Gab Gab Reef

Divers with base access walk in down the stairs at Gab Gab beach, inflating before the last step because the rocks at the bottom are slippery. Heading north brings you to the first reef and its drop-off, where concrete buckets at about 5 and 8 m give something to tie a float to. Visibility inside the harbour usually runs 9 to 21 m, so the shallow reef stays bright while the deeper slope goes dim.

About 200 m north of the Gab Gab monument the ground continues as Gab Gab 2, where the top of the reef sits at roughly 14 m and larger schools gather. The Atlantis tourist submarine works this stretch and its crew feed the fish, which is why the residents are unusually approachable; stay at least 15 m clear of the submarine itself. Civilian divers reach the same ground on the short boat ride to the white buoy.

The fish behave accordingly around the feeding areas. Giant trevally arrive fast and close and are known to bite fingers, so keep hands closed and carry nothing that looks like food. Turtles, several kinds of anemone, sponges and soft corals fill the reef between them, and a large eel has been reported by the feed bucket. From the drop-off the slope carries on to about 37 m, so agree a maximum before you get in.