Cairns Dive Sites

Deep Sea Divers Den Dive Sites

Saxon Reef – Sandra’s
Shallow Reef dive, lots of various types of anemone fish. White tipped reef sharks can be watched sleeping during daytime and schools of yellow fin Barracuda. The rare fire flame shell is also spotted there. Perfect also for snorkeling
Saxon Reef – Twin Peaks
Unusually varied dive site circling two bommies with a narrow swim through. Schools of wild band fusiliers and humbug damsels and lots of different nudibranches!
Saxon Reef – Clipper & Super Cat
From the boat moored close to the reef you can dive along the reef wall and smaller offshore bommies displaying different types of anemone fish. Bottlenose dolphins are spotted occasionally during the colder months as well as the notorious Titan Triggerfish, the largest species of triggerfish.
Saxon Reef – Coral Garden
Diving amongst Garden Eels you can spot beautiful Anthias and Spinecheek Anemone fish. This place is also a popular for snorkeling as you can swim just on top of the coral and watch closely e.g. gobies and lots of smaller soft corals.
Saxon Reef – Reef Magic
Depending on the current, this dive site offers the possibility of a challenging dive around the reef edge to untouched areas displaying humpback snappers, giant trevallies and wild band fusiliers. Schools of Moorish Idols and even paddle tail snappers can be spotted in the shallow areas on the inner side of this reef site.
Norman Reef – Bob’s Bommie
With its beautiful pink soft coral and lots of smaller multi colored table coral amongst an abundance of all other coral types this is the perfect example for Great Barrier Reef Diving.
Norman Reef – Shark Mountain
Very versatile dive for beginners as well as more experienced divers who want to circle the entire shark-shaped Bommie. You can spot a small wreck in a depth of approx. 10m hidden on the northern wall. Extremely large starfish and lots of grey reef sharks.
Norman Reef - Playground
Sheltered by a ledge this is our preferred overnight mooring place. During the night dive you’re able to “hang out” on the mooring lines and watch reef sharks cruising around, our local resident Queensland Grouper and sometimes even Eagle Rays chasing their prey in the beam of the boats bright lights.
Norman Reef – Wild Side Clipper
Nestled on the south side of Norman Reef this dive site provides a terraced area with massive cabbage coral and beautiful staggered table corals. This site is also a popular feeding ground for turtles.
Norman Reef – Wild Side West, Wild Side East
These two neighboring dive sites are separated by a tongue of reef and can easily be combined into one long dive. WSW shows big lunar corals and a variety of anemone fish whereas WSE is a large bowl with rare star sand. During spring season lots of juvenile Harlequin Sweetlips cavort through the stag horn corals.
Norman Reef – Plate Top
This is a real conglomeration for all sort of reef fish: Anthias, Yellowtail Barracudas, Anemone fish, Gobys , Sweet Lips, Trevallies and Coral Trout just to name a few and on low tide they all gather in one spot on the plates northern corner. Amazing!
Norman Reef – Turtle Bay
As the name implies, this is the green sea turtle’s favorite feeding ground. Species up to 1.5 m have been spotted! Plus Anemone Shrimp, Hairy Spider Crabs, Blennies and many more.
Norman Reef – Clipper & Supercat
Two sites next to each other that can easily be dived as one. Both featuring a swim through for the more experienced diver and a shallower canyon easily manageable even for beginners. Parrotfish, angelfish, and surgeonfish – you name it!
Norman Reef - Sandra’s
Various bowls embedded in the reef terraces featuring beautiful coral covered bommies amidst white sand and hundreds of damselfish frolicking around. If you’re lucky you will encounter a big school of humphead parrotfish often seen cruising this area.
Norman Reef – Troppos
This is a true romping place for a multitude of nudibranches and pipefish. Razorfish are spotted digging themselves into the sand and for the more experienced diver you can follow the reef wall around the northern edge to deeper areas. The shallow mooring bay is perfect for exploration by the novice diver as well as snorkellers.
Norman Reef – Caves
Amongst a big variety of anemonefish, blue spotted stingrays, cardinalfish this dive site also offers a little cave for the more experienced diver. You can often find yellow or blue devil fish along the cave’s roof. The resident Giant Maori Wrasse named “Wally” often comes in close to say hello.
Hastings Reef – Sea Star/Tusa Mooring
Located on the northern edge of Hastings Reef both dive sites are quite shallow dives displaying an impressive clam garden and stag horn corals. Great for snorkeling as you can float just on top of the reef watching sweet lips, trumpet fish and impressive parrotfish.
Hastings Reef – Turtle Bommie
A cluster of smaller bommies dropping off real deep to the north offering bat fish, stone fish (if you can spot them), anthias, fusiliers and, of course, turtles! Also lots of smaller table corals, sea fans and whip corals.
Jorgie’s Patches
Situated in the Trinity Opening this dive site can be approached only on very calm weather. But because of this it’s pristine. Lots of finger coral, anemones, scorpion fish, big school of batfish and fusiliers, barracudas and anemone fish.

Pro Dive Cairns Dive Sites

Pellowe reef is a very exciting dive site! A small isolated reef located close to the edge of the continental shelf. For this reason access to the reef is very weather and tidal dependent. The reef drops away very quickly at places to 30 metres and stronger currents can be present as well.

This site offers divers an exciting wall dive and one great swim through. The majority of the dives will be in depths between 5 to 20 metres. Being closer to the shelf large pelagic fish can be sighted along with the more regular sightings of schools of chevron barracuda, numerous sea cucumbers and nudibranchs.

Rating: Novice - Intermediate
Moderate Currents
Visibility - 15 to 20 metres
Depth - 5 to 20 metres

Milln Reef offers a number of exciting dive sites such as Whale Bommie, Petaj Mooring, Swimming Pools I, Swimming Pools IIand the Three Sisters to name a few. Our dive site at Petaj is home to resident turtles and white tip reef sharks. At the Swimming Pools you can expect to see schools of diagonally banded sweetlips and nudibranchs to name a few.

Milln reef offers excellent wall dives and swim throughs and is great for night diving. Some of the walls are full of sleeping parrot fish in their mucus sacks, turtles and barracudas and the occasional bull ray. Whale bommie provides you with a good dive in depths exceeding 20 metres. A great site to dive at night where you can expect to see sleeping turtles, reef crabs, painted lobsters and some great soft corals, gorgonian fans.

Rating: Novice - Intermediate
Mild Currents
Visibility - 15 to 20 metres
Depth - 5 to 30 metres

Thetford Reef is made up of numerous coral bommies where you can experience some very exciting wall dives and many swim throughs.

Cathedral and Blue Lagoonare our two favourites.

This reef is home to many soft and hard corals like staghorn and plate coral and an abundance of marine life. Look for the giant clams, butterfly fish, damsels and angelfish. Access to the reef is very weather and tidal dependent.

Rating: Novice - Intermediate
Moderate Currents
Visibility - 15 to 20 metres
Depth - 5 to 30 metres

Flynn reef is one of our most popular reefs to dive and will offer the novice to the very experienced diver plenty of memorable dives. We have moorings at a number of the well known dive sites at Flynn reef such as Tracy's Bommie, Gordon's Mooring, Tennis Court and the Coral Gardens.

These sites offer you excellent wall dives, swim-throughs, overhangs and night diving. Expect to see an abundance of marine life combined with plenty of hard corals such as staghorn, table, plate and boulder coral heads and many species of soft corals.

Rating: Novice - Intermediate
Mild Currents
Visibility - 15 to 20 metres
Depth - 5 to 30 metres

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