To experience the Great Barrier Reef’s very best dive sites, bypass the day boats, jump on a liveaboard and head north to the Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea. Out on the edge of the continental shelf, you’ll find vibrant and dramatic reef systems, teeming with reef fish and surrounded by plenty of pelagic action. Here are five of the best dive sites in the Coral Sea and Ribbon Reefs.
1. North Horn, Osprey Reef.
Known mainly as a shark feeding dive, the site’s location ensures plenty of pelagic action. Located at the northern-most tip of Osprey Reef, food-rich currents from the surrounding deep water attract large pelagics such as grey reef sharks, white tip and silver tip sharks, hammerheads, and the occasional thresher shark.
The shark spectacular itself happens at the tip of the reef, with divers seated around natural coral amphitheatre while the sharks are lured in for a thrill (and photo opportunity) with a bucket of chum.
Once the sharks have had their feed, drift along the Western Wall, which is festooned with vibrant soft corals and forests of gorgonian fans while clouds of purple anthias add to the whole rainbow of colours.
2. Soft Coral Wall, Osprey Reef
This drift dive runs along the outer edge of Osprey Reef, dropping down to unimaginable depths. After dropping in at around 30m, drift past huge gorgonian fans and soft corals of all sorts, and in all sorts of candy colours – yellow, pink, orange, blue, red… populated by clouds of reef fish.
Be sure to look out into the blue for sailfish, hammerheads, dogtooth tuna, eagle rays and big schools of big eye Jacks, barracuda and herds of bumphead parrot fish. The drift ends with a finale of sharks at North Horn, where even the odd whale shark has been sighted.
3. Crystal Plateau, Bougainville Reef
Bougainville Reef is one of the more remote reef systems in the Coral Sea. The reef here is one of the healthiest in the Coral Sea, and even in the shallows you can expect to see large schools of drummer, trevally, barracuda and bumphead parrotfish.
There is a fantastic drift dive here between the western reef wall and a row of five or six pinnacles where you’ll drift by large schools of fish before reaching the end of the slipstream to be greeted by the friendliest potato cod.
4. Two Towers, Ribbon Reef 10
Two Towers is located on the northern tip of the Ribbon Reefs, and there are two big reasons to love it. Firstly, this reef is a poster child for coral resilience, showing remarkable recovery from damage from two cyclones in 2013 and 2014.
In just seven years, the coral cover on the shallower parts of this once dead reef is dense and diverse. There is a high density of fast-growing branching and plating corals, bringing with them fish species such fusiliers, chromis, damsels, blue line snapper, turtles, and black anemone fish.
Secondly, the reef’s unique topography forms a perfect nursery (in winter months) for brooding dwarf minke whales. Between this long section of reef and the mainland, there are no large reefs or bommies, just a wide-open paddock with a sandy sea floor, protected from the open ocean by Ribbon Reef 10.
5. Cod Hole, Ribbon Reef 10
Located on the northern stretch of the Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole is possibly the Great Barrier Reef’s bestknown dive site. It’s home to a group of very friendly humansize potato cod, reaching up to 100 kilograms, that have become accustomed to divers over the past 30 years.
The giant fish approach quite closely and are sometimes hand fed by a couple of licensed liveaboard operators.
Cod Hole also delivers an abundance of marine life including giant Flowery Cod, Humphead Wrasse, White-Tipped Reef Sharks, several varieties of sweetlips and anemonefish, red bass, green turtles, titan triggerfish and puffer fish.
Talk to Diveplanit Travel’s experts for more information about diving the Great Barrier Reef. Diveplanit.com
Email:enquire@diveplanit.com
The Travel Expert
Each month dive travel expert Deborah Dickson-Smith of Diveplanit Travel offers hints, tips and advice to help you plan your next trip!
FAQ
What are the Ribbon Reefs?
The Ribbon Reefs are a series of coral reefs on the northern Great Barrier Reef, known for healthy corals, unique marine life, and encounters with minke whales.
Where is Osprey Reef located?
Osprey Reef lies in the Coral Sea, off the edge of the continental shelf, and is famous for shark dives and colourful soft corals.
What is the Cod Hole dive site?
Cod Hole on Ribbon Reef 10 is one of the most iconic sites in Australia, home to giant friendly potato cod and abundant reef life.
Do you need a liveaboard to dive these sites?
Yes. The Coral Sea and northern Ribbon Reefs are too far for day boats and are best accessed on liveaboard trips from Cairns.
This article was originally published in Scuba Diver NA #16
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