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Park Reef

Park Reef, for us, is one of those GBR sites that reminds you why you put up with the long boat rides. It doesn't scream for attention like some of its neighbours, but it delivers on those quiet moments. We’ve found the eastern wall particularly rewarding, dropping down to a sandy bottom peppered with a surprising density of wafer corals. It’s here, tucked into the overhangs, that we’ve often spotted those ornate lined-lip cowries. Keep your eyes peeled for Oriental maori wrasse cruising the reef top, their colours really pop against the blues. Dive this one slowly, let your eyes adjust, and you’ll start picking out the smaller stuff – the flash of a golden-girdled coralfish or the subtle movements of a blackspotted sea cucumber on the sand. The staghorn and lettuce corals here are in particularly good shape, providing plenty of nooks for juvenile rock cod. We'd suggest an early morning dive if you can swing it; the light filtering through the shallower sections of brain coral is something else. It's a relaxed dive, generally mild currents, making it a great pick for newer divers or anyone keen on a leisurely exploration.