Rowley Shoals · Australia · Lagoon · Reef
Blue Lagoon
White rubble floors at 8-12 m ringed by sheer coral walls.
Photo: Maclearite · CC BY-SA 4.0
Blue Lagoon is the sheltered dive inside Clerke Atoll that liveaboard trips use to open the week. White coral-rubble floors sit at 8-12 m, enclosed by sheer walls of coral rising towards the shallows, and the protected water makes it a straightforward first dive after the crossing from Broome.
Where it is and how deep
17.3167° S, 119.3500° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Divers go in behind the reef rim, out of the ocean swell. The bottom is white coral rubble at 8-12 m and it holds that depth, so the descent is short and the whole dive runs within a few metres of one contour. What gives the site its shape are the coral walls that enclose the rubble floor, rising sheer from the bottom towards the shallows.
Follow the base of the walls and the dive works itself out: bright rubble underfoot, coral face on one shoulder, fish along the edge. Trip reports from here list a large school of trevally, plus barracuda, fusiliers, surgeonfish, snappers and sweetlips, with anemonefish in the coral and whitetip reef sharks over the rubble. With the floor at 12 m at its deepest there is no depth pressure, which is why trips open the week on this site rather than on the outer reefs.
Because the lagoon is enclosed it is calmer than the ocean side of the atoll, and it works as a settling-in dive for people who have just come off a long crossing. No current, visibility or water-temperature figures have been published for this specific site; the tides that pour in and out of the atoll still decide when the boat puts divers in.
Marine life and season
- Barracuda
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef sharks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Good | Prime | Prime | Off-season |
Season follows Rowley Shoals: Liveaboards run in the calm window from late September to November; trade winds before it and the December–April cyclone season keep boats away.
Know before you go
- The lagoon is enclosed but sits inside a tidal atoll system, so water can still move through it - stay with your guide and keep the boat's tide briefing in mind.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Blue Lagoon at Rowley Shoals?+
The coral-rubble floor sits at 8-12 m and the dive stays on it, which makes this a shallow dive by Rowley Shoals standards. The coral walls that enclose the floor rise from there towards the surface.
Sources
- Diving Remote Rowley Shoals — Diveplanit
- Rowley Shoals: Australia's most exclusive dive destination — Diveplanit
- Rowley Shoals — Wikipedia
- Diving in Australia — Wikivoyage
Photo credits
- Aerial view of Bedwell Islet and the turquoise reef flat at Clerke Reef, Rowley Shoals. by Maclearite, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in Rowley Shoals
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A check-out dive circling one big bommie in 12 m of sheltered water.
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Wall
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Sand slope
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Reef
Gentle coral slope that plunges to 50 m
Wall
Gorgonian fans and plate corals on a wall to 50 m
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