North Stradbroke Island · Australia · Reef · Pelagic & blue water
Sevens Reef
Decompression depths, strong current, whaler sharks
Area photo: Tanya Dedyukhina · CC BY 3.0
Sevens Reef is an open-ocean site off Point Lookout, graded 20 to 48 m by the dive centre and 30 to 50 m by a dive-site listing, and open only to experienced technical divers or highly experienced recreational divers trained and equipped for decompression. Currents can be strong and visibility unpredictable. Whaler sharks are the draw, with humpback and minke whales passing through.
Also known as Seven's Reef.
Where it is and how deep
27.4000° S, 153.5667° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
This is not ordinary diving at Point Lookout. The dive centre grades Sevens Reef for experienced technical divers and puts the depth at 20 to 48 m; a dive-site listing records depths ranging from 30 m to 50 m and states that divers need to be trained and equipped for decompression diving. Either way the dive is planned around gas and deco obligation rather than around a route across the reef.
Conditions are the second filter. This is an area prone to unpredictable visibility and strong currents at times, which keeps the site to teams set up for it and to days that suit. What has come past is the reason people make the effort: a large population of whaler sharks — bull, sandbar and bronze — along with humpback and minke whales, and even the odd white pointer.
Marine life and season
- Bull sharks
- Whales
- Great whites
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
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.
Know before you go
- Strong currents run here at times and visibility is unpredictable, so the site only goes ahead when the day suits it.
- Depths run to 48 m and beyond, which means decompression training, planning and gas rather than an advanced card alone.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre — Manta Lodge & Scuba Centre
- Sevens Reef — Scubago
More dive sites in North Stradbroke Island
Shore dive timed for slack water at the top of the tide
Wall
Near-vertical walls dived four or five times a year
Deep reef at 28 to 45 m with resident bull sharks
Flat Rock's shallow corner, 4 to 18 m over juvenile fish
Winter sand channel where grey nurse sharks gather
Small cave at 10 m on Flat Rock's northern side
Reef
Shallow cleaning stations that mantas work from October to April
Reef
The area's shelter dive, 800 m off Home Beach
Similar dives elsewhere
Gentle coral slope that plunges to 50 m
Giant manta rays over an offshore bank, 16 m at its deepest
Grey nurse sharks on the rock from July to October
Hammerheads and Zambezi sharks off a reef edge in open water