Diving the Rowley Shoals in Australia

Rowley Shoals scuba diving features

Pristine hard corals
Sharks from tiger to whitetip reef sharks

Giant potato cod

Speed snorkelling

Great visibility

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
Imagine what it would be like to dive somewhere no-one else has been or be the very first person to discover a new diving destination? Imagine then, an adventure out to sea, to a location that few have ever visited. The Rowley Shoals is that place.

The Rowley Shoals consist of three rounded atolls, each with a perimetre reef that is broken by sharp channels that lead to a central lagoon. These atolls are affected by a dramatic five metre tidal range – at certain times massive volumes of water pour in and out of the central lagoon creating a fascinating landscape. The window for diving is restricted by cyclones and winds to just three months of the year.

Underwater, the marine flora and fauna is prolific – recent research logged over 240 species of reef building corals and nearly 700 species of fish. Due to their remote location, there is little damage to the reefs from either fishermen or divers. It's obviously a great benefit to the ecosystem that access to the Shoals is restricted by the forces of nature and the marine residents are left to live and grow in peace.

The most exciting feature is diving through the channels. Gradually descending from about six metres to 25, and all the time approaching the open sea, you meet whitetip sharks, giant cod who keep divers company, then as the tide turns and the current picks up, you get pulled swiftly towards the outer reef and whatever lies beyond – often more sharks surrounded by schooling jacks.

Seasons
September - November.
Visibility:
over 30 metres
Water temperature:
28 – 29º C.
Deco chambers: Fremantle, Singapore.

Flights to Perth and
then Broome
Liveaboard operators Kimberley Escape
Accommodation
Seashells Resort, Cable Beach, Broome

PROS AND CONS
Due to weather patterns, you can only dive Rowley for three months in every year and getting there isn't easy – access is from the northern town of Broome, then it's a 12 hour sail across rough seas. Although the crossing is never calm, the water around the shoals is usually mirror smooth.

SCUBA DIVING
The open atolls attract some big predators. We found ourselves snorkelling a few metres above a tiger shark one day and were often surrounded by groups of a dozen or more reef sharks. The currents can really rip when the tides change. Drift diving is the only option and you can even go for a speed snorkel through some of the channels.

OPINION
Apart from the reasons above, we spent the whole week diving in perfect peace. Not a single boat apart from our own graced the horizon and the only divers we saw were our buddies. The sense of discovering something completely new was as real as it could ever be on our ever-shrinking planet. We dived from Kimberley Escape which was good but a little cramped. However, the boat has since been upgraded.