Australia & New Zealand · Australia
Rowley Shoals
Tidal channels through pristine atolls draw dense schools of sharks and pelagics.
Photo: Maclearite · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rowley Shoals is a chain of three coral atolls — Mermaid, Clerke and Imperieuse Reefs — rising from deep water off the remote Kimberley coast, reachable only by a multi-day liveaboard crossing from Broome. Strong tidal exchange through the atoll channels keeps the coral exceptionally pristine and pulls in large schools of trevally, tuna and reef sharks, while the outer walls drop steeply into open blue water.
About diving in Rowley Shoals
Everything here runs off a boat and a tide table. Departures leave Broome on fixed dates, the crossing covers close to 300 km of open ocean and eats a night at each end of a roughly week-long trip, and the only land out there is a scatter of low sand cays. Once on site the boat works one atoll for a day or two before moving on. Dive times follow the tidal exchange rather than the clock, so briefings slide around through the week and the days settle into three or four dives plus a night dive off the back deck.
The three atolls are variations on one shape: a shallow, coral-floored lagoon behind a rim that dries on the low tide, a navigable entrance channel, and steep coral on the ocean side. Inside the lagoon it is bright and calm, with coral heads, giant clams and small reef fish in a few metres of water. Outside the rim there is nothing below but blue water hundreds of metres deep. Most of the diving sits inside 30 m either way, so the walls get worked along their upper section rather than pushed deep.
The dive people come for is the lagoon entrance on a running tide. Divers drop at the mouth of the channel and go through with the water, past coral banks and fish holding in the flow, at a speed that leaves no option but to ride it out and get picked up at the far end. There is no fishing fleet based within reach and no land to send runoff onto the reefs, and the atolls carry marine park zoning — Mermaid under Commonwealth management, the two southern reefs inside the Western Australian park.
This suits divers who are comfortable being carried, who can hold a stop in blue water with nothing underneath them, and who bring their own surface marker for the pickup. It also suits people who accept that the itinerary belongs to the weather: there is no alternative site if a swell arrives, no way to shorten the trip and no phone coverage to complain about it. Divers who want short, easy dives, or who mainly shoot macro, will get less out of the cost than those who came for current, sharks and open water.
Best time to dive Rowley Shoals
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Off-season |
| Sea surface | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F |
| Daytime high | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 28°C82°F | 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | 169 mm6.7 in | 124 mm4.9 in | 74 mm2.9 in | 47 mm1.9 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 15 mm0.6 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 2 mm0.1 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 8 mm0.3 in | 57 mm2.2 in |
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 29°C84°F | 27°C81°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 30°C86°F | 30°C86°F | 31°C88°F | 31°C88°F | 30°C86°F | 28°C82°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 169 mm6.7 in | 124 mm4.9 in | 74 mm2.9 in | 47 mm1.9 in | 30 mm1.2 in | 15 mm0.6 in |
| Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Off-season |
| Sea surface | |||||
| 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 26°C79°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F |
| Daytime high | |||||
| 27°C81°F | 26°C79°F | 27°C81°F | 28°C82°F | 29°C84°F | 30°C86°F |
| Rain | |||||
| 3 mm0.1 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 2 mm0.1 in | 3 mm0.1 in | 8 mm0.3 in | 57 mm2.2 in |
2011–2025 averages. Sea surface: NOAA Coral Reef Watch, measured at the surface, so deeper water can run colder. Daytime high and rain: NASA POWER.
December to April is the cyclone season, with westerly rain-bearing winds, and no dive boats make the crossing. From May to October strong south-easterly trade winds blow across the open water between Broome and the atolls, and dive boats wait for them to ease. From late September to November the sea is calm enough for a safe passage, and nearly every dive departure falls in these weeks, with October and early November the core. Water is then in the high 20s, around 27 to 28 °C, and visibility of 20 to 40 m is typical, clearest on the incoming tide. Departures are few and fixed-date, so berths are often booked a year ahead.
Best months: October, November
Rowley Shoals water temperature and weather by month
The sea surface runs from 26 °C (79 °F) in August to 30 °C (86 °F) in March. Most rain falls from December to April, peaking at about 170 mm (6.7 in) in January; it stays largely dry from June to November. Daytime highs reach 31 °C (88 °F) in March and drop to 26 °C (79 °F) in August. The coldest water here is about 24 °C (75 °F), so pack a 3 mm full suit.
Dive types & marine life
Grey reef and whitetip sharks are on most dives, with trevally and tuna stacked in the channel flow and eagle rays along the outer walls; mantas are seen but not counted on. Napoleon wrasse and large groupers hold on the reef edge, and hammerheads are an occasional deeper sighting. They are there whenever boats run — the ratings track sea state, and September to November is the settled core.
- Wall
- Drift
- Reef
- Reef sharks
- Hammerheads
- Manta rays
- Napoleon wrasse
- Groupers
- Eagle rays
- Trevally & jacks
- Tuna
- Pristine corals
Best dive sites in Rowley Shoals
- 1
Clerke Wall
Clerke's outer wall, sloping steeply from 5 m under dense coral, with turtles, sharks and pelagics along it.
- 2
Blue Lagoon
Chain of small lagoons at 8–12 m inside coral walls, with barracuda, trevally, sweetlips and snapper schools.
- 3
Cod Hole
Mermaid Reef bowl of coral walls and white sand, churning with bumphead parrotfish, reef sharks and trevally.
- 4
Clerke Channel
The channel drift: a fast tide carries divers out of the lagoon to the outer reef, to about 23 m.
- 5
Mermaid Wall
Mermaid Reef's outer wall above very deep water, hung with large red gorgonian fans and pink soft corals.
- 6
Jimmy Goes To China
Clerke fore-reef dive where grey reef and silvertip sharks move through thick five-lined snapper schools.
- 7
Clerke Aquarium
Sheltered lagoon bommie at about 12 m in staghorn thickets; the easy check-out dive of the trip.
Site guides
White rubble floors at 8-12 m ringed by sheer coral walls.
Lagoon
A check-out dive circling one big bommie in 12 m of sheltered water.
Cave & cavern
Light beams through cave roofs with trevally circling
Drift
A tidal channel drift you ride rather than swim
Wall
A broadclub cuttlefish on the coral, sharks and turtles out in the blue.
Reef
Cupcake-shaped bommies above a reef slope that runs off to 50 m.
Sand slope
Hundreds of garden eels standing out of white sand at 20 m
Reef
Gentle coral slope that plunges to 50 m
Wall
Gorgonian fans and plate corals on a wall to 50 m
How to get to Rowley Shoals
Broome is the only practical gateway, usually reached on a domestic flight via Perth, with a night in town before boarding. There is no shore access and no way to day-trip the shoals: every visit is a fixed-departure liveaboard, and boats run a limited number of dates each season, so flights get booked around the boat rather than the other way round.
Dive videos
Rowley Shoals - Odyssey Expeditions Dive Trip - November 2021 · Mathias Sehnke on YouTube
Diving the Rowley Shoals HD 1080p · Schiatzet fontana on YouTube
Questions divers ask
When is the Rowley Shoals dive season?+
Late September to November. The trade winds ease then and the sea is calm enough for the overnight crossing from Broome; for the rest of the year trade winds or the December to April cyclone season keep charter boats away. Most dive departures fall in October.
How do divers get to the Rowley Shoals?+
Only by liveaboard from Broome. The atolls lie about 260 to 300 km offshore, the crossing is an overnight steam, and trips run five to eight nights. There are no day trips, no flights and no independent access to the atolls.
What certification is needed to dive the Rowley Shoals?+
Open Water is the minimum, but at least 20 logged dives and recent diving are recommended. The lagoon sites are easy, while the channel drifts run fast and the outer walls drop into water hundreds of metres deep, so experience in current makes the trip far more enjoyable.
Is the Rowley Shoals a marine park?+
Yes, two of them. Clerke and Imperieuse Reefs are in the state-run Rowley Shoals Marine Park, where about a quarter of the park is sanctuary zone and there is no entry fee. Mermaid Reef is a Commonwealth marine park zoned National Park, where fishing is prohibited. Diving and snorkelling are allowed in both.
What is the water temperature at the Rowley Shoals?+
In the high 20s, around 27 to 28 °C, during the October and November dive season. Visibility is commonly 20 to 40 m and varies with the tide, clearest when the flood tide is running.
Sources
- Rowley Shoals — Wikipedia
- Rowley Shoals Marine Park Management Plan 2007–2017 — WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
- Rowley Shoals Marine Park — Explore Parks WA
- Mermaid Reef Marine Park — Australian Marine Parks
- Rowley Shoals Marine Park: Broome Diving & Snorkelling — Australia's North West
- Diving Remote Rowley Shoals — Diveplanit
- Rowley Shoals: Australia's most exclusive dive destination — Diveplanit
- Remote Rowley Shoals a Divers Paradise — Divernet
- Rowley Shoals cruise itinerary — Odyssey Expeditions
- Liveaboards in Rowley Shoals, Australia — Liveaboard.com
Photo credits
- Aerial view of the reef line and lagoon at Bedwell Islet, Clerke Reef, part of the Rowley Shoals atolls off Western Australia by Maclearite, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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