If the thought of immersing yourself in incredible underwater sceneries and witnessing amazing underwater creatures gives you tingles, then reef diving is for you!
The Great Barrier Reef, located in the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, is one of the most popular reef diving destinations in the world. One of the 7 natural Wonders of the World, it stretches over 2,600 km’s along Australia’s East Coast and is composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands! Beginners and experts alike are always amazed by what they see in this underwater paradise!
The calm waters around the reef make it possibly the best location for scuba diving in the world! The water can be quite deep in certain places, but is generally OK for amateurs to dive in. For beginners, diving should always be in shallow waters of no more than 18 metres in depth. There are however reefs around the Coral Sea where the depth is about 91 metres which is awesome for expert divers!
You can spend weeks exploring the reef, so if time is no issue, you could consider jumping on one of the popular live-a-board boats. These specialized boats take visitors right to where the action is. Many such boats have convenient luxury amenities and can organize boats to take divers right to the centre of the reef. There are day boats available for day-time scuba diving. These day boats take visitors for 4 to 5 hour trips into the reef. Even local resorts organize these day boats for their guests.
Whilst enjoying The Great Barrier Reef, it is important to recognise that as the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms (which can even be seen from outer space!!), we need to protect the reef for future generations. A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. This helps to limit the impact of human use, such as over fishing and tourism. So make sure the only thing you fire is your flash and the only thing you shoot with is your camera!
As scuba diving increases in popularity, more and more diving packages are available. Many resorts offer scuba packages and I know we are keen to start organising our own scuba trip packages, both within Australia and overseas, including flights, accommodation and of course SCUBA DIVING!!