral trout, wobbegong sharks, jewfish and barracuda. See gorgonians, soft coral trees, harp corals, vase sponges and ascidians in the shallow reefs lining either side of the harbour.  Experience one of Darwin’s famous flamingo sunsets before a night dive in the warm, glass-smooth seas. You’ll spot slate pencil urchins and the occasional octopus in the naturally illuminated water. 

Clovelly and Gordons Bay, New South Wales

Meet a rainbow community of fish in the picturesque, rocky channels of Clovelly and neighbouring Gordons Bay. Here, just eight kilometres from Sydney’s CBD, blue groper, bream, snapper, kingfish, eastern blue devifish, giant cuttlefish and flathead crowd the ocean. Go night-diving in sheltered Clovelly Pool or in the bigger waves off Sharks Point, at Clovelly’s northern end. Wind around Gordons Bay on the 500 metre Underwater Nature Trail, past rocky reefs, sandflats and kelp forests. Amongst the usual marine suspects, you’ll find weedfish, seadragons, wobbegongs and Port Jackson sharks, as well as sea stars, slugs and urchins.