| World renowned for some of the best diving | | | | try to muscle in on the action. |
| experiences you will ever encounter, the Ribbon | | | | Steve's Bommie is a bit of a legendary dive site. The |
| Reefs are long, thin strips of reef, which form the | | | | ballade of Steve varies according to who's telling the |
| outer edges of the Great Barrier Reef around 50 km | | | | story, but the common thread is that Steve loved |
| -- 100 km off the northern Queensland shore and so | | | | this bommie, came to an untimely end and had the |
| are accessed only by Australian liveaboards. | | | | bommie named after him. A memorial plaque can be |
| Characteristically no wider than 450m, the Ribbon | | | | seen at 25m where most divers start on this site. |
| Reefs are part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park | | | | Legends aside, Steve's Bommie features a wealth of |
| and are covered in colourful corals that attract a | | | | schooling action, big fish and macro life. Cruising |
| plethora of reef life big and small, with sandy gullies | | | | barracudas, whitetip reef sharks and possibly even |
| separating them, themselves containing interesting | | | | minke whales will leave you wanting to look |
| critters. | | | | everywhere at once. |
| The Ribbon Reefs are generally quite shallow, coming | | | | The Temple of Doom is another peculiarly named |
| up to as high as 5 metres below the surface from a | | | | Ribbon Reef dive site. Aside from macro action on |
| sandy bottom that is between 15-20 metres below | | | | the bommie itself, pelagic fish are a constant and |
| the surface. With great visibility year round and | | | | you'll have to ration your time between the reef and |
| mostly calm sea surfaces, they are the staple of | | | | the blue. Shark sightings are common as are large |
| many liveaboards and provide fascinating Australia | | | | rays and bluefin trevally of the 70 cm plus variety. |
| scuba diving opportunities for all levels of diver. | | | | Diving Season |
| Highlights | | | | Due to Queensland's tropical climate, any time of the |
| One of the most famous Great Barrier Reef dive | | | | year is a good time to dive the Ribbon Reefs. Water |
| sites and a spectacle to behold, Cod Hole, as the | | | | temperatures fluctuate between 22°C in winter and |
| name suggests, is a dive site famous for cod. Giant | | | | 29°C during summer. Visibility is good year round, |
| potato cod to be exact. What makes this site special | | | | with best vis from September to November. |
| is that the giant potato cod are virtually | | | | During the wet summer months rainfall is moderate |
| domesticated thanks to 2 decades of being fed by | | | | but usually limited to early mornings and later |
| divemasters. There's something special about a 60 kg | | | | afternoons. The dry winter months see little rain. |
| fish swimming right up to you for a nibble from your | | | | Surface conditions are always calm, but can become |
| hand. During feeding time everyone joins the action | | | | moderate during winter. |
| as coral trout, sweetlips, triggerfish and trevally also | | | | |