Dr Terry Cummins ventures to very far north Queensland to explore the remote reefs and islands, including the famed Raine Island, home to one of the largest green turtle nesting sites in the world.
Liveaboard Diving in Far North Queensland
The spectacular reefs in the very far north of Queensland, Australia, are only accessible by quality liveaboards. Spoilsport and Spirit of Freedom are two such vessels. They travel the 790km north from their home ports in Cairns during November, and then again in April, to run exploratory expeditions from Horn Island at the very tip of Australia. This is when conditions are most favourable to dive the virtually untouched wilderness found at Ashmore, Boot and Great Detached Reefs, including the famous Raine Island.
Exploring the Untouched Reefs of Ashmore
Although remote, access from Cairns to Horn is effortless with Qantas. You can also pre-book extra luggage to accommodate your dive and camera gear. On boarding Spoilsport in the late afternoon and after enjoying a fantastic dinner, we cruised 200km east to Ashmore Reef. There we experienced perfect diving conditions that lasted throughout our entire adventure. Visibility ranged from 20 to 40 metres and the water temperature was 28 degrees C with only slight currents. Solo diving on nitrox 32, our bottom times ranged from 35 to 70 minutes in depths down to 34m.
Our first two dives were at Rainbow Road, a site discovered on a previous exploratory trip. Here the coral formations were sensational right up into the shallows, where we did our safety stop. Our third dive was at Twin Peaks, also discovered on a previous expedition. These were two adjoining pinnacles coming up from 40m to within 3m of the surface. We dropped in on a couple of large silvertip sharks and like most of our dives, we also encountered anthias, butterflyfish, fusiliers, chromis, damsels, Nemos, lionfish, puffers, coral trout, several species of tang, angelfish, boxfish, ornate pipefish, snapper and stingrays. Out in the deep, reef sharks, schools of humphead parrotfish, mackle, trevally and dogtooth tuna passed by. On one of the large orange gorgonian fans we found a pygmy seahorse while the whip corals had their resident gobies.
On these exploratory dives we did not expect to have more than four dives a day as it takes time to locate new, suitable safe sites and anchor-up.
There are no permanent moorings. Nevertheless, we had at least three dives each day. On our second day our dives were on previously unknown sites. We named Ashmore 1, Horny Cow, and Top Notch. At Ashmore 1, as at Twin Peaks, we dropped in on a pair of silvertips and were again greeted by a large variety of reef fish. On every dive we found active cleaner stations and marvelled at just how close we could approach the reef inhabitants. Apart from an inquisitive olive sea snake, at Horny Cow we found a huge colony of Nemos who were obviously rather relaxed at our presence. Perhaps we were the first humans they had seen! Even the resting whitetips would let us approach to within a metre before slowly departing.
The closely packed corals on the summit of Top Notch were amazingly healthy and included a colony of corallimorphs. Schools of reef fish were everywhere and as we descended the scree slope, we found angelfish, soldierfish, dottybacks, gobies, blennies, parrotfish, bream, pipefish, goatfish, rock movers, sea cucumbers, razor clams and several species of nudibranchs. Our third day saw us at Better This Way, Coral Meadows and Size Matters. These sites were typified by stunning coral formations, fish species too numerous to mention and massive gorgonian fans along the walls.
Drift Diving Boot Reef and the Continental Shelf
For our fourth day we moved to Boot Reef and a dive site called Silver Tip, where we had two exhilarating drift dives along the edge of the Continental Shelf.
As the name implies, we sited several large silvertips along with whitetips but what was super impressive was the size of the giant gorgonian fans, some two metres across. Amongst the diversity of fish life were clown triggerfish, and out in the deep some mackerel, big eye trevally, dogtooth tuna and barracuda. Out of the blue came a giant Queensland grouper the size of a small car.
Our third and fourth dives of the day were at Cassowary Head, named because of the distinctive shape of the reef we could identify from drones. There we found a variety of soft corals, gorgonians and large red barrel sponges. The colours were breathtaking and the associated fish life was extraordinary. On the safety stop in the shallows, small schools of various fish species darted in and out of the table and staghorn corals. Back onboard Spoilsport and under a spectacular sunset, we observed a pod of extremely rare Omura whales. For day five we travelled south to Great Detached Reef and Raine Island, a partly vegetated 32 hectares coral cay that lies on the edge of the Continental Shelf, approximately 620km north-northwest of Cairns. Raine hosts the world’s largest population of nesting green turtles.
Raine Island: The World’s Largest Green Turtle Nesting Population
As a Conservation National Park, the island is protected from public access, but the fringing reef can be dived, and we had come to see at least some of the 64,000 female turtles during their egg-laying season. We had ‘open-decks’ and squeezed in five dives – three at a site just off Raine, and two at a new site we named Cup Cake. All five were excellent dives with the coral formations in superb condition. We encountered masses of fish species, sharks and, of course, lots of green turtles. We were also lucky enough to capture a few shots of a pod of inquisitive dolphins.
At Cup Cake we encountered similar conditions to Raine but were also lucky to find a resting epaulette shark, an octopus, schools of batfish, trumpetfish, sweetlips and longnose hawkfish among the giant gorgonian fans that together with the soft corals, dominated the wall dropping to the abyss. The marine life was so diversified we decided to do a twilight/night dive and were delighted to find blue spotted rays, painted crayfish, several species of shells, nudibranchs and numerous types of starfish.
After dinner we travelled to Great Detached Reef and a site called Oh My Bommie. This was possibly one of the top ten dives we have ever had anywhere on the planet. Rising out of 40m, we found stunning coral formations on two main pinnacles, one coming to within 20m and the other 15m of the surface and separated by a narrow channel about four metres wide.
The channel is covered with gorgonian fans, numerous soft corals and several lionfish were on patrol looking for a breakfast of damsels and anthias. The larger pinnacle had a small cave as a home for a friendly juvenile moray eel along with a multitude of colourful reef fish while the tops of both structures hosted huge colonies of Nemos. Swimming around the structure was well worth the effort to see the massive schools of bannerfish and again out in the deep, dogtooth tuna and whitetips.
A Rare Expedition into Australia’s Northern Wilderness
Our last dives of the expedition were at MP4. Here a pinnacle rises out of 40m to within 4m of the surface with smaller coral out-crops scattered around at 25m. We dropped in on top of a resting leopard shark who provided us with great photo opportunities. Again the marine life was diverse and super interesting. The list of species we sighted was endless. However, amongst the giant gorgonian fans and small crevices we again found the brightly coloured longnose hawkfish, while the wall was populated with various sea stars, banded pipefish, lionfish, stonefish, butterflyfish, razor clams and nudibranchs. The massive schools of longfin bannerfish, snapper and cresenttailed bigeye were breathtaking. Returning to Spoilsport underwater at 5m, we found ourselves in a school of large jellyfish. The beautiful pink, white and transparent body structures of these drifting nomads made for spectacular photographs.
So it was now time for the overnight trip back to Horn and our return flight home. We cannot speak more highly of Spoilsport, of its crew, facilities, meals and the wonderful diving they provided. Understandably, we simply must do it all again as we cannot possibly relate all that we saw and even hope to imagine what we probably missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you dive by liveaboard in far north Queensland?
Far north Queensland diving explores remote reefs north of Cairns, accessed via Horn Island, including Ashmore Reef, Boot Reef and Raine Island.
Why is Raine Island famous with divers?
Raine Island hosts the world’s largest green turtle nesting population, with tens of thousands of females arriving each season to lay eggs.
What marine life can be seen on these remote reefs?
Divers can encounter sharks, turtles, reef fish in huge numbers, giant groupers, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs and large pelagics.
When is the best time to dive far north Queensland?
Liveaboard expeditions typically run in November and April, when sea conditions are most favourable for these remote reef systems.
Is this type of diving suitable for experienced divers only?
Yes. Remote locations, deeper profiles and exploratory sites make this best suited to confident, experienced divers.
This article was originally published in Scuba Diver Magazine
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