Fitzroy Reef is the largest reef in the Bunker Group, a 3,650-hectare drying ring reef enclosing a large, deep lagoon of 6-10 m. The lagoon is navigable by yachts through a narrow entrance, and it is one of the most popular anchorages in the southern Great Barrier Reef for cruising boats seeking shelter. For divers, it offers around a dozen sites of varying depth and difficulty, from novice to experienced.

Named sites in the lagoon include The Keyhole, Sharky Ledge, Rainbow Wall and Neil's Peak, and the sheltered Blue Lagoon area, about 6 m deep, has plenty of small bommies with nudibranchs, cod, shrimp, seahorses, clownfish, lionfish, groupers, eels and schools of fish. The lagoon and reef flat are important feeding areas for turtles, supporting an estimated 1,000 green, 100 hawksbill and 100 loggerhead turtles. The lagoon diving is shallow and sheltered, ideal for relaxed dives and snorkelling directly from an anchored boat.

Outside the lagoon, the reef edge offers deeper sites, and the south-east gardens (a separate entry) have been used as a shallow second dive by trips from Heron Island. The remains of a historic steamer, thought to be the SS Pacific (1903), lie on the reef flat in the south-west corner and are more a reef walk than a dive. Fitzroy suits divers of all levels on a private or chartered boat, and it is an ideal base for exploring the northern Bunker reefs.

The entrance must be negotiated with care and good light. Anchor on sand patches, never on coral.

The Bunker Group reefs lie 80-100 km north-east of Bundaberg and 50-90 km east of the Town of 1770. Private boats launch from the 1770 Marina or Round Hill Creek ramp (bar crossing – check tides), or from Burnett Heads (Bundaberg Port Marina); expect 1.5-4 hours depending on vessel and destination. Yachts commonly anchor overnight in the Lady Musgrave or Fitzroy Reef lagoons and dive the surrounding reefs by tender.

Fitzroy Reef is about 30 km north of Lady Musgrave and roughly 100 km from Gladstone or 1770. Yachts enter the lagoon through a narrow marked entrance channel (enter only in good light at a suitable tide) and anchor in 6-10 m; dives are made from the anchored boat or tender.

The Bunker reefs are open ocean: south-east trades over about 20 knots make the crossing from 1770 or Bundaberg rough and limit diving to the lee (north-western) sides, while the Fitzroy and Lady Musgrave lagoons provide secure anchorages. The best windows are September-December and March-May calms. Tidal currents run strongly around reef edges and through lagoon entrances on springs.

Cyclone season November-April; summer plankton reduces visibility. Inside the lagoon, conditions are sheltered in almost any wind once anchored, which is why Fitzroy is a favourite yacht refuge; the entrance channel should be navigated in good light and slack or rising tide.

From the anchored boat, descend onto one of the lagoon bommies in 6-10 m and explore slowly, looking for seahorses, clownfish and nudibranchs. For the outer sites, use a tender to the lagoon wall or reef edge and drift along the wall near slack water.

No scheduled day trips. Lady Musgrave Experience mentions the northern Bunker reefs (Boult, Llewellyn, Lamont and Fitzroy) as remote sites for special or extended trips, Heron Island Resort has historically run occasional long-range trips to the northern Bunker reefs, and most diving is from private yachts and occasional liveaboards.