Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Australia · Reef
Broccoli Patch
Sand at 5 m, coral to 9 m, and room to get buoyancy right
Area photo: photoboothrental.com · CC BY-SA 3.0
A shallow coral and sand site used for new and not yet qualified divers, with the boat sitting over a 5 m sandy bottom and the ground dropping away to about 9 m. It is the local teaching dive, chosen because everything on it can be done slowly and nothing about the profile punishes a diver still learning to hold a depth.
Where it is and how deep
12.0948° S, 96.8803° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
Entry is a straightforward descent from the boat onto a sandy bottom in 5 m, which is shallow enough that the line is barely needed and the sand gives an obvious visual reference for anyone still working out where neutral is. Coral heads stand on that sand, and the first part of the dive is simply moving between them without touching anything.
The usual profile then works the depth band deliberately: a slow ascent to 3 m, holding it, and a slow drop back down to 9 m. That up-and-down is the point of the site for dive students, since it forces the small breath-by-breath corrections that a flat swim never asks for. With the deepest ground at 9 m the dive can run as long as the group's air allows, and nothing on the profile pushes a new diver.
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.
Questions divers ask
Is Broccoli Patch suitable for beginners?+
Yes — it is described as a dive site for new and not yet qualified divers, and it is used for dive students working on buoyancy skills.
How deep is Broccoli Patch?+
The boat sits over a 5 m sandy bottom and the profile runs down to about 9 m at its deepest point.
Sources
- Broccoli Patch - Cocos (Keeling) Islands — Scubago / SSI MyDiveGuide
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