Great Barrier Reef

Diving possibilities:
Cost indication:
Guide mandatory:	unknown
Country:	Australia
Sea:	Pacific Ocean

Foto by: Leonard Low
Water summer:	29º / 84.2 F
Water winter:	23º / 73.4 F
The Great Barrier Reef is a fantistic destination the whole year through. The water is always pleasantly warm adn the divespots are sheltered. Visibility is at it's absolute best from July to September. In the same period you can encounter dwarf rorquals. The Coral Spawning takes place somewhere in October or November.

A grand and breathtaking natural construction

Off the eastcoast of Australia lies the Great Barrier Reef: the longest, largest and most complex reef system in the world.

Shallow diving
The Great Barrier Reef is a shallow area of 130000 square miles. The maximum depth is between 15 en 30 meter (50 and 100 feet). Between the tides an enormous amount of water flows in and out of the system. The water can be muddy, limiting the visibility to sometimes less than 10 meter (30 feet). Luckily, most of the time the water is clear, enabling you to see the thousands of species of tropical fish and other sea animals. The reefs are located from 16 tot 300 km (10 to 200 miles) from the coast, so you dive from boats. From every coastal city in Queensland you can arrange a boat trip, Cairns is the most popular en easiest accessible pick-up point. You can book day trips and live-aboards for several days.

Nature conservation
The Great Barrier Reef is no reef but a barrier, consisting of 2800 individual reefs and more than 900 islands and coral islands. Most of it is not accessible to the public. But it leaves more than enough to dive. To protect the ecosystem, areas were assigned in 1975 for tourism, fishing and scientific research.