The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) extends along the northeastern Australian coast from Lady Elliot Island in the south, almost to Papau New Guinea in the north. The world’s single largest living system, the reef is part of the superb Indo-Pacific coral reef systems, extending from the Red Sea to Easter Island.

Australia, the island continent, is the most desirable tourist destination in the world. Yet many travellers are daunted by the long haul of jet travel it takes to get to this wonderfully unique and friendly country. Those who do make the trip find the effort well worth it. Sophisticated, modern cities and remote country towns lie adjacent to scorching deserts, rolling green and brown pasturelands and winter snowfields. The extremes of climate supports mining, vineyards, crops of all varieties, a profusion of strange wildlife, and a unique human history woven out of the world’s oldest human culture, isolation and multiculturalism. All this and some of the best, most accessible diving found anywhere in the world.

Australia has superb diving around its entire coast and in several inland freshwater cave systems, but the big draw- card is the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) — the world’s largest and best known reef system. Bigger than Britain, almost the size of Texas (but a lot deeper!) and stretching 2300km (1429 miles) from north to south, the GBR is enormous. This book concentrates on the GBR Province, which encompasses an area of over 1 million sq km (386,109 sq miles), including the whole GBR, nearby Coral Sea reefs (under Australian jurisdiction) and the Torres Strait (under joint jurisdiction with Papua New Guinea). Most people consider the Great Barrier Reef as being the area that lies within the GBR Marine Park Region (south of 10°41’S at the tip of Cape York Peninsula), whereas the GBR does in fact extend well to the north of here.

Even though the area is lauded as the best protected marine area in the world, it is under severe pressure. Since humans began harvesting marine species, occupying the nearby coast and agriculture about 180 years ago, the near-shore systems have almost totally deteriorated while the mid-shelf and some outer-shelf systems continue to degrade today — some at alarming rates.

Pressures include long-term insidious coastal runoffs, the resuspension of sediments and removal of harvested species and by-catch, through trawling, cyclones, storms, bleaching events, coral growth and crown-of-thorns sea star invasions, which combine with time and the passing of seasons to continually change the appearance of each reef and its surrounds.

The GBR is alive with about 400 species of coral, 2000 types of fish, 4000 molluscs and countless other invertebrates. Six of the world’s seven species of sea turtles breed here, and the diversity doesn’t stop there. GBR habitats support a myriad of parasitic and single- celled organisms that free-float in the warm tropical waters — between the sand grains, in and on mud flats and sea- grass beds, and among reefs and rocks. All play an important role in the complex food chain and transfer of genetic material throughout the system.

The islands of the GBR range from small, bare sandy ‘deserts’, often swept away with major storms, to lush rainforest or mangrove masses. Some are home to nesting seabirds and a vast array of wildlife.

Between the reefs and islands are shoal areas of coral and algae (bioherms), with incredible bottom-dwelling animals living on the mud, sand, algal and shell substrates.

With a huge variety of habitats stretching across the continental shelf, the potential for diving, snorkeling and scientific discovery is immeasurable. Those who have dived the GBR thousands of times have only glimpsed the whole system — there are about 3000 reefs!

Many people describe the GBR as having the best diving in the world — it has the potential for that title simply because of its size, accessibility, habitat and species diversity. Keep in mind, however, you will not necessarily experience ‘brochure weather’ — when clear sunny days, calm seas and beautiful people all come together.

To really discover the GBR, you need to be willing to experience it in all weather and seasons. Stick by the old sayings, ‘The best diving is in the water’ and, ‘A bad day’s diving is better than a good day’s work,’ and the GBR will not let you down.

In this guide book, accessible sites are described to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the GBR’s unique ecosystems. In addition, you’ll get a brief overview of the primary accessible Coral Sea reefs. For organisational purposes, the dive sites are divided into nine regions and surrounding areas. These include the Capricorn and Bunker Groups (in the south), the Swain Reefs, Pompey Complex, Whitsunday Islands, Townsville and Magnetic Island, Cairns, Port Douglas, Far Northern Reefs and Torres Strait. Several adjacent, regularly dived Coral Sea Reefs also appear in this book.

Some of the sites described are what we refer to as supersites, which give you the choice of diving the whole area or a smaller portion.

Specific information is provided on each dive site. Further details are also included on the behavioural patterns of some of the marine life you can expect to see at various sites, informative notes on reef formations, depth, and recommended diving expertise. There is also some historical insight into some of this area’s most famous shipwrecks (the GBR has tortured navigators for centuries!).

When it’s time to dry off, turn to the Travel Facts chapter for helpful topside information.

Reproduced with permission from D & S Great Barrier Reef 1, 2006, Lonely Planet Publications.

Note: This text contains standard British spelling.