Diving and Snorkelling

The Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of Queensland, is one of the best diving and snorkelling areas in the world. Its underwater wonders have to be seen to be believed.

The world’s largest World Heritage area, the reef stretches 2,000 kilometres along the coast of Queensland and covers an area the size of Italy.

Dotted with reefs, cays and islands, its turquoise waters harbour a profusion of marine life, from delicate starfish and anemones to multicoloured fish, harmless reef sharks and turtles.

Snorkelling and dive tours leave from Cairns, Townsville, the Whitsundays and Port Douglas. A five-day learn to dive course will cost between $180-$500.

Ningaloo Reef, in Western Australia, is just as spectacular as the Great Barrier Reef but much less well known.

The reef shadows the coast of the North West Cape, around 1,200 kilometres north of Perth. Extending for 250 kilometres, Ningaloo is home to hundreds of species of fish and coral as well as dolphins, humpback whales and whale sharks, the world’s largest fish.

Whale sharks congregate in large numbers off Ningaloo from late March to June, when the plankton-rich waters draw them close to shore. Snorkelling alongside one of these ocean giants is an unforgettable experience and can be arranged through diving centres located in the townships of Exmouth and Coral Bay.

Further south, you can interact with wild dolphins at Monkey Mia, on the shores of beautiful Shark Bay. Local dolphins have been coming right up to the beach to be fed by rangers since the 1960s.

Elsewhere, dolphins can also be regularly seen at Port Stephens and Jervis Bay in New South Wales, Bunbury and Esperance in Western Australia and Sorrento and Gippsland in Victoria.

Like Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef, Lord Howe Island, which lies 700 kilometres north-east of Sydney, is World Heritage-listed.Lord Howe Island - The remains of a seven-million year old volcano, the island is just 11 kilometres long and two kilometres wide, a crescent-shaped outdoor adventure playground offering excellent diving and snorkelling on the world’s southern-most coral reef. Qantas flies to Lord Howe Island from Sydney and Brisbane.

New South Wales has some great diving and snorkelling spots, from Ulladulla and Jervis Bay, south of Sydney, to Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay.

Further south, the waters around Tasmania, Victoria and South Australia become chillier but offer no less impressive underwater sights, whether it’s diving on ship wrecks or snorkelling with dolphins and sea lions.

For the more experienced, there’s cave diving in the area around Port MacDonnell in South Australia, while Rottnest Island and Broome in Western Australia offer superb snorkelling

Port Douglas (QLD): Among the fabulous dive sites found off Port Douglas, north of Cairns, are Split-Bommie, with its delicate fan corals and schools of fusiliers; Barracuda Pass, with its coral gardens and giant clams; and the swim-through coral spires of the Cathedrals. Snorkelers can glide over coral and reef fish life of Agincourt Reef.

Lizard Island (QLD): Snorkel over 150-year-old giant clams — as well as gorgeous underwater coral — in the Clam Garden, off this exclusive resort island northeast of Cairns. Nearby is the famous Cod Hole, where divers can hand-feed giant potato cod.

Cairns (QLD): Moore, Norman, Hardy, Saxon, and Arlington reefs and Michaelmas and Upolu cays — all about 90 minutes off Cairns — offer great snorkeling and endless dive sites. Explore on a day trip from Cairns or join a live-aboard adventure.

Coral Sea (QLD): In this sea east of the Great Barrier Reef off north Queensland, you’ll see sharks feeding at Predator’s Playground; 1,000m (3,280 ft.) drop-offs in the Abyss; reefs covering hundreds of square miles; and tropical species not found on the Great Barrier Reef. This is not a day-trip destination; many dive operators run multiday trips on live-aboard vessels. Visibility is excellent — up to 100m (328 ft.).

Yongala wreck (QLD): Sunk by a cyclone in 1911, the 120m (394 ft.) SS Yongala lies in the Coral Sea off Townsville. Schools of trevally, kingfish, barracuda, and batfish surround the wreckage; giant Queensland grouper live under the bow, lionfish hide under the stern, turtles graze on the hull, and hard and soft corals make their home on it. It’s too far for a day trip; live-aboard trips run from Townsville and Cairns.

The Whitsunday Islands (QLD): As well as Blue Pearl Bay, these 74 breathtaking islands offer countless dive sites both among the islands themselves and on the Outer Great Barrier Reef 90 minutes away. Bait Reef on the Outer Reef is popular for its cascading drop-offs. Snorkelers can explore not just the Outer Reef, but also patch reefs among the islands and rarely visited fringing reefs around many island shores.

Heron Island (QLD): Easily the number-one snorkel and dive site in Australia. If you stayed in the water for a week, you couldn’t snorkel all the acres of coral stretching from shore. Take your pick of 22 dive sites: the Coral Cascades, with football trout and anemones; the Blue Pools, favored by octopus, turtles, and sharks; and Heron Bommie, with its rays, eels, and Spanish dancers; and more. Absolute magic.

Lady Elliot Island (QLD): Gorgeous coral lagoons, perfect for snorkeling, line this coral cay island off the town of Bundaberg. Boats take you farther out to snorkel above manta rays, plate coral, and big fish. Divers can swim through the blow hole, 16m (52 ft.) down, and see Gorgonian fans, soft and hard corals, sharks, barracudas, and loads of reef fish.

Rottnest Island (WA): Just 19km (12 miles) off Perth, this former prison island has excellent snorkeling and more than 100 dive sites. Wrecks, limestone overhangs, and myriad fish will keep divers entertained. There are no cars, so snorkelers should rent a bike and snorkel gear, buy a visitor center map of suggested snorkel trails, and head off to find their own private coral garden. The sunken grotto of Fishhook Bay is great for fish life.

Ningaloo Reef (WA): A well-kept secret is how we’d describe Australia’s second great barrier reef, stretching 260km (161 miles) along the Northwest Cape halfway up Western Australia. Coral starts right on shore, not 90 minutes out to sea as at the Great Barrier Reef. You can snorkel or dive with manta rays, and dive to see sharks, angelfish, turtles, eels, grouper, potato cod, and much more. Snorkel with whale sharks up to 18m (59 ft.) long from March to early June.