AUSTRALIAN DESTINATIONS
Diving in External Territories
Explore 169 listed dive sites and find the local knowledge to help plan your visit.
THE LOCAL PLANNING BRIEF
Research each territory as its own destination
The external-territory collection groups geographically separate destinations for directory browsing. Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Norfolk Island and offshore reef records do not form one convenient travel region. Open the individual region page and build a separate transport, access and operator plan for that destination.
Choose the setting, then the trip Counts describe published records, not bookable trips or confirmed open sites.
There are 169 published site records across External Territories. The recorded categories include reef (51), wall (45), pinnacle/bommie (18), drift (13). These categories reflect the database; they are not a ranking, a conditions report or an assessment of your suitability.
Start with one of the regional pages below. State-wide totals are useful for browsing, but the actual choice should be made at the level of an operator, a site and a proposed itinerary.
Research operators in External Territories →Ask before booking
- Which territory and jurisdiction does this itinerary visit?
- What park or access permissions apply to the exact location?
- What is the contingency if transport changes?
Save the answers with the contact name and date. Separate confirmed arrangements from items still waiting for a reply.
Record your trip questions →Island stays
Confirm the route, accommodation, equipment availability and actual departure schedule with local providers. Do not assume a mainland travel pattern applies.
Offshore reefs
A mapped reef may have restricted access or no ordinary visitor departure. Check the responsible park manager and the operator’s permitted itinerary.
Contingency planning
Keep time and budget flexibility around transport. Identify which bookings depend on another service arriving as planned.
Questions, answered
How do I choose a dive in External Territories?
Begin with the individual site and its source notes, then discuss the proposed trip with a local provider. The 169 published records are research options, not a list of trips available today. Match the plan to your training, recent experience and the operator’s current requirements.
When should I visit External Territories for diving?
Choose dates with a provider who runs the activity you want, then discuss seasonal patterns, recent conditions and alternative itineraries. A generic best-month claim cannot establish the conditions at your exact site or guarantee a wildlife encounter.
Can I use these maps to enter or navigate a dive site?
No. Recorded and approximate map positions support orientation only. Confirm the exact access, permissions, meeting point and route with the responsible local provider or manager.
Regional planning context: Parks Australia — Australian Marine Parks ↗. Directory counts come from published YouDive records. Individual site claims remain subject to their source and review notes.
Find your region
Dive sites to explore
WallChristmas Island
Lost Lake East
Typical north-coast reef and wall with dense fish life, next to the Lost Lake caves.
WallCocos (Keeling) Islands
Lynnies Leap
Current-swept outer reef slope with many sharks and fusilier schools; reserved for experienced divers.
ReefCocos (Keeling) Islands
Manta Service Station
A shallow manta cleaning station at about 9 m where Cocos' resident reef mantas come in to be cleaned, with excellent light for…
ReefChristmas Island
North West Point
Sandy reef ledges with sleeping reef sharks and dense schools – the gentler companion dive to Perpendicular Wall.
Aircraft WreckNorfolk Island
Pel-Air Westwind wreck
Largely intact Westwind medevac jet at 48 m from the 2009 night ditching in which all six aboard survived.
ReefChristmas Island
Pig Rock
Towering gorgonian fans on dramatic west-coast reef structures – a wide-angle photographer's site.
WallNorfolk Island
Policemans Helmet
Easy wall dive with overhangs beneath a helmet-shaped rock.
ReefCocos (Keeling) Islands
Prison Gardens
Plate corals, curious schools of big-eye trevally and coral-monitoring buoys on the sheltered eastern side of the atoll.
IslandCocos (Keeling) Islands
Prison Island
A tiny historic cay in the eastern lagoon surrounded by shallow nursery reefs full of juvenile fish.
Shore/Rock PlatformCocos (Keeling) Islands
Pulu Maraya
Walk across the reef flat from Scout Park and drift around a palm-covered islet with clams, turtles, octopus and baby blacktips.
DriftCoral Sea
Rapid Horn (Osprey Reef)
A rarely dived, current-swept southern horn with dense fish schools on the plateau and a sheer wall.
Pinnacle/BommieNorfolk Island
Reids Folly (Nepean Island)
Rock pinnacle with a large coral-covered swim-through arch.
ReefChristmas Island
Resort Lagoon / Waterfall Bay
Scenic ledges, boulders and a drop-off on the east coast – a wet-season refuge when the north coast is blown out.
WallCoral Sea
Rock Arch (Flinders Reef)
An arch, caves and a daylit cavern under a sheer south-west wall, with a ledge of big gorgonians at 40 m.
WreckCoral Sea
SS Francis Preston Blair wreck (Saumarez Reef)
The collapsed remains of a Second World War Liberty ship on a remote Coral Sea reef edge.
ReefCoral Sea
Saumarez Reef
A remote crescent reef with vast coral meadows, turtles and a Second World War Liberty ship wreck.
WallCoral Sea
Secret Caves (Osprey Reef)
Caves along Osprey's walls, especially good in the late afternoon and at night.
WallCoral Sea
Silver City (Osprey Reef)
Silvertip sharks, volcano-shaped bommies and caves on a slope that ends at a 1,000 m wall.
Pinnacle/BommieNorfolk Island
South Rock (Phillip Island)
Current-swept pinnacle to 40 m off Phillip Island, with black coral and abundant fish.
WallCocos (Keeling) Islands
Spanish Eyes
Rarely dived south-eastern outer wall with sharks and barracuda, reached only on flat-calm days; the site's name recalls a yacht…
Pinnacle/BommieNorfolk Island
Steels Point
Three surfacing rock pinnacles with lots of coral – scenic but surge-prone.
WallChristmas Island
Submarine Rock
A submarine-shaped reef and 50 m drop-off with healthy boulder corals and passing mantas, eagle rays and grey reef sharks.
WallCoral Sea
The Abyss (Holmes Reef)
A dramatic drift along a 1,000 m wall cut with caves, gutters and canyons.
WallCoral Sea
The Castles (Osprey Reef)
Coral turrets, gullies and fan-filled overhangs above a 1,000 m wall.