Advanced Dive Trips
Nine Mile Reef
From $295.00
Duration: Double or Triple Dive Trip
Location: Runaway Bay, Qld
9 Mile Reef is definitely one of the most amazing and underrated dives in the region. It is located on the Southern tip of the Gold Coast, off of Tweed Heads, and is home to hundreds of Grey Nurse Sharks during the winter months. As the water warms up, the Grey Nurse Sharks start to leave making room for the beautiful Leopard sharks to come in and replace them. Other than sharks, this is also an amazing location to watch and experience many other marine animals. Large schools of rays and pelagic fish species are almost always seen here along with a large array of both temperate and tropical fish species which call this reef home. It’s not possible to get bored of this site with such an amazing array of marine life that both live and travel here.
This advanced dive is offered as a two or three-dive adventure. Regardless of which adventure you choose, the dive is conducted as a drift dive in most instances and can be challenging when the currents are strong. Usually, currents are strongest in the summer months. However large marine species love current and we believe this is what makes diving 9 Mile Reef a truly spectacular diving experience.
After diving 9 Mile Reef, we will head to the protection of Cook Island for our surface interval. On particularly nice days we may head back to 9 Mile Reef for a second dive, or we may stay at cook island and dive with the hundreds of turtles that call this island home.
If you join us on one of our three dive adventures, we may plan to dive the Wreck of The Scottish Prince on the way home, however, the third site will depend on how the day is going and which site those on board would like to dive, based on the conditions on the day and marine life.
Highlights
- In-water dive guide
- Scuba dive the local Grey Nurse Shark hot spots
- 3 tank boat dive
- Hire gear available (add on checkout page)
- Snacks and hot drinks provided in between dives
- Advanced drift dive
- Hotel transfers available
FROM JUNE TO NOVEMBER
Join us for a bucket list dive adventure ex Runaway Bay and dive the Gold Coasts very best dive sites. Get up close and personal with our local Grey Nurse Sharks at 9 Mile Reef. Join an unforgettable and educational two or three-dive trip to the very best dive sites the Gold Coast has to offer. Whilst learning about and interacting with the sharks which reside on the Gold Coast, especially, the Grey Nurse Shark.
This tour will get you diving at 9 Mile Reef, Cook Island and one of the other amazing dive sites around the Gold Coast. 9 Mile reef has the highest likelihood of shark encounters with it being very rare not to sight at least one grey nurse during the season. 9 Mile reef is located a few miles away from Cook Island and we also drive past a few more amazing dive sites on our way there.
To check availability and to book a dive, simply check the calendar on this page. The availability is displayed live. The base price for the 3 dive adventures includes 3 tanks, weights, and surface interval snacks. Equipment hire is charged on an item-by-item basis. Simply select what you require on the booking page.Hire gear – from $10 – $20per item (select on checkout page)
- Triple dive with tanks and weights – $295pp
- Quality hire gear available
- Hotel transfer – $40 per group return
This tour departs from our dive shop in Runaway Bay Marina. The travel time to 9 Mile Reef is around 55 minutes. Allow a total turnaround time of approximately 8-9 hours for a triple dive trip, or 5-6 for a double dive trip. Your booking confirmation email will include directions to our departure point.
All times displayed in our calendar are meeting times at the departure location.
Diving in current requires some skills as divers need to remain calm and be able to control their buoyancy properly. Due to the site conditions and depth, we require you to be Advanced Certified (30m) and have recent diving experience within the last 12 months. We also require each diver to have completed a minimum of 30 logged dives.
9 Mile Reef is a drift dive due to the presence of current on most days. It is impossible to assess the exact diving conditions prior to the trip. There is always a likelihood that the conditions will not allow us to safely dive at 9 Mile Reef (Captains call). For that purpose, we have many backup options. There are no refunds or discounts available in the event a backup site is chosen instead.
A thrilling experience!! Grey Nurse Sharks are the Golden Retrievers of all sharks. Whilst they are large sharks and have a quiet monstrous appearance, they are very relaxed predators. The Grey Nurse Shark is an endangered and protected species and its population is thankfully recovering. This tour will help you to gain a better understanding about these fascinating creatures and you will learn many interesting facts from our knowledgeable tour guides. If you like to find out more about Grey Nurse Sharks, visit the website of Grey Nurse Shark Watch, a Reef Check Australia monitoring program. You can also get involved in research by submitting ID photographs as part of this tour. These are side on photo shots that show the dark dots of the shark. These dots are a like a finger print and are used to identify the shark.
To view all of our frequently asked questions, head over to our Frequently Asked Questions page