Where is osprey reef

Visibility here is often phenomenal, rising above 60 metres, and the topography of the site means there is often plenty to see in the distance. Show more. The name Admiralty comes from the centuries old admiralty-style anchor that sits in a cave which provides an entertaining if a little narrow swim-through and gives the reef a focal point. Otherwise this reef is characterised by healthy hills of coral interspersed with sandy channels.

Visually it appears like a coral village and you can spend the whole dive touring around the sandy roads and lanes. The slopes, pinnacles and mounds feature a lot of stony, leather and staghorn corals as well as crinoids in hues of yellow and black. Marine life includes schools of midnight snapper, red-tailed wrasses, goldstripe wrasses, lyretail hogfish and lyretail sandperch.

More obvious highlights include diving with whitetip and grey reef sharks, and the occasional passing eagle ray in the deeper sections. Incredible visibility, pristine reefs, clean sandy channels and plenty of fish action, Admiralty is one of those Australian dive sites that you don't mind to visit several times over. Where you begin this dive depends on which route you choose: it can be either a long deep drift or an easy exploration of the lagoon area. On the drift you will be dropped beside a rising pinnacle that tops out at around 1 metre below the surface and you will sink done close to its base at around 15 metres deep.

In optimal condititions a mild current will bring you gently over a highway of coral rubble which runs from 3 to 20m, dividing 2 sections of the reef. As you reach the other side of the highway, a bommie covered in soft corals will come into view. Atop this bommie is a line on to which you and some of your fellow scuba divers may be instructed to hold and hang there in around 20 to 25 metres.

If you haven't already spotted them before getting to the line, you soon will: mantas , sometimes several, will come in and hover in the current enjoying all the facilities of what is a natural cleaning station. The rays seem to hang motionless as the little wrasses go to work picking parasites off the skin of the graceful beauties, some with a wing span of 3 to 4 metres.

They tend to have white undersides with black topsides, dappled with various patches of white. After several minutes marveling at these most alluring of creatures, you will probably then proceed to drift over a sandy channel where white tip reef sharks rest on the sea floor and a proliferation of soft corals heralds the entrance to a shallow lagoon.

This lagoon is so beautiful and has such a number of things to investigate that it is considered a separate dive site in its own right.

In addition to the soft corals, the entrance is marked by a large boulder coral covered by Christmas tree worms. Inside, the lagoon is teeming with colour to the extent that 1 instructor declared it to be "like the gaming room of Crown Casino".

Blue staghorn, swarms of damsels and anthias, all manner of Christmas tree worms and nudibranchs , all add to the riot of a colourful scenario around which an amazing array of butterflyfish flutter. You will spot varieties such as saddled, threadfin, pyramid and blackback butterflyfish. Plus look out for the 2 distinct types with differentially scaled proboscis that are prevalent in Australia: the longnose butterfly fish and the Some dive site names offer little in the way of information about the site.

The name Coral Canyons on the other hand, tells the story: large and long canyons dividing large coral outcrops. The channels here are not fine sand but consist mainly of broken corals and rubble mostly lying between 30 and 40m, so you might begin your dive by trailing along the seabed.

There are a number of different ways to dive this area which makes it several sites in one! After the first few minutes, your dive will take the shape of passing up over and around various ridges that top out at anything between 20 and 10m.

Around these reef-tops look out for red-breasted wrasses, arc-eye hawkfish, and clown triggerfish. The resident population of sharks will undoubtedly be among your scuba diving highlights in Australia, whose large numbers ensure that these adrenalin-filled wall dives are not to be missed.

North Horn is the spot where these enduring memories are made. Against a backdrop of healthy reefs with large gorgonian fans and large pelagics in the blue, is where a famous shark feed takes place. You can expect to see, from your natural amphitheatre seat, grey reef sharks, silky sharks, and possibly even Silvertips and Hammerheads in a feeding frenzy which will make the hairs on your neck stand on end.

Also seen at Osprey Reef are some of the big ones such as whale sharks, beaked whales, sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, sailfish and marlin. You may be lucky enough to have these visiting whilst you are enjoying your diving on the Great Barrier Reef, but regardless, you will still get to enjoy the huge schools of barracuda and tuna. About us. Marine parks in the Indian Ocean Territories.

Fisheries assistance and user engagement. Contact us. Search Search button. Colourful coral garden. Osprey Reef is vast and grand. Osprey Reef is metres high : the reef sits atop an underwater mountain rising almost vertically from the ocean floor. Underwater visibility is 30 metres to 60 metres : diving at Osprey is extraordinary. Osprey Reef is almost 30 kilometres long and over square kilometres in area, one of the biggest reefs in the region. Lost worlds In a team of researchers from Australia and Germany launched the Deep Down Under expedition, which sent remotely operated underwater vehicles to undiveable depths at Osprey Reef.

Among the otherworldly discoveries were: a deep-sea fish — the sea toad, previously only found in South America gardens of plant-like creatures, some new to science, including stalked sea lilies and glass sponges that would have dominated the ocean tens to hundreds of millions of years ago. Photographer: Allyazza Grey reef whaler sharks and whitetip reef sharks are abundant year round. Learn about your marine parks. Diving Osprey Reef in April on the Spoilsport.

Such a beautiful place. A lot of different animals, drift dive's, shallow dives beautiful hard and soft coral. Scenic, just need to look at the environment for the global picture of the marine life. Some great sites Admiralty, False Entrance some not so great - mostly due to poor viz on that day.

Diving Osprey Reef in December on the Spoilsport. Diving Osprey Reef in March on the Spoilsport. See all 1 liveaboards. Liveaboard Diving in Osprey Reef What To Expect On An Osprey Reef Liveaboard Setting sail on a Cairns based liveaboard tour bound for Osprey Reef , you will truly be entering a remote unspoilt underwater wilderness, full of vibrant colours, curious sea creatures and stunning scenery.

What You Can See Excited by big fish? Getting to Osprey Reef Because of it's remoteness, Osprey Reef is difficult to get to, and as a result makes the diving even more spectacular as you'll be sharing the water with very few, other than the stunning marine life on show. Osprey Reef Diving Reviews 9.

Very good. Incredible dive location, nothing like it. Beyond excellent. Truly a special spot. So much going on. Tons of different fish. Even with storm damage evident this dive was memorable, lots of life and evidence of new growth Diving Osprey Reef in April on the Spirit of Freedom.

Beautiful reef teaming with life.