Seahorse Diving in Cairns, County of Nares, Australia | Diving

Welcome to Seahorse Diving, Cairns, Australia. Seahorse Diving is an excursion under sail to a remote sand cay at the edge of Upolu Reef. The voyage begins in Cairns and involves a 2-hour journey offshore. During the passage the crew will involve you in all or any of the ship's operations, from setting sails to steering a course.

At some point in the journey the captain requests an audience to engage the passengers of the day in a far-reaching discussion about the Great Barrier Reef as a unique phenomenon - Why it is that 30% of the world's reef lies along the Queensland Coast? What fish is that? What behaviours are best for long-term protection of the reef?   At the end of this session the reef is in sight, the anticipation is contagious and the crew are equally keen to prepare for the plunge.

Some passengers are ready to take a guided certified dive, some will be taking a hand-held SSI introductory dive, some will enjoy a guided snorkel, and some may be learning to do it all for the first time.   The user-friendly nature of Upolu Reef never ceases to amaze us on Seahorse Diving. Twenty nautical miles out to sea and you can't wait to get into the aquarium!   Upolu Reef is a mid-shelf reef, as are all the reefs offshore Cairns. Only ten percent of the reefs on the Great Barrier Reef have ephemeral islands developing on them, sand cays as they are known. These island beaches, in the middle of the ocean, are sensitive areas and, by permit, only a small number of boats with small passenger numbers are accessing these sand cays.

In the relatively sheltered reef lagoon with less than three metres of water you will see: striped fish, giant clams, sea turtles, spotted fish, rays, sea stars, more fish, maybe a dugong grazing, an abundance of fish, nudibranchs, and lots more colourful fish! Our marine naturalist will help you to identify them and tell you something of their lives in the reef community.   En route to the reef it is also not uncommon to see whales during their migratory season.