Scuba Diving On The Great Barrier Reef

>coastline. Easily accessible by day boats from Cairns,
The Great Barrier Reef has long held and almostthe shallow and somewhat sheltered nature of the
mythical status amongst scuba divers, keen tosites here mean that the Inner Garden Reefs are
sample the diving on the worlds largest livingpopular areas for diver training and diving courses.
organism. In this article, we take a closer look at theSlightly further offshore lie the aptly named Outer
diving on the Great Barrier, to see if it is deserving ofReefs, characterised by the large series of canyons
its status as one of the worlds best divingand gorges that can be found throughout the reefs
destinations.here. There are a large number of smaller reefs here
Larger than the whole of Great Britain, andincluding Thetford Reef, Paradise Reef and Agincourt
comprising of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900Reef, and throughout all of the sites there is prolific
separate islands, the Great Barrier Reef is not onlymarine life, including one of the largest colonies of
the worlds largest organism, it is one of the worldsclownfish you are ever likely to see!
best scuba diving destinations.The Far Northern Reefs include the famous Ribbon
For the sheer diversity of marine life, the GreatReef system, a strong of ten coral reefs which
Barrier Reef is unrivalled. Alive with over 2,000stretch over 100 miles to the north of Cairns. At the
separate species of fish, as well as 400 separatetop of this remarkable reef system lies the most
species of coral, the Great Barrier Reef ensures thatfamous dive site on the Great Barrier Reef, the Cod
every dive is an adventure and that no two divesHole. Here a large family of resident Potato Cod will
are the same. Described as one of the naturalamaze you with their friendly antics as well as their
wonders of the world, and now protected under itssheer size. Due to their more remote location, the
status as a World Heritage site, the Great Barrierdive sites of the Far Northern Reefs are usually
Reef has long captivated the imagination of scubataken in on one of the many three day liveaboard
divers from all over the world.trips that operate out of Cairns.
The jump off point for scuba diving on the GreatFor more experienced divers, the dive sites of the
Barrier Reef is the city of Cairns in Queensland. OnceCoral Seas prove a huge attraction. Located around
a laid back coastal town, today Cairns is one of200 kilometres offshore, the Coral Sea is considered
Australia’s premier tourist destinations,to be one of Australia’s best dive sites.
complete with a large number of dive centres andThroughout the year, large numbers of liveaboards
liveaboard operators. Every day, large numbers oftravel here from Cairns to sample the superb diving
scuba divers travel here to sample the underwaterthat can be found at dives sites such as Osprey
splendour that is the Great Barrier Reef. The scubaReef and Bougainville Reef.
diving on the Great Barrier Reef is itself split into fourOverall, the Great Barrier Reef is fully deserving of its
key areas, which are home to the vast majority oflegendary status as one of the worlds best diving
the dive sites on the reef. Though these regions arelocations. The range and diversity of marine and coral
spread out over a large geographical spread, divinglife is barely rivalled anywhere else on earth.
can be arranged across all via day trips or liveaboardsThankfully, the considerable conservation efforts of
from Cairns.the authorities will ensure that this natural wonder is
The Inner Reef Gardens, as their name suggests areexperienced by many generations to come.
located in close proximity with the Queensland