Deep & Technical Dives in External Territories

Dives beyond recreational limits or needing advanced training: deep wrecks, walls and caves. Technical notes cover gas, decompression and penetration considerations where known.

All states QLD NSW VIC TAS SA WA NT Territories

47 sites

Sort:Default Most dived Deepest Shallowest A–Z

Aircraft WreckMax 54 mArea view

Pel-Air Westwind wreck

Norfolk Island · External Territory

Largely intact Westwind medevac jet at 48 m from the 2009 night ditching in which all six aboard survived.

Technical (decompression)Expert/Technical

WallMax 40 m

Admiralty (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A coral village of huge bommies with a centuries-old anchor in a swim-through, flashlight fish at night and a sheer…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

DriftMax 40 m

Between the Wrecks (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A clear-water wall drift between Bougainville's two freighter wrecks.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 mArea view

Cathedral (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A deep Holmes Reef wall where a golden anthias species was first recorded in Australia, with sharks, tuna and potato…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

Chicken Farm

Christmas Island · External Territory

A vertical north-coast wall with exceptionally large gorgonian fans below 33 m.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 mArea view

China Wall (Flinders Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A 1,000 m wall with some of the largest gorgonian fans in Australian waters.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 mArea view

Cod Wall (Flinders Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

An ancient gorgonian fan more than 5 m across on a soft-coral wall with 40 m visibility.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

ReefMax 40 m

Coral Canyons (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A network of coral canyons leading to the edge of a drop of more than 1,400 m, with schooling jacks and reef sharks.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

ReefMax 40 m

Crystal Plateau (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A clear-water hard-coral terrace on the edge of the abyss, with sharks and giant potato cod.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

False Entrance (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Spectacular bommies and blue-water swim-throughs in a blind gully, with schooling trevally and barracuda and dense grey…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

Fan Wall

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

A wall with glorious fans, black trevally, cruising sharks and dogtooth tuna, plus a cave at 40 m for deep-experienced…

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

ReefMax 40 m

Flora Reef

Coral Sea · External Territory

A tiny, rarely visited atoll with a sharp drop-off, silvertips and unusual lava-tube-like caves.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

Golden Wall (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A sheer wall glowing with golden sea whips and gorgonians, with pelagic schools off the edge.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

Half Way Wall (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Osprey's gentler wall, with bommies on the lip of a 1,000 m drop and the chance of hammerheads.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

IslandMax 40 m

Herald Cays

Coral Sea · External Territory

Some of Australia's most isolated reefs and cays, with nesting turtles, seabird colonies and the Coral Sea's last…

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

ReefMax 40 m

Lihou Reef

Coral Sea · External Territory

The Coral Sea's largest atoll – a vast, rarely visited lagoon with historic wrecks and untouched reef.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

ReefMax 40 m

Marion Reef

Coral Sea · External Territory

A vast, remote atoll with excellent soft-coral walls, lagoon pinnacles and three sand cays.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

Pinnacle/BommieMax 40 mArea view

Mid Reef (Flinders Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

45 m bommies and a current-swept gully alive with feather stars, fans and soft corals.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

DriftMax 40 mArea view

Middle Earth (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A rarely described Bougainville drift site on Mike Ball's Far Northern expedition.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

Nautilus Wall (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A wall named for Osprey's isolated dwarf nautilus population, historically the site of dawn nautilus releases for…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

North Horn (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Australia's most famous shark dive – 10–30 reef sharks around a controlled feed in a 12 m amphitheatre at the top of a…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

North Horn Wall (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A sheer drift along a wall dropping more than 1,000 m, with caves, overhangs, mantas and tuna.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

Perpendicular Wall

Christmas Island · External Territory

A true vertical wall into the abyss at the island's north-western tip, with colourful fans, schooling fish and a real…

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

DriftMax 40 m

Rapid Horn (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A rarely dived, current-swept southern horn with dense fish schools on the plateau and a sheer wall.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 mArea view

Rock Arch (Flinders Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

An arch, caves and a daylit cavern under a sheer south-west wall, with a ledge of big gorgonians at 40 m.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

Silver City (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Silvertip sharks, volcano-shaped bommies and caves on a slope that ends at a 1,000 m wall.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

ReefMax 40 m

Ski Run

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

A sand chute from the reef edge down to a glassfish-covered bommie hunted by trevally, with whitetips and extra-long…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

Pinnacle/BommieMax 40 m

South Rock (Phillip Island)

Norfolk Island · External Territory

Current-swept pinnacle to 40 m off Phillip Island, with black coral and abundant fish.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

Spanish Eyes

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

Rarely dived south-eastern outer wall with sharks and barracuda, reached only on flat-calm days; the site's name…

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

The Abyss (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A dramatic drift along a 1,000 m wall cut with caves, gutters and canyons.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

WallMax 40 m

The Castles (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Coral turrets, gullies and fan-filled overhangs above a 1,000 m wall.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

DriftMax 40 mArea view

The Sticks (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A clear-water wall drift with sharks, rays and schooling fish.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

The Zoo (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Bougainville's signature site, crowded with sharks, turtles and schooling reef fish in clear oceanic water.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 40 m

Walmart (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A 700 m wall covered in colourful invertebrates and swarming basslets.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

Pinnacle/BommieMax 40 mArea view

Watanabe Bommie (Flinders Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

An office-block-sized pinnacle in open water, draped in soft corals and circled by pelagics and sharks.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

Pinnacle/BommieMax 36 m

Nonki Bommie (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A split pinnacle with a canyon between its two fingers, draped in giant sea fans and soft corals.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 36 m

Rhoda Wall

Christmas Island · External Territory

Coral slope, sheer wall and a quarry-like ramp, with schooling grey reef sharks and some of the island's closest whale…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

DriftMax 35 m

Around the Bend (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Osprey's most challenging drift, where current brings barracuda, hunting predators and mantas to a cleaning station.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

Cave/CavernMax 35 m

Dungeons & Dragons (Bougainville Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A maze of caves and tunnels in the reef top, opening onto a 1,000 m wall patrolled by sharks and barracuda.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

Pinnacle/BommieMax 35 m

Enterprise

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

A bommie on the drop-off where the incoming tide's upwelling brings grey reef sharks, dogtooth tuna and big groupers in…

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

ReefMax 35 m

Fairy Grotto (Osprey Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A range of big coral bommies with caverns and swim-throughs beside a 1,000 m wall.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

Pinnacle/BommieMax 35 mArea view

Leopard's Lair (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

Numbers of leopard sharks resting on the sand around a coral pinnacle.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

DriftMax 35 mArea view

Northern Lights (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A strong-current drift through gutters between very large pinnacles.

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

ReefMax 35 m

Prison Gardens

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

Plate corals, curious schools of big-eye trevally and coral-monitoring buoys on the sheltered eastern side of the atoll.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

Pinnacle/BommieMax 35 m

Turbo (Holmes Reef)

Coral Sea · External Territory

A lagoon pinnacle that comes alive with pelagic fish when the tide runs.

Deep/Advanced + experienceIntermediate

WallMax 32 m

Garden of Eden

Cocos (Keeling) Islands · External Territory

A forest of gorgonian sea fans rising like trees from 20–28 m, with schools of big-eye trevally – dived only when the…

Deep/Advanced + experienceAdvanced

Cave/CavernMax 20 m

Coconut Point Cave

Christmas Island · External Territory

A documented submarine cave beneath the Coconut Point drift – a scientific and technical cave site, not a recreational…

Cave/Cavern certificationExpert/Technical