DIVINGDemo

Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard, Coral Sea

Outer Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, North Queensland · Australia

Moderate5 daysOceania~£2,000 est.

Overview

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral ecosystem — 2,300km of coral reef, 600 types of coral, 1,500 fish species, and 4,000 mollusk species — stretching along the Queensland coast from the Torres Strait to the Capricorn Group. Visiting from the mainland on day boats gives a surface impression; a liveaboard departing from Cairns or Port Douglas reaches the Outer Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea Ribbon Reefs, where the marine density and coral cover exceed anything accessible on a day trip. The Ribbon Reefs (numbers 3, 9, and 10) at the northern end of the barrier are the prime liveaboard target — narrow ribbons of reef rising to the surface from the continental shelf edge, with dramatic wall diving, hawksbill turtle density, and the Cod Hole potato cod encounter (enormous 2-metre groupers that eat from divers' hands). Steve's Bommie in the Far North Section has some of the best coral cover on the reef. The Coral Sea Osprey Reef and Shark Observatory sites add pelagic sharks, Silvertip reef sharks, and the opportunity for night dives that are among the best in the world. Day-trippers never see these sites. Best season: June–November for clearest water and calmest conditions. Cyclone season (November–April) creates weather risk for offshore sites. 3-night liveaboards from Cairns run USD 600–900; week-long Coral Sea expeditions USD 1,500–2,500.