Dive Sites

James Cook University is situated adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef National Park, one of the natural wonders of the world. It is home to an extremely diverse array of marine life, from tiny nudibranchs to large pelagics such as humpback whales. Colourful and vibrant coral reefs are located close to our shores.

Our adventures take us to reefs as far north as Trunk reef, as far out as Myrmidon reef, as far south as Broadhurst reef, and by far the most popular and best known dive site within our reach is the wreck of the SS Yongala, however the local reefs also support an abundance of marine life and you can never predict what you're going to see where. That's all part of the lure of diving!
Photos courtesy of many present and past club members.

SS Yongala Shipwreck

The wreck of the SS Yongala is a world famous dive site. It is ranked as one of the top 10 best dives in the world!

On the 23rd of March 1911, en route from Melbourne to Cairns, the SS Yongala passenger steamer met the full might of a tropical cyclone while passing Cape Bowling Green. All 49 passengers, 73 crew and 617 tonnes of cargo (including a racehorse!) were lost. To this day, it remains one of Australia's worst maritime disasters, and a grave-site.
Rediscovered by divers in the late 1950's it has since become a dive site like no other.
The wreck sits in the middle of a major shipping lane, and experiences massive variation in current and conditions. Great visibilty and calm one minute, strong currents and poor visibilty the next. However, it also lies in the middle of a vast "paddock" (A large area of sandy, featureless bottom). Being the only structure around it attracts marine life like a magnet to iron filings. Known for mega fauna like Sharks, Rays, Whales and Queensland Grouper, it also boasts as being one of the best places around to find cryptic critters like nudibranchs or frog fish.
This is by far our favourite dive site. Our liveaboard trips often end with 2 dives on the Yongala, and regular day trips departing from Townsville and Alva Beach.

Wheeler Reef: Student Bommie & the Mooring
One of our most visited reef sites, wheeler reef is the gem of the Central GBR.

Wheeler Reef is a relatively small atoll reef that offers a diverse range of habitats to dive in. From deep channels full of sharks, eagle rays and schooling barracuda, to colourful, calm shallows where octopus, moray eels and nudibranchs can be found.
Always worth a snorkel to the sandy cay during your surface interval.
This Dive site is a must see for any diver visiting this part of the GBR.

Magnetic Island

Basically our back yard.
We mostly use Magnetic Island for our Rescue Diver and Dive Master training, as well as the occasional niche event.
Best dived after a few days of low or NW winds, "Maggie" has a plethora of bays, reefs, and shipwrecks to explore. There is nothing you can't see on Maggie if you know where to look (even Whales and Manta Rays!).
Popular sites on the island include:

​The Moltke Shipwreck.
Located at the east end of Geoffrey Bay, this site is easily accessible from the bus stop in Arcadia. A long standing green zone, the fringing reef and shipwreck is absolutely stacked with marine life. If the visibility is poor, this is the place to go!
Arthur Bay
A short walk from the "Forts Walk" bus stop this protected bay has an extensive fringing reef on the north side and boulder caves to the south. 
Florence Bay.
Only Accessible by 4WD or challenging walk from the "Forts Walk" bus stop, this bay is worth the effort to get to. The Shallow fringing reef often has the best vis on the island and the outer rocky point are home to mega fauna like Queensland Grouper and sharks. Ideal for snorkelling.
Nelly Bay
Immediately out the front of BASE backpackers and bar is a small but vibrant fringing reef. This site is often calm and easy to access. Ideal for those wanting to work up their skills.
Adjacent to large sandy areas, it is also a great place to see large stingrays, shovelnose rays or guitar sharks.

Helix Reef: "High Voltage"

The first time the Kalinda crew dived this site was in the middle of a lightning storm, hence the name: "High Voltage". Rising abruptly out of the depths this is a particularly stunning reef!
Cruise with the current along a 30m wall before turning in through a number of narrow swim-throughs to reach the sunlit coral gallery. Then make your way into one of the largest stag horn coral gardens we know of and finish up by passing the "loo with a view". The vertical scale of this reef will have your jaw hanging open the entire dive and have you begging for more when you leave.
Like wheeler, this reef is quite small. Hence it has an amazing diversity of marine life.
We only visit this reef on our longer liveaboard trips.

Grub Reef: "Area 51"

This unusual dive site is a staple for longer liveaboards.
Stacked with caves and tight swim-throughs this site is full of the weird and wonderful. While it may not have the stunning coral cover of Helix or Yankee Reefs, the outer edge of the reef is covered in cryptic species like Stonefish, Nudibranchs and Pipefish.
On the reef flat this site has deep lagoons that are, strangely, filled with fields of giant clams. These giant molluscs cover the sea floor, shell touching shell, in a weird throwback to what ancient rudist reefs must have been like.
Like a scene from "Cocoon", diving this site is truly an alien ​experience.

Yankee Reef

Another staple of longer liveaboards, Yankee reef is situated at the south end of one of the biggest green zones accessible from Townsville.
Aside from the mind boggling number of fish here, this reef is by far one of the most colourful the GBR has to offer. An amazing benthic diversity of hard corals, soft corals, anemones, sponges and ascidians gives this reef its stunning appearance. It is also a great place too look for nudibranchs you have never even heard of, or scan the open waters for glimpses of Grey, or Silvertip reef sharks.