Turtle Bommie is a Divers Den site on Hastings Reef, described as a smaller bommie cluster dropping off deeply to the north. The name suggests the attraction, and turtles are indeed regular here, resting on the bommies or cruising along the drop. The cluster of coral heads gives the upper part of the dive plenty of structure, with overhangs and gaps, while the northern drop-off provides depth for certified divers.

Divers Den lists batfish, stonefish, anthias and fusiliers among the fish, and smaller table corals, sea fans and whip corals as the dominant growth. The stonefish are worth noting both as a find and as a reason to keep hands off the reef, since they are extremely well camouflaged on the rubble and coral. Batfish tend to hang in the water near the bommies and will often approach divers, anthias swarm over the coral heads, and fusiliers stream past in schools along the drop.

The sea fans and whip corals on the deeper slope are home to small gobies, shrimps and feather stars for macro enthusiasts. The dive suits Open Water divers who stay on the bommies and more experienced divers who want to drop down the northern face. Snorkellers can see the bommie tops but the best of the site is below 8 m.

Visibility is typically 12-22 m, better on the drop than over the bommie tops. Divers Den uses the site on both its day boat and its Ocean Quest liveaboard, and it rounds out a Hastings day well after the Fish Bowl or Blue Lagoon.

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 50 km out through Trinity Inlet and across the lagoon to Hastings Reef takes around 75 minutes on a fast catamaran and noticeably longer on slower dive boats or into a south-easterly chop.

Turtle Bommie is used by Divers Den's Reef Quest day boat and Ocean Quest liveaboard. 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. Hastings has moorings on all sides, so there is almost always a sheltered option. Turtle Bommie's northern drop-off is sheltered in south-easterlies but exposed to summer northerlies.

Descend to the bommie cluster and work around it at 10-15 m, then drop over the northern edge to 18-25 m for a short look at the sea fans and whips. Return up the slope to the bommie tops for a safety stop at 5 m.

Divers Den (Reef Quest day trips, Ocean Quest liveaboard) – regular; Hastings is also worked by Reef Experience, Divers Den, Tusa Reef Tours, Aqua Quest, Down Under Cruise & Dive and the Reef Encounter liveaboard; the mooring used on any day is chosen by the skipper according to wind, tide and other boats