Meet the site
Clipper and Super Cat are two adjacent moorings on Norman Reef that, as Divers Den notes, can be dived as a single site. Both feature swim-throughs for more experienced divers and a shallower canyon that is easily manageable for beginners, and an old glass-bottom boat wreck sits on the wall's southern edge. Parrotfish, angelfish and surgeonfish populate the area. The names presumably come from tourist vessels, and the wreck is a reminder of Norman's long history as a tourism reef: glass-bottom boats and pontoons have operated here since the 1980s. The wreck is small and broken, lying on the wall rather than on sand, and is now well encrusted and home to fish; it is not a penetration dive, but it adds an unusual element to a reef dive. The swim-throughs are the main attraction for experienced divers, passing through coral buttresses along the wall, while the canyon, a shallower corridor through the reef, gives beginners and snorkellers a sheltered, enclosed route with plenty to see. Parrotfish, angelfish and surgeonfish are the most obvious residents, joined by reef sharks, turtles, anemonefish, damsels and coral trout. Because the site offers terrain for all levels on one mooring, it is a useful site for mixed groups, and the wreck gives photographers a distinctive subject. Saxon Reef has a separate pair of moorings with the same names, described by Divers Den with a resident turtle, sweetlips and titan triggerfish; that site has its own entry. Visibility is typically 15-25 m, and the canyon is best dived on the top half of the tide.
What you might see
Parrotfish, angelfish, surgeonfish, reef sharks, turtles, anemonefish, damselfish, coral trout
Location
Two neighbouring Norman Reef moorings, about 58 km north-east of Cairns, that can be dived as one; an old glass-bottom boat wreck lies on the wall's southern edge.
Facilities nearby
Departs Reef Fleet Terminal / Marlin Marina, Cairns: toilets, cafes, paid parking; dive gear, tanks and lunch supplied on board
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
diversden.com.auaustraliantraveller.comRecord updated 27 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.