FLINDERS REEF

Morton Bay, Queensland, May 2009

Photos by Judy Breeze

Article by Ros Sharp

Although the sea conditions weren’t the best, seven AUFQ divers recently enjoyed three days diving around Morton Island. Flinders Reef was perhaps the best of the amazing dive sites around the northern, seaward side of Morton Island and is enjoyed by hundreds of divers every year. This site boasts great visibility, 30 meter plus on our recent dive trip, a wide variety of hard and soft corals as well as many of the reef fish and marine creatures seen much farther north and many subtropical species as well.

Once we descended down the fixed mooring line to the bottom, average depth around 16 meters, we quickly realized that this blue paradise was alive with colourful reef fish. Brilliantly coloured, and very curious, wrasse followed us everywhere. Squire and snapper hovered constantly above. Brightly coloured blue pullers ( chromis) angelfish, parrot fish, basslets, surgeonfish, puffer fish, yellow trumpet fish, blue damsels, cardinal fish, butterfly fish and numerous other species darted amongst the coral. Cornet fish, red throated sweetlip and cod hung suspended. Nudibranchs, clam shells spider shells and white cowry shells were easily spotted. And, as we cruised among the gutters, pinnacles and small caves, we were amazed by the variety of hard coral growths including thick staghorn outcrops, brain and plate corals as well as the many soft corals, gorgonians and sponges. As we continued our dive we spotted a number of turtles, starfish, urchins, Christmas tree worms, wobbegong sharks, a reef shark, eels, octopus, rays, black sea cucumbers, crayfish, starfish, crinoids, hermit crabs and numerous reef fish and other creatures that I recognized.

As there was just too much to see in one dive at this awesome site, by unanimous vote, we decided to spend a day and a half diving at Flinders and all have vowed to return ASAP.