Banana Bommie is a Tusa Reef Tours site on Michaelmas Reef, which the operator describes as a well-protected coral patch behind a large sand cay. Tusa lists turtles, parrotfish, surgeonfish, reef sharks and manta rays among the marine life, and describes Michaelmas Reef as a whole as offering coral gardens and tranquil waters in a sheltered sandy lagoon protected from wind, suitable for both snorkelling and diving. The large sand cay referred to is Michaelmas Cay, whose seabird colony can be seen and heard from the mooring.

Sheltered behind it, the bommie and its surrounding patch reef are calm on most trade-wind days, which gives Tusa a good option when the outer reefs are rough. The coral patch is a mix of hard corals, branching and plate forms, with soft corals and anemones, and the bommie provides a focal point for fish: schools of surgeonfish grazing across the coral, parrotfish scraping at it, and small reef sharks cruising the edges. Turtles are common on Michaelmas, and manta rays are occasionally seen passing along the reef, particularly in winter when they move through the Cairns reefs.

The water is shallow to moderate in depth and there is little current, so the site suits snorkellers, introductory divers and Open Water divers alike. Because Michaelmas Reef is a Marine National Park (Green) Zone, fish are protected and relatively unafraid. Published depth information is not available, so the figures here are estimates, and exact coordinates for the bommie are not published.

Visibility is typically 10-18 m.

Boat access only. Cairns day boats leave from the Reef Fleet Terminal (1 Spence Street) and the neighbouring Marlin Marina on the city waterfront, with check-in between about 7:00 and 8:00 am; most operators run transfers from city and northern-beaches accommodation, and there is paid parking near the terminal. The run of about 40 km out through Trinity Inlet and across the lagoon to Michaelmas Reef takes around 80 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Banana Bommie is a Tusa Reef Tours site; Tusa's captain chooses from 27 sites according to conditions, so it is not visited every day. Enter from the stern platform.

The prevailing south-east trade winds (typically 15-25 knots from April to September) are what limit Cairns outer-reef diving: above about 25 knots trips may be cancelled, and exposed eastern moorings are used only in light winds. Summer northerlies are gentler but make north-facing moorings choppy. Box jellyfish and Irukandji are present from about November to May (stinger suits on every dive), and the cyclone season runs November to April, when a system in the Coral Sea can close the reef for days.

Visibility drops after heavy rain and strong winds; spring is usually calmest and clearest. Being closer to the coast, visibility is lower than on the outer reefs, especially after rain. Banana Bommie sits behind the cay, sheltered from the prevailing south-easterlies, which makes it a good-weather fallback when outer reefs are rough.

Descend onto the coral patch and circle the bommie at 6-12 m, then explore the surrounding patch reef and sand for rays and turtles. Keep a lookout into the blue for manta rays. Safety stop on the bommie top.

Tusa Reef Tours – day trips when conditions suit (two sites per day from 27 options); Michaelmas is also visited daily by Ocean Spirit Cruises (cay) and by Tusa Reef Tours; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats