DIVING THE COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

Flying over Cocos you can be forgiven for thinking that you are about to land somewhere else. The scenery has that familiar Indian Ocean look: a bright turquoise lagoon is ringed by tiny islands, small splashes of land where the pale yellow shoreline merges into deep green vegetation.

Yet you have just arrived at Australia's furthest outpost, an horseshoe shaped atoll that has kept quietly to itself for decades, except perhaps as staging post between distant destinations. In the two World Wars, Cocos Keeling was the location for an important telecommunications station used by several navies.

The weather dictates the diving on this atoll. Located 2750 km north west of Perth, and with no other land in sight, the islands are rather isolated. You can dive the inner part lagoon when it's windy, the outside edge when it's calm.

Inside the lagoon is surprisingly barren and affectionately known as ‘diving the desert’. These reefs are designed by currents and tidal surges. Smooth rocky surfaces are peppered with small hard coral heads where the marine life gathers for shelter. An occasional octopus and many lionfish lurk amongst rocks and outcrops, while plenty of sharks swing by to watch the tourists. There are a few small wrecks and the remains of that all-important telecomms cable.

Outside, the landscape couldn't be more different - the reef drop-offs are smothered in hard corals which are generally in fabulous condition. At the base of the walls are huge apricot fans and more patrolling sharks. Hovering over the edge of a wall you're likely to encounter all sorts of pelagic fish - tuna, barracuda and several types of trevally that school in mutual groups. And, if you are lucky, there'll be a school of bottlenose dolphins that come to play.