Great Barrier Reef Far Northern Reefs Lizard Island Ribbon and Osprey Reef
Yonge Reef Port Douglas Cairns Holmes Reef Townsville Flinders Reef
Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs Southern Coral Sea
Keppel Islands Heron Island Lady Elliot Island Bundaberg Sunshine Coast
Moreton Bay Gold Coast
The Outer Coral Sea Reefs must be seen to be believed. The water is so clear you can almost breathe it and the diving is awesome.
Pinnacles dot the lagoons of many reefs in the Coral Sea. These towers of coral rise from the depth to sometimes break the surface, but the best ones lie hidden under the waves and are harder to find.
Almost all are covered in fantastic coral growths, long sea whips, intricate gorgonians and massive soft coral 'trees', some well over 2 m long. Invertebrates abound on these pinnacles, but are sometimes overlooked in the general profusion of marine life. Clams, nudibranchs, flatworms, hermit crabs, coral crabs, shrimps and echinoderms are everywhere. Especially striking are the multicoloured feather stars which crowd together on the gorgonians.
Before I went on trips out into the Coral Sea I thought I had seen a few things underwater, and also thought I knew a thing or two about corals. However, I was not prepared for the enormous extent that corals could grow in the clear waters of the Outer Coral Sea. This awesome expanse of coral was at 20 metres on a wall that went down forever. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
Exploring the Heart of the Coral Sea
Exploratory trips are a real diving adventure. Although some of the Coral Sea reefs have been regularly dived for over 10 years, most are still largely unexplored and offer extraordinary diving opportunities.
Over a dozen reef systems are found in the Coral Sea. Some are only 1 km in diameter, while others are about 100 km in length. The closest of these reefs are 12 hours from the mainland by boat, while the furthest are another 12 hours away.
The reefs grow up so high that at low water they are exposed to air and can be reef walked. However, one needs to great care negotiating a way through the maze of small coral colonies because the reef top is often not as solid as it looks. (photo: Neville Coleman)
A number of charter boats run regular trips to Coral Sea reefs such as Holmes, Osprey and Flinders. They also run charters to other inner Coral Sea reefs such as Flora Reef, Herald Cays, Abington Reef, Malay Reef, Herald Surprise and Dart Reef. Each charter boat crew has its own special dive sites, which they don't like to reveal, mainly to protect the sites from fishermen who also operate in the area.
The outer reefs, including Moore Reefs, Willis Islets, Diane Banks, Chilcott Islet, Magdeliance Cays, Lihou Reefs, Tregrosse Reefs and Diamond Islets also have a number of popular spots, but remain essentially pristine and unexplored.
Racoon Butterflyfish Chaetodon lunula are generally seen around the sides of bommies in deeper rather than out in the lagoon shallows. This species is widespread in its distribution and found throughout the entire Indo - Pacific region. (photo: Neville Coleman)
All offer basically the same type of diving: action-packed pinnacles and exciting sheer coral walls so rather than relate similar types of dives on different reefs, the two basic dive types will be described.
Pinnacle Diving
Pinnacles dot the lagoons of many reefs in the Coral Sea. These towers of coral rise from the depth to sometimes break the surface, but the best ones lie hidden under the waves and are harder to find. Almost all are covered in fantastic coral growths, long sea whips, intricate gorgonians and massive soft coral 'trees', some well over 2 m long. Invertebrates abound on these pinnacles, but are sometimes overlooked in the general profusion of marine life. Clams, nudibranchs, flatworms, hermit crabs, coral crabs, shrimps and echinoderms are everywhere. Especially striking are the multicoloured feather stars which crowd together on the gorgonians.
Loch's Chromodoris Chromodoris lochi is a common Indo - Pacific species that occurs from South Africa to Tonga. It generally inhabits the walls of drop offs and is also beneath ledges and caves from low tide down to 25 metres. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Among the hard corals on top of the pinnacles is the best place to see the spectacular display of small, multicoloured reef fish. Common varieties include lionfish, rock cod, fairy basslets, filefish, boxfish, blennies, damsels, squirrelfish, butterflyfish, wrasse and anemonefish. Other marine animals found around the pinnacles include turtles, stingrays, tawny nurse sharks, rock lobster, octopi, squid, tasselled wobbegongs, moray eels and eagle rays, and on the sand, occasional colonies of garden eels.
The reefs are honeycombed with caves and labarinths and swim throughs. It is always a good idea to carry an underwater torch, especially if one is searching for nudibranchs. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Pelagic fish gather around the pinnacles to feed. Some sites are circles by schools of trevally and barracuda, while mackerel, tuna and bonito cut through the swirling mass. Reef sharks are particularly common in the Coral Sea, and they seem to be bolder here than on the inner reefs. Whitetip and grey reef sharks will swim right up beside divers.
Clark's Anemonefish Amphiprion clarkii is one of the most regularly seen anemonefish. This sub - adult was found above its host, Haddon's Sea Anemone Stichodactyla haddoni. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Wall Diving
The best wall dives in the world are found in the Coral Sea. Most walls drop from the surface to a depth of more than 1 km, and all that can be seen is blackness below when swimming along them. The reefs are constantly washed by currents which provide food and oxygen for the prolific variety of invertebrates that grow along the wall. Black coral trees, sponges, sea whips, gorgonians, hydroid corals and large soft coral trees all make for wonderful photo subjects.
There is no doubt about it, the Giant Maori Wrasse Cheilinus undulatus is a magnificent fish and inspires every underwater photographer to shoot off a dozen or so shots every time they are around. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Ledges and caves riddle these walls and provide shelter for reef fish and a host of invertebrates. While not always seen in large numbers, pelagic fish usually sweep along the wall and will sometimes zoom in to feed on smaller fish. On almost every wall divers will encounter whitetip and grey reef sharks and the larger silvertip sharks. Hammerhead, tiger and thresher sharks, bottlenose dolphins, manta rays, minke whales and even marlin have been seen swimming near the walls.
Well known across the Asia/ Indo - Pacific area, the Much Desired Flabellina Flabellina exoptata generally occurs in shallow water where it can be seen feeding on hydroids Eudendrium sp. (photo: Neville Coleman)
Most of these reefs have shallow coral gardens and sheltered lagoons that provide safe overnight anchorages. Coral cays, definitely worth a side visit, are found on a number of the reefs. However, most are home to nesting sea birds at certain times of the year, so do not walk through a nesting site where eggs and young are present.
Awe inspiring in their size and grace as they trawl through the water, mouths agape feeding on plankton, Manta Rays Manta birostris are found all along the Great Barrier Reef and throughout the waters of the Coral Sea.
When they are not feeding, they are visiting cleaner fish stations. Many of their regular cleaning stations are well known to charter boat operators. (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
Whitsunday Islands Swain Reefs Southern Coral Sea
Keppel Islands 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 Outer Coral Sea Reefs.
(copyright Neville Coleman/Nigel Marsh)
