North Point Reef

Meet the site

North Point Reef is a deeper Rottnest dive built around a single striking feature. The UWA Underwater Club describes a unique limestone structure forming a trench about 8 m deep and 3-4 m wide, cut into the top of the reef, with sunlight rays visible through the valley above; average depth is around 18 m and maximum 26 m. Marinelife.org.au describes the same site as a large ravine within the top of a mound, the ravine bottom lying at 26 m, and notes that the ground to the north at 20-25 m is also worthwhile.

Swimming through the trench is the highlight: walls rise on either side, light filters down from the narrow opening, and fish shelter in the cracks. The deeper setting and distance from shore mean bigger fish than on the inshore reefs - buffalo bream, western blue groper, dhufish and samson fish are all possible - and the walls carry sponges and encrusting life. Nearby North Point Hole is a separate cavern site at a similar depth.

The site is demanding because it requires calm seas and precise navigation to find the ravine, and because depths of 20-26 m limit bottom time on air. It suits Advanced divers with nitrox who want something more dramatic than the shallow north-east reefs. Plan it for a flat day and combine it with a shallow second dive such as the City of York wreck. Because the ravine is narrow, keep the group small and move through it in single file, and agree on an exit direction before entering so that nobody turns back into oncoming divers. Photographers should shoot upward from the floor to catch the light rays.

What you might see

Buffalo bream, western blue groper, dhufish, samson fish, bullseyes, western king wrasse, sponges, gorgonians

Location

Offshore limestone mound off North Point, Rottnest, split by a ravine (trench) about 8 m deep and 3-4 m wide whose floor reaches 26 m.