Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Australia · Wall
Aquarium Wall
An undercut in the wall at 40 m, west of Ski Run
Area photo: photoboothrental.com · CC BY-SA 3.0
A wall dive to the west of Ski Run and Cabbage Patch, run for experienced divers and best suited to those with a deep qualification. The bottom is rocky rather than pretty, and the feature divers come for is an undercut in the wall at 40 m, which puts the dive firmly at the deep end of recreational limits.
Where it is and how deep
12.0972° S, 96.8392° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site sits west of Ski Run and Cabbage Patch, so it usually comes up as an alternative to those two rather than as a first dive of the day. The bottom is a little rocky, and anyone expecting a coral garden should adjust the expectation before they get in — the reason to dive here is the wall itself and the depth it allows, not the ground at its foot.
The undercut at 40 m is the feature, and reaching it means committing the first part of the dive to depth. Drop down the wall, work the undercut while gas and no-decompression time allow, then walk the profile back up the face in stages. It is a dive for the more experienced, and particularly for divers who are deep qualified, because at that depth there is very little margin for a slow start or a late turn.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows Cocos (Keeling) Islands: Divable year-round; Apr–Jun and Oct–Nov are calmest, with the wet season from December to March bringing more wind.
Know before you go
- The undercut sits at 40 m, at the limit of recreational diving: gas planning, a hard turn pressure and a conservative ascent are what keep this dive inside no-decompression limits.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Aquarium Wall?+
The wall's undercut sits at 40 m, and the site is recommended for experienced divers, especially those with a deep diver qualification.
Sources
- Aquarium Wall - Cocos (Keeling) Islands — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
More dive sites in Cocos (Keeling) Islands
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Reef
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Reef top at 10 m, then a short drop to 18 m on the eastern side
Similar dives elsewhere
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