Description

Visibility: 8 - 30m depending the tide and the period during the year. Diving on Great Barrier Reef in Australia is affected to a large degree by tidal movement. The tide flows fastest halfway between high and low water, slowing almost to a stop at the top and bottom of the tide. Visibility at high tide can be 100ft but at low tide on the same day can drop to 20ft. When possible you should plan your dive and even the time of year for your holiday, around the state of the tide. For the best result on any given day, try to commence diving about an hour or so before high tide. This is when the water is clearest.

January is the warmest month with a daily average maximum temperature of 30 degrees and a daily average minimum around 25 degrees. July is the coolest month with daily average maximum temperature of 23 degrees and a daily average minimum around 16 degrees. The winter minimum can fall considerably only a few km inland from the coast.

The Whitsunday Islands known history started over 100 million years ago, when catastrophic volcanic activity formed a mountainous region of terrain which was firmly connected to the mainland coast. After the last Ice Age (around 30, 000 to 50, 000 years ago), the once dominant mountains were partially engulfed by the rising sea level, creating the present day network of 74 main Whitsunday Islands.

The Ngaro, an Aboriginal tribe inhabited the Whitsunday islands at least 8000 years prior to the Europeans arriving in 1770. These very independent island people were quite different from their mainland cousins. They were essentially nomadic, travelling throughout the Whitsundays and the mainland coastal fringe. The first recorded contact with Europeans occurred in 1770, when Captain Cook sighted two Ngaro aboriginals as he sailed his British Ship the “Endeavour” down through the Whitsunday Passage now part of the greater island group, “The Cumberland Islands”. Commonly known as the Whitsunday Islands, the island chain off the Airlie Beach coast is still officially charted as the Cumberland Islands.

For divers who travel, Whitsunday Islands has always been in the top ranks among the most wonderful diving sites around the world because essentially, the reef haven is a very calm place. Whitsundays diving offers a very wide diving experiences; from snorkeling and novice diving to advanced and adventurous diving. Whitsundays dive sites are some of the most popular diving spots in Queensland. A huge diversity of marine life lives in this area; colorful corals, mauri wrasse, trouts, cods and manta rays are just to name few.

We recommend 2 of them: Bait Reef is located on the Outer Great Barrier Reef near the Whitsunday Island Chain, Whitsundays, Australia. It is one of the most pristine scuba diving locations in the world and benefits from protection under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. And Blue Pearl Bay which is located in Hayman Island. It is one of the frequently dived spots in Whitsundays. Due to its location it is protected from the frequent South East Winds and provided with the cleaner water comes with the tide. Its bottom is covered with colorful corals and home to many kinds of fish including cods, parrot fish, giant mauri wrasse and many other kinds of reef fish. The site is at a depth of 65 feet (20 meters).

A special word about Whitsundays Dolphins and sharks:

Spinner dolphins also called the long snouted dolphin can be seen off the tropical waters of the Whitsundays jumping out of the water and spinning through the air. The spinner dolphin is the most acrobatic of all dolphin species.  They tend to do there hunting at night as the marine life which they eat comes up from the depths of the ocean.  This comprises of Jellyfish,  Squid,  Krill,  Shell Less snails.  They will usually stay in groups to hunt as there is a high risk of getting hunted themselves by sharks.  Spinner Dolphins are known to dive down to around 800 feet or more in utter darkness in pursuit of food.

The two most common sharks around the Whitsunday Islands are the White tip and Blacktop Reef sharks, which are placid and non-aggressive sharks.  Although sightings of hammerheads and tiger sharks have been reported there have been no reports of shark fatalities in the last 3 decades in the Whitsunday Islands. The other common sharks you can meet are the black tip and the Wobbegong Sharks.

Whale Watching
During June through September each year vast number of whales migrate from Antarctica to the Whitsundays to give birth to calves and mate.  The most common whale that you will see during this period are Humpbacks although occasionally other types such as Minkies can be spotted. 

WDR.