With an average winter temperature hovering between 16.9 and 25.4 degrees, there’s no place on the globe better equipped for scuba diving and snorkeling than the East Coast city of the Gold Coast.
http://www.australia.com/en/facts/weather/gold-coast-weather.html
The coastal mecca has a bustling underwater world as lively as that which exists on the dry land and the 57-kilometer-long coastline offers easy access to the wonders that the deep blue ocean holds. Divers of all abilities from all over the world flock to the Gold Coast in droves to experience the diverse underwater experience that the area can offer, and there are some very good reasons for this.
As a location that isn’t affected by stinger season, the region also attracts people who would otherwise venture to one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Great Barrier Reef, and other stunning sites in far north Queensland.
The pristine waters of the Gold Coast, combined with the near-perfect weather conditions the majority of the year means that on the Gold Coast, diving is a popular activity. It’s popular with residents, it’s popular with tourists to the region, and for those not adept at diving the local seas, there’s an abundance of diving companies who are passionate about experiencing the official dive sites on the Gold Coast with everyone who visits.
According to Destination Gold Coast, there are nine recognised dive sites on the Gold Coast spanning from Main Beach in the north down to Kingscliff in the south. Each dive site has its own unique array of reef and diverse marine wildlife and regardless of how often you visit those sites, it’s a guarantee that no two experiences will ever be the same.
https://www.destinationgoldcoast.com/inside-stories/posts/postid/30/where-to-dive-and-snorkel-on-the-gold-coast
But, there’s more…
With so many popular dive sites identified on the Gold Coast, imagine our surprise when – as a keen and frequent divers to the Gold Coast reefs – we noticed a previously unrecognised potential dive site on aerial photography.
We quickly determined the GPS coordinates and have since checked the area with our onboard structure scan and in fact, discovered quite a large reef on the Gold Coast just off Main Beach.
Being familiar with all the well-known commercial dive sites in the region, we already knew that this wasn’t a site popular with other divers.
Destination Gold Coast’s publications mention nine popular reefs up and down the Gold Coast, but none with these coordinates.
To confirm this finding, we have already sent divers down as part of an exploration dive who all had an amazing dive. This beautiful large dive site is located right in between the Scottish Prince Shipwreck and Greta’s Reef in close proximity to the Gold Coast Seaway entrance.
It’s approximately 250 metres long and 150 metres wide. The rocky reef is about 16-18m deep and consists of boulders and bommies with sandy patches separating them. There are two sections to the reef. The large main area and a smaller isolated section to the east separated by sand. The marine life is diverse and includes huge amounts of small fish, coral, lots of wobbies, rays, nudis and turtles. It’s our belief that this reef was undiscovered until recently, and is true treasure.
This reef doesn’t feature in any Gold Coast dive tours, it’s not recognised in any Gold Coast official records and isn’t known as a fishing spot or marked on any map. As this reef doesn’t appear to have an official name, our diving community have decided to unofficially name the dive site Migaloo Reef. This is, of course, in honour of the astounding white whale who visits the area every year without fail.
While all Gold Coast dive sites are extremely diverse and beautiful, Migaloo Reef isn’t any less so than the rest and stands on equal footing as dive sites that are already recognised.
We wholeheartedly believe that the astounding piece of natural beauty should be recognised as such by the officials at the Gold Coast and we are actively pursuing this avenue.
Today, we invite you to join our dive tours to the previously unidentified Migaloo Reef to experience diving at the Gold Coast’s latest dive site.
Some of the most popular sites to dive on the Gold Coast include the Wreck of the Scottish Prince which can be found 800 metres from the Southport Spit, Greta’s Reef, Palm Beach Reef, Wavebreak Island and of course the Gold Coast Seaway.
While all of these popular sites guarantee an excellent diving experience, they also guarantee that there are many other divers trying to get to them at the same time as this has been the case for years.
As the first dive group to identify Migaloo Reef, we’ve added it to our already popular charter tours and can attest that due to this recent finding, The Scuba Coach and Gold Coast Dive Adventures can now offer a point of difference and increased variety of diving options.
Migaloo Reef is encouraging visitors in their droves to use our service and visit the wonderful city of Gold Coast for a diving experience that very few before them have had.
The area is known for passing dolphins and sharks so to add further appeal, a surprise once-in-a-lifetime encounter could be on the cards for lucky visitors to the site!
Please join one of our first tours to this intact and untouched reef and visit our website for more information or to make your booking today.
