Dive slate · divesites.com.au · printed 9 Nov 2026
Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)
Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait, Queensland · near Cairns (departure) / Horn Island (Torres Strait)
| Depth | Depth not published |
|---|---|
| Minimum level | Advanced Open Water |
| Difficulty | Advanced |
| Access | Boat (multi-day/liveaboard) |
| Entry | Giant stride from the liveaboard or tender drop, often as a drift with tender pick-up |
| Current | Strong |
| Visibility | 12-40 m |
| Water | summer 28-30 °C, winter 25-27 °C |
| Suit | 3 mm full wetsuit or stinger suit (water 26–29 °C in the October–December season); full-length stinger protection from November |
| Best season | October–December only (liveaboard expedition window; green turtle nesting peaks November–December) |
| Bottom time | 45 min |
| Position | not published |
| Permit | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Far Northern Management Area) – GBRMPA zoning applies; much of the area is Marine National Park (Green) zone; expedition operators hold permits. |
| Nearest chamber | Townsville University Hospital (Townsville) – very remote; evacuation by aeromedical retrieval (RFDS) via Lockhart River, Bamaga or Horn Island airstrips can take many hours |
| Emergency | 000 · DAN Asia-Pacific diving emergency 1800 088 200 |
Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)
Also known as Pussy Galore
A particularly beautiful fan- and whip-covered wall on the remote Tijou/Cat reefs.
Near Cairns (departure) / Horn Island (Torres Strait) · Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait, Queensland
- Depth
- Depth not published
- Minimum level
- Advanced Open Water
- Access
- Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)
- Boat ride
- —
- Water
- 28-30 °C
- Visibility
- 12-40 m
Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)Depth not published · Advanced Open Water
Dive factsDepths, conditions, location & safety
Season
In season nowBest months: October, November, December.
October–December only (liveaboard expedition window; green turtle nesting peaks November–December)
- Best months
- Now (November)
- Stinger suit Nov–May
Dive facts
- Depth
- Depth not published
- Typical depth
- 18 m
- Certification
- Advanced Open Water
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Access
- Boat (multi-day/liveaboard)
- Dive centre needed
- Yes – boat access only
- Shore / independent
- No
- Current
- Strong
- Visibility
- 12-40 m
- Water temp (summer)
- 28-30 °C
- Water temp (winter)
- 25-27 °C
- Water
- Tropical
- Bottom time
- 45 min
- Dive traffic
- Remote/expedition only
- Night dive
- Possible
- Snorkel friendly
- Partial
Exposure suit
3 mm full wetsuit or stinger suit (water 26–29 °C in the October–December season); full-length stinger protection from November
Location
Tijou / Cat Reefs · Far Northern Great Barrier Reef – Cape York
No published coordinates. The map above shows the general area, estimated from other documented sites near Cairns.
Primary source: mikeball.comMarine park & permits
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Far Northern Management Area) – GBRMPA zoning applies; much of the area is Marine National Park (Green) zone; expedition operators hold permits.
Nearest recompression chamber
Townsville University Hospital (Townsville) – very remote; evacuation by aeromedical retrieval (RFDS) via Lockhart River, Bamaga or Horn Island airstrips can take many hours
Diving emergency: call 000, then DAN AP 1800 088 200.
Trip planner
Build a trip around Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef) →
A day-by-day plan for Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait with this site locked in.
This guide is a planning aid. Conditions change daily — confirm with a local dive centre and dive within your training. Data & safety notes.
Dive profile
How this site rates
Scores are computed from the recorded data, not opinions. How?
At a glance
Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef) is a wall liveaboard-only site in Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait, QLD, suited to Advanced Open Water divers, strong current.
Rated advanced because of strong current.
Why dive here
- A particularly beautiful fan- and whip-covered wall on the remote Tijou/Cat reefs.
- Rarely dived: expect to have the site to yourself, and plan your own logistics.
- Visibility often reaches 12-40 m.
Conditions to avoid
- Strong southerly or south-east swell and wind
- Strong northerlies
- Any time other than slack water
- Cyclone season (roughly December–April)
- Stinger season without a full suit (November–May)
About Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)
Pussy Galore is a wall dive on the Tijou and Cat reef system in the far-northern Great Barrier Reef, visited on Mike Ball's Northern Exposure expeditions. Mike Ball describes the Tijou and Cat walls as featuring barracuda, rays, sharks and turtles amid fans and whip corals, and names Pussy Galore as a notably beautiful site. The name continues a James Bond theme – a nod to Goldfinger – common in the tongue-in-cheek naming of remote expedition sites, which are often christened by the first crews to dive them.
Like other walls on the outer shelf edge, the site features steep drops covered in gorgonian fans, whip corals and soft corals, fed by currents. Pelagic life cruises the blue: barracuda, rays and sharks. Turtles are common on the far-northern reefs.
Details such as depth and exact location are not published. Dives are run as wall or drift dives with tender support, and operators require Advanced certification or equivalent experience. Pussy Galore suits experienced divers on a far-northern expedition.
It is typical of the pristine walls that make the region so special for the few who reach it. Getting here is itself an expedition: the far-northern reefs lie hundreds of kilometres north of Cairns, are visited by only a handful of liveaboards in the October–December window, and are many hours from medical help, so divers should be current, self-sufficient, carry an SMB and audible signal, and dive conservatively. On Mike Ball's Northern Exposure itineraries the Tijou and Cat reefs are dived over a day of the seven-night voyage between Cairns and Horn Island, typically with up to four dives including a night dive, and the exact sites chosen depend on the weather on the day.
Getting there & entry
A wall dive on the Tijou/Cat reef system singled out by Mike Ball as notably beautiful, with fans, whips and pelagics.
Liveaboard only – there are no day boats, resorts or public moorings this far north. Mike Ball Dive Expeditions' Spoilsport runs 7-night 'Northern Exposure' expeditions between Cairns (Trinity Wharf) and Horn Island in the Torres Strait each November (northbound and southbound, up to 27 dives), plus a 7-night Far North Coral Sea Exploratory round trip from Cairns in October. Spirit of Freedom runs 7-night far-north expeditions from Cairns in October–December, and Professional Dive Services' MV Kalinda has run longer (13-night) Cairns–Horn Island trips.
Horn Island has daily scheduled flights to Cairns (book separately; allow 24 hours after diving before flying). The far-northern reefs are roughly 500–650 km north of Cairns – one to two days' steaming each way.
Entry: Giant stride from the liveaboard or tender drop, often as a drift with tender pick-up
Facilities: None – expedition liveaboard only (Spoilsport/Spirit of Freedom provide air, nitrox, meals, cabins).
Weather, swell & tides
The far-northern reefs are only diveable in a narrow weather window. The south-east trades blow hard from about April to September and make the long open-water passage and the exposed outer walls impractical, so expeditions run in the transition period, typically October–December, when winds are lighter; the northerly monsoon, storms and cyclones (December–April) close the season. Even in the window, exposed shelf-edge walls (Tijou, Great Detached, Raine) need calm days, and skippers switch between reefs to find shelter.
Strong tidal currents and upwellings run along the continental shelf and through reef openings – channel sites are timed to slack water. Visibility varies from about 12 m to 40 m+ depending on tides and any rain. Marine stingers are present from November.
Best season: October–December only (liveaboard expedition window; green turtle nesting peaks November–December)
How the dive is usually run
Descend on the wall to 18–22 m, drift along it with the current, admiring the fans and whips and watching the blue, then ascend along the wall for the safety stop.
Marine life
- Barracuda
- rays
- grey reef sharks →
- turtles →
- gorgonian fans
- whip corals
- soft corals
Linked species have their own page listing every site where they are recorded. All marine life →
Training required
Courses that help here
- Drift Diver – Current is a feature of the dive.
Depth tiers: 0–10 m easy · to 18 m Open Water · 18–30 m Advanced (25 m+ is a deep dive) · 30–40 m Deep specialty · 40 m+ technical. All courses
Hazards & warnings
Extremely remote – many hours from medical help and the chamber; strong currents and upwellings; exposed to swell; Marine stingers (box jellyfish and Irukandji) are present from November – wear a full-length stinger suit; deep wall.
Dive centres that go here
Liveaboard only: Mike Ball Dive Expeditions (Spoilsport – 7-night Northern Exposure Cairns↔Horn Island, November; 7-night Far North Coral Sea Exploratory, October); Spirit of Freedom (7-night far-north expeditions, October–December); Professional Dive Services MV Kalinda (occasional long expeditions). Requirements typically Advanced certification or 15+ logged ocean dives.
Operators recorded for Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)
Mike Ball Dive Expeditions
ListedCairns · Cairns · QLD
A long-running expedition liveaboard operation associated with Ribbon Reefs and Coral Sea itineraries, including minke whale season trips.
mikeball.com · (07) 4053 0500
Spirit of Freedom
ListedCairns · Cairns · QLD
An expedition liveaboard associated with Ribbon Reefs, Osprey Reef and Coral Sea itineraries.
spiritoffreedom.com.au · (07) 4047 9150
Professional Dive Services
Named by sitesBrisbane · Brisbane & Moreton Bay · QLD
Brisbane-based dive training business that runs Torres Strait / Ribbon Reef expeditions aboard MV Kalinda; not based in the Torres Strait.
professionaldiveservices.com.au · 0457 007 040
Other dive centres in Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
General area
No position has been published for Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef). The circle shows where it is likely to be, worked out from other documented sites near Cairns. Ask a local operator for the exact site.
Dashed circle: general area (about 60 km), from other documented sites near Cairns. 6 pinned sites. Pins marked approximate on their pages show the general area only; not for navigation.
Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef): frequently asked questions
What certification do I need to dive Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
Advanced Open Water is the recommended minimum. Rated advanced because of strong current.
Can I shore dive Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
No, it is reached by boat. A dive centre is required: boat access only.
When is the best time to dive Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
October–December only (liveaboard expedition window; green turtle nesting peaks November–December).
What marine life will I see at Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
Regularly recorded: Barracuda, rays, grey reef sharks, turtles, gorgonian fans, whip corals, soft corals.
What wetsuit do I need at Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
3 mm full wetsuit or stinger suit (water 26–29 °C in the October–December season); full-length stinger protection from November.
How cold is the water at Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
Typically 28-30 °C in summer and 25-27 °C in winter.
What are the main hazards at Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
Extremely remote – many hours from medical help and the chamber; strong currents and upwellings; exposed to swell; Marine stingers (box jellyfish and Irukandji) are present from November – wear a full-length stinger suit; deep wall. See the hazards section above for the full list.
Where is the nearest recompression chamber to Pussy Galore (Tijou Reef)?
Townsville University Hospital (Townsville) – very remote; evacuation by aeromedical retrieval (RFDS) via Lockhart River, Bamaga or Horn Island airstrips can take many hours. In an emergency call 000, then DAN Asia-Pacific on 1800 088 200.
Diving in Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait
North of Lizard Island the Great Barrier Reef is almost unvisited. Great Detached Reef, Raine Island (the world's largest green turtle rookery), Tijou Reef and the Cod Hole's remote northern equivalents are dived only by a few liveaboards each October and November, when the wind drops and the boats can make the long passage. Expect walls, big sharks, untouched coral and no other boats.
Getting there: Seven- to ten-night liveaboard expeditions from Cairns, sometimes ending with a flight from Lockhart River or Horn Island.
All Far Northern Reef & Torres Strait dive sites and a suggested itinerary →
Sources
- mikeball.com/great-barrier-reef-liveaboard/special-expeditions/turtle-spectacular-cairns-horn-island
- mikeball.com/great-barrier-reef-liveaboard/special-expeditions/northern-exposure-cairns-horn-island
Data confidence: Low · Being verified: Whether the site is on Tijou or Cat Reef, depths and coordinates not published.. Last updated September 2026. Know this site better? How to send a correction
Nearby dive sites
More wall dives in Queensland
Explore more
This region







