The Coral Sea Islands Territory includes a group of small uninhabited tropical islands and reefs in the Coral Sea, northeast of Queensland, Australia. The territory extends east and south from the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, and includes Heralds Beacon Island, Osprey Reef, the Willis Group, and fifteen other reef/island groups. As with most of the dive sites in and around the Great Barrier Reef, one day trips are something only to be considered for the sites closest to the mainland. Instead we suggest liveaboard cruises that will allow you to reach and enjoy the more distant places just like the ones found in the North Coral Sea.
If you fancy wall diving, then The Abyss is as good as it gets. As soon as you stare down this 1 km (0.6 miles) wall you will come to realise why the site has the name it has. Covered with sponges, sea whips, gorgonians and other various hard and soft corals, this site is home to a diverse marine life with nooks and crannies, hawksfish, wrasse, blennies, anemonefish, angelfish, grey reef sharks, coral trout, trevallies, jobfish, rainbow runners and surgeonfish. The Abyss usually has a current, making it a perfect setting for a drift dive.
About two hours north of Flinders Reef lies Dart Reef a coral pinnacle of 3 km (2 miles) across. Rarely ever breaking the surface this is a spot that can only be dived in calm conditions. Although several first class dive sites have been discovered at Dart Reef it is the southern wall that draws the most attention with caves and crevasses waiting to be explored. Do not forget to bring a torch as without this device you would miss the opportunity for a meeting with pufferfish, squirrelfish, lionfish, gropers or the odd painted cray. Note that there are a lot more caves than you will be able to explore. Not just simply because of the fact that some might be too small to enter but because some entrances are heavily shielded by gorgonians. Similar to other dive sites Dart Reef is blessed with an extensive coral growth were gorgonians, hydroid corals, sponges and hard as well as soft corals alternating. Even if this site is blessed with a profuse life of smaller creatures, they are overshadowed by the likes of the Red Bass, sweetlips, potato cod, maori wrasse, trevally, barracuda and the grey reef shark.
If you haven’t had enough already to fulfil your craving for wall diving, The China Wall in the south of the Coral Sea region will definitively have something for your delight. While cruising along the sheer wall you will see nothing but black water below you. The wall itself is covered with gorgonians, soft corals, sponges, feather stars sea whips and numerous hard corals. Look out as tunas, mackerels, trevallies and rainbow runners are flying past you. Swimming into the shallow lagoon will give you the opportunity to gaze at parrotfish, pufferfish, maori wrasse, triggerfish, gobies, coral trout, blennies and various molluscs and sea stars swimming around the small coral heads dotted around the sandy bottom.
Although the separate reefs around Willis Islets and Diane Bank are quite far away from the mainland – in fact it is one of the furthest away – it is worth a visit as the marine life here has a reputation for being extremely photogenic. Healthy coral growth – from hard corals in the shallows to the more colourful soft corals – is the perfect background for a real parade as lionfish, gobies, blennies, moray eels, filefish, flutemouths, butterflyfish, triggerfish, stingrays, turtles, tawny nurse sharks, white-tip sharks, gropers, eagle rays and many more try to offer you the best picture opportunity. Be careful of the grey reef shark as this individual is very territorial. If he starts approaching with slow S-movements it is the perfect time for you to back of as quite a few divers have been attacked by these creatures in the past.
Watanabe Bommie no only stands for a giant bommie south of Dart Reef but also for one of the most action-packed dive sites in the Coral Sea. Although the bommies is coated with a splendid coral growth it is the profuse marine life found here that usually captures most of the divers. Next to schools of barracudas, big-eye trevallies, rainbow runners, dog-toothed tuna, oceanic coral trout, clouds of fusiliers and surgeonfish, the divers can watch grey reef sharks chasing the fish. Did you ever wonder what a piece of clothing must feel like when it’s in the washing machine? Position yourself in a whirlpool of circling barracudas to find out.
Located in the south of the Coral Sea is Abington Reef a site for unpredictable and exciting wall diving. This is a site where missing a torch would be a sad thing as you would miss most of the caves and swim-throughs cut into the wall. If you have a torch you will be able to observe tawny nurse sharks, painted crays, squirrelfish, tasselled wobbegongs, gropers and the odd turtle. While the cave walls are covered with pink lace corals, hydroid corals, tubastrea coral or sponges, small invertebrates such as crabs, flatworms, molluscs, brittle stars, banded coral shrimps or nudibranchs find shelter inside these caves.
North Horne, being a part of the Ospey Reef, is not only one of the northernmost sites in the Coral Sea but also the most famous site in this region. world-renowned for being a true sharks-mecca this is exactly what you will be going to get. On arrival at the site you will be greeted by a few resident white-tip sharks and a few grey reef sharks only to be joined by silvertip sharks and occasionally by a few oceanic white-tip sharks, hammerheads and tiger sharks. An experience, that will almost make you forget to enjoy the rest of the beauty that is North Horne. Extensive coral growth, both hard and soft corals, in combination with pelagic fish, gropers, mantas and eagle rays will make for a dive that you will not forget easily, if at all! If you do have the possibility to visit this site in winter and spring, make sure to do so as the population of hammerheads seen here is just unbelievable. The general way to see these creatures is by swimming off the wall and if you are lucky you will set your eyes on hundreds of hammerheads swimming in formation.