With incredible underwater worlds made accessible by numerous long-established and highly reputable dive companies, Australia is one of the best places in the world to dive.
Here are our picks for the five most colorful and exhilarating scuba spots Down Under.
Cod Hole, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
- Boats from: Cairns and Port Douglas
- Area lowdown: At 55 miles in length, Ribbon Reef number 10 is one of the longest reef chains of the Great Barrier Reef
- Dive type: Reef
- Sights: Potato rock cod, white tip reef sharks, giant clams, moray eels
- Best months: Year round
Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia
- Boats from: Exmouth
- Area lowdown: Of all the world’s reefs located close to a continental land mass, this is the largest (185 miles long)
- Dive type: Reef
- Sights: Whale Sharks, humpback whales, manta rays, loggerhead and hawksbill turtles and more than 250 coral species
- Best months: March through June is the best time to spot whale sharks
Lonsdale Wall, Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park, Victoria
- Boats from: Queenscliff
- Area lowdown: Half a mile of ledges ranging from 50 to 300 feet in depth
- Dive type: Wall, cave and reef
- Sights: Remarkably colorful schools of fish
- Best months: January through March
SS Yongala, Queensland
- Boats from: Alva Beach
- Area lowdown: The remains of a passenger ship sunk by a cyclone in 1911 teems with marine life (strong currents make this suitable for advanced divers only)
- Dive type: Wreck
- Sights: Bright corals, fish, sharks, turtles, eels, potato cod
- Best months: Winter promises better visibility and humpback whale sightings, while more brightly colored schools of fish are seen in summer
Fish Rock Cave, South West Rocks, New South Wales
- Boats from: Smoky Cape
- Area lowdown: 410 foot-long cave; entered at a depth of 80 feet and exited at a shallower, naturally-lit cavern (at 40-foot) that is home to critically endangered grey nurse sharks
- Dive type: Ocean cave
- Sights: Grey nurse sharks, black cod, large wobbegong sharks, black rays
- Best months: Year round
Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…
(Main image: TANAKA Juuyoh (田中十洋))
