Offshore Reef & Wreck Dives.

The biodiversity of the Gold Coast is amazing, to say the least. With more than 15,000 different species of fish ranging from little tiddlers right up to some of the largest sharks in the world, it’s easy to find yourself distracted in this magical watery world. There are also plenty of turtles, maori wrasse, manta ray, clown fish, jellyfish, and crustaceans going about their daily life. Of course, you could head to Sea World to see many of these, but there is nothing quite as captivating as seeing them in their natural habitat. Beside the ocean life, the Gold Coast plays host to lots of mysterious shipwrecks waiting to be explored, many of which hold a rich history.

Palm Beach Reef is the largest coral reef system on the Gold Coast. The
reefs footprint is about 2-3 times larger than the exposed part of Cook Island and it would take about 10-20 dives to explore the site in its
entirety. Palm Beach Reef is truly amazing, full of surprises and
absolutely underrated.

The Scottish Prince, 800 meters off the Gold Coast’s Southport Spit,
features the wreck of a three steel-masted, 64 meter iron barque ship.
The Scottish Prince sank as it was sailing from Glasgow, Scotland to
Brisbane with a cargo of whiskey, mousetraps, linen and other assorted cargo, with only the hull of the ship remaining.

These days, the Scottish Prince is covered in soft corals and sponges, making it a haven for crayfish, shovel nose rays, brown-banded cat sharks and wobbegong sharks, and other tropical fish. There isn’t much access to the inside of the wreck, however a variety of marine life will pop their heads out to say hello. The Scottish Prince is protected under the Commonwealth Historic Shipwreck Act, so make sure you take nothing but photos and memories.