North Stradbroke Island — Point Lookout, the area around Flat Rock - Turtle Cave

North Stradbroke Island · Australia · Reef · Cave & cavern

Flat Rock - Turtle Cave

Small cave at 10 m on Flat Rock's northern side

Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0

Turtle Cave is the north-western side of Flat Rock, several kilometres offshore from Point Lookout, with a small cave at 10 m and reef dropping to a maximum of 30 m. Batfish school over the rock, barracuda and turtles work it, and prevailing currents keep the water clearer out here. Over winter eagle rays, grey nurse sharks and humpback whales turn up, and a solo whale shark has visited between February and April.

Also known as Turtle Cave.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Flat Rock - Turtle Cave: typical dive 10–30 m (33–100 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10 m30 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

27.3888° S, 153.5511° EPublished position for this site.

The dive

The site is on the north-western side of Flat Rock, several kilometres offshore. The small cave sits at 10 m and the reef falls away from there to a maximum depth of 30 m, so the shape of the dive is a descent down the rock and a slow working return up towards the cave and the shallows. Prevailing currents run out here, which is why excellent visibility is more common at this site than at the ones closer to shore.

What you meet depends on the month. Large schools of inquisitive batfish hang over the rock, with barracuda and turtles on it and several species of pelagic shark that frequent the area. Over winter, large fevers of eagle rays cross the site, grey nurse sharks move in and even humpback whales have been seen from it. This is also the site the dive centre's yearly solo-visiting whale shark has chosen, popping in for a day or two between February and April the last few years.

Marine life and season

  • Sea turtles
  • Barracuda
  • Eagle rays
  • Sand tiger sharks
  • Whales
  • Whale sharks
  • Reef fish swarms
Month-by-month season rating for Flat Rock - Turtle Cave
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodFairPrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodGood

Season follows North Stradbroke Island: Mantas work the Manta Bommie cleaning stations Oct–Apr; grey nurse sharks and humpbacks arrive Jun–Oct, when visibility is also at its best. Boats run Friday to Tuesday.

Sources

  1. Dive Sites — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre
  2. Flat Rock - Turtle Cave — Scubago

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