Great Barrier Reef Far Northern Reefs Lizard Island Ribbon and Osprey Reef
Yonge Reef Port Douglas Cairns Holmes Reef Townsville Flinders Reef
Outer Coral Sea Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs Southern Coral Sea
Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Bundaberg Sunshine Coast
Moreton Bay Gold Coast
The Keppel Group of continental islands has excellent diving with fringing coral reefs extremely rich in invertebrates, reef fish and sea snakes.
This may appear to surprise some, since the islands are located well inside the Great Barrier Reef. Around each island are rocky reefs covered in hard and soft corals, with amazing fields of sea fans and black corals.
While the visibility might not always as good as the Great Barrier Reef, the great number and huge variety of marine creatures present make the Keppel Group an excellent dive destination.
In some areas the stony corals growing on top of the rocky reefs break the surface. Wherever this occurs there are liable to be more nudibranchs. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Continental Island Diving
The Keppel Islands, located only 10 km off the coast of Yeppoon, are a popular holiday destination for fishermen, sailors and divers. The largest island, Great Keppel, is the most developed. Divers can stay at Resorts on the mainland where there is a good range of accommodation and a number of dive shops and charter boats, they are in the best position to organise trips to the dozens of dive sites found in the area.
Hidden away in caves and overhangs during the day, the Bigscale Soldierfish Mypristis berndti waits till dusk when it ventures out in search of prey in the form of nocturnal crustaceans. (photo: Neville Coleman)
The Keppel Group are a group of continental islands which offer excellent diving, which may surprise some, since the islands are located well inside the Great Barrier Reef, and the adjacent coastline is lined with mangroves. Around each island are rocky reefs covered in hard and soft corals, which support a fascinating mixture of invertebrates, reef fish and sea snakes. While the visibility might not be as good as the Great Barrier Reef, the great number, and huge variety of marine creatures present make the Keppel Group an excellent dive destination. I have been diving there since 1969.
Man and Wife Rocks
Wobbegongs, turtles, batfish, reef sharks, angelfish, stingrays, trevally, parrotfish and sea snakes are regularly sighted on the reef around Man and Wife Rocks. The best diving is from 15, 20 m where there is good coverage of hard corals, gorgonians, sponges and soft corals.
Large Malabar Rock Cods Epinephelus malabaricus are often seen as residents around some pontoons and dive sites. These fish are not shy and allow divers and photographers to get quite close. They occur from the Red Sea to Tonga and grow to around 230 cm. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Miall Island
An interesting sloping reef wall, which drops to 15 m, is located on the northern side of Miall Island. This reef has plenty of small reef fish and enough invertebrates to keep a macro photographer busy. Look out for the flatworms, nudibranchs and fan worms. Groves of sea whips live on the deep, sand fringe where the current is strongest.
Middle Island
Similar to most of the continental islands in the Keppel Group, Middle Island has good fringing reef right around its shores. Around the Underwater Observatory, you will find large numbers of fish in only 6 m of water. Commonly seen are estuary gropers, batfish, sweetlips, trevally, rabbitfish, moray eels and lionfish. You can get quite close to tame cod here, while the Barrier Reef chromis, common throughout the Keppels, are plentiful.
Schools of Hussars Lutjanus adetii are common across the southern areas of the Great Barrier Reef. This species is endemic to the South pacific Ocean. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Great Keppel Island
A number of excellent sites around Great Keppel Island can be dived and snorkelled from the beach or by boat. Parkers Bommies, one of the best sites in the area, has coral heads covered with gorgonians, soft corals and sea whips, located in 18 m of water at the southern end of the island. An excellent range of marine life is attracted to the bommies, which team with fish life.
The Margined Coralfish Chelmon marginatus is generally only seen around inshore reefs and Continental islands. This species is endemic to northern Australia. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Halfway Island
Halfway Island has many sheltered coral gardens found in 5-10 m of water. The coral growth here is exceptionally good and divers will see many reef fish, sea snakes and moray eels on its fringing reef.
The Keppel Islands area is one of the best places to find and photograph multiple species of egg and spindle cowries. Feeding on its preferred food source the Leather corals Sarcophyton spp., a large Egg Cowry Ovula ovum is quite spectacular with its pure white shell and noxious black animal and mantle. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Humpy Island
On the eastern side of Humpy Island is a dive site called Cathedral Rock. Although it has only fair fish life and coral growths, the many caves, ledges and gutters make for interesting diving in only 12 m of water.
All along the inshore reefs of the Continental Islands there are large colonies of Leather Corals Sarcophyton spp. At some sites they are the most dominant sessile animals. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Barren Island
Surrounded by pretty coral gardens, Barren Island is a great place to see plate, brain, staghorn and other hard and soft corals. The sheltered southern side is the best place for inexperienced divers and is home to interesting marine life in a diverse range of habitats. Usually found at depths to 15 m, are lionfish, coral trout, sea snakes, stingrays, sweetlips, angelfish, butterflyfish, gobies, wrasse, anemonefish, scorpionfish, moray eels and leatherjackets. The invertebrate life is exceptionally diverse. Egg cowries, clams, shrimp, hermit crabs, coral crabs, sea stars, feather stars, brittle stars, flatworms and a variety of nudibranchs are all common.
The Keppel Islands are well known for their abundance in nudibranchs and well over a hundred species have been recorded around the islands. I found my very first Red- girdled Glossodoris Glossodoris rubroannulata at Humpy Island while camping there in 1969. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Child Island
Located between Child and Barren Islands is a deep channel to 30 m known as The Gulch. Its walls are lined with small colourful invertebrates including ascidians, sponges, sea fans and forests of sea whips. Current and surge are common in the channel, but the movement of water attracts masses of fish. On a good dive, gropers, barracuda, trevally, stingrays, wobbegongs, cobia and surgeonfish can be seen.
Although Gorgonian Sea Whips Junceela sp. are found along the entire Great Barrier Reef, they tend to be more prolific around the inshore islands and reefs. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Egg Rock
Egg Rock is a tiny monolith surrounded by an excellent fringing reef. A good range of small tropical fish and invertebrates are found in less than 15 m of water, as well as moray eels, gropers, sea snakes, anemones, clams, trevally, turtles and wobbegongs.
Balloon Corallimorphs Amplexidiscus fenestrafer can be seen at a number of dive sites around the Keppel Islands, where they appear as a single individual, or as a group. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Great Barrier Reef Far Northern Reefs Lizard Island Ribbon and Osprey Reef
Yonge Reef Port Douglas Cairns Holmes Reef Townsville Flinders Reef
Outer Coral Sea Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs Southern Coral Sea
Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Bundaberg Sunshine Coast
Moreton Bay Gold Coast
Neville Coleman's diving expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys and marine life identification courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in living taxonomy and marine life identification extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Mangroves, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks, Marine Reptiles, and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around the Keppel Islands.
( copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)