Mooloolaba · Australia · Reef
Clown Reef
Thousands of anemones, and shrimp 5 mm long
Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0
Boulders at one end and gullies at the other, dived at 12 to 18 metres on Open Water certification. The name is literal: there are thousands of anemones on this site with clownfish living in them. The reason to bring a torch and slow down is smaller still, since Scuba World points divers here at sexy shrimp, which run about 5 to 10 millimetres long.
Where it is and how deep
26.6478° S, 153.1550° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Dropping down on the site, one end looks like boulder city and the other breaks into gullies, so the dive splits itself in two: work the boulders and the anemones growing on them, then follow the gullies back towards the shallower end. Depths run 12 to 18 metres and Scuba World rates it Open Water, which makes it a comfortable first or second dive of a two-dive morning.
The anemones are everywhere and clownfish are in them, so this is a site that rewards staying in one spot far longer than usual. Look closer again and you may find a sexy shrimp; Scuba World describes them as roughly 5 to 10 millimetres in length, which means a torch, settled buoyancy and some patience if you intend to photograph one rather than just tick it off.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Mooloolaba: Grey nurse sharks hold at Nurse Rock July–October, the months operators also rate clearest; summer is murkier and falls inside the November–April cyclone season.
Sources
- Mooloolaba Reef Diving — Scuba World
- Clown Reef — Scubago
More dive sites in Mooloolaba
Sheltered ledge from 16 m up to 5 m, thick with nudibranchs
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A 133 m destroyer on sand at 28 m, dived outside only
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Eighty metres of coral-covered boulders on open sand
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Reef shaped like a hull, in 23 to 32 m
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A 3 m hole dropping into a bowl of wobbegongs and groupers
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Grey nurse sharks on the rock from July to October
Pinnacle
Two towers off the sand at 24 m, tops at 14 and 16 m
Wall
A 50 m wall with an overhang you shoot from underneath
Similar dives elsewhere
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The southernmost reef where plate coral grows this thickly
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