Jeff’s Edge - Coral Sea
Matavera Point holds a special spot for us, a place where Rarotonga really shows off its stronger currents and bigger fish. We love how this reef plateau, sitting around 20 metres, just pushes out into the blue, creating a visible corner where the water masses collide. Drop down, and you’re on a proper vertical wall, not just a slope, that just keeps going. It’s where you’ll often feel a decent push, which means the pelagics often cruise past – we’ve seen eagle rays ghosting by more than once here. The schools of fusiliers and damsels on the wall are so thick they sometimes make the light ripple, and we often spot several types of wrasse darting in and out, like the colourful pearl-spotted and dusky wrasse. Keep an eye out for Isabel’s hermit crabs scuttling around, and the striking Achilles tang. This spot is definitely one for the more experienced diver who appreciates a bit of current and the potential for larger visitors. The visibility here is usually excellent, often pushing 35 metres, so you get a great sense of the wall’s scale.
- Location
- Coral Sea, Australia, Australasia
- Coordinates
- -23.883900, 152.417700
- Type
- reef
Best Time to Dive in Coral Sea
The warmest water temperatures in Coral Sea occur in March, averaging 28.3°C. The coolest conditions are in August at 21.2°C.
Monthly Water Temperatures
- January: 27.9°C
- February: 28.3°C
- March: 28.3°C
- April: 27.2°C
- May: 25.0°C
- June: 23.0°C
- July: 21.6°C
- August: 21.2°C
- September: 22.3°C
- October: 24.3°C
- November: 26.3°C
- December: 27.7°C
Nearby Dive Sites in Coral Sea
- Anemone Bommies - Lady Elliot Island
- Bait Reef (reef)
- Barolin Point Dive Site
- Black Island “WONDERWALL“ (wall)
- Blue Pearl Bay 2 (reef)
- Butterfly Bay (reef)
- Butterfly Bay “KEYHOLE“ (reef)
- CHIN LONG WEE - 0m (wreck)
- Conical Rocks Reef (reef)
- Coral Gardens - Lady Elliot Island (reef)
- Corroboree Reef (reef)
- Cruise Whitsundays Pontoon
- Dangerous Reef (reef)
- Dangerous Reef (reef)
- Dolphin Point
Nearest Dive Centres to Jeff’s Edge
Marine Life in Coral Sea
Home to 120 recorded species including 73 reef fish, 30 hard corals, 8 seagrass & algae, 3 other, 2 sharks & rays, 1 whales & dolphins.
Notable Species
- Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
- Dugong (Dugong dugon) - Whales & Dolphins
- halodule (Halodule uninervis) - Seagrass & Algae
- seagrass (Halophila ovalis) - Seagrass & Algae
- gray mangrove (Avicennia marina) - Seagrass & Algae
- Paddle Grass (Halophila decipiens) - Seagrass & Algae
- Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
- Common Coral Trout (Plectropomus leopardus) - Reef Fish
- Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
- Ward's Damsel (Pomacentrus wardi) - Reef Fish
- Rainford's Butterflyfish (Chaetodon rainfordi) - Reef Fish
- Blackedge thicklip wrasse (Hemigymnus melapterus) - Reef Fish
- Bullethead Parrotfish (Chlorurus sordidus) - Reef Fish
- Harlequin tuskfish (Choerodon fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Banded maori wrasse (Cheilinus fasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Species code: Hn (Halophila spinulosa) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dusky Parrotfish (Scarus niger) - Reef Fish
- Golden Butterflyfish (Chaetodon aureofasciatus) - Reef Fish
- Longnose Butterflyfish (Chelmon rostratus) - Reef Fish
- Rainbow Parrotfish (Scarus flavipectoralis) - Reef Fish
Recommended Packing List for Jeff’s Edge
Based on average water temperature of 25.2°C, currents 5 cm/s.
- Shorty or Rashguard - warm 25°C water needs minimal exposure protection
- Mask - essential for every dive
- Fins
- BCD - buoyancy compensator
- Regulator - your most safety-critical piece of gear
- Dive Computer - tracks depth, time, and NDL
- Surface Marker Buoy (SMB) - essential for boat pickups
- Dive Torch - useful for crevices and colour at depth
- Underwater Camera - capture your diving memories