Meet the site
The Southern Face is Bait Reef's long southern edge, and 100 Magic Miles rates both its diving and snorkelling as excellent. The guide gives depths of 5–30 m and visibility of 12–30 m, with numerous deep gullies cutting the reef face and hard corals dominating the shallow areas. Tourism Bowen groups it with the Stepping Stones and Manta Ray Drop-off as Bait Reef's deeper sites for experienced divers. The gullies are the structure: channels running from the reef top down the face, their walls lined with coral and their floors of sand and rubble, where fish shelter from the current. Fish life is diverse – angelfish, sweetlips, cod and soldierfish in the gullies, with turtles, mackerel and barracuda along the face and manta rays in the cooler months. The hard-coral shallows are a snorkeller's delight on a calm day, with the reef crest close to the surface. The downside is exposure. As its name suggests, the site faces south and is open to southerly winds and the swell they bring, and tidal flow runs along the face; the guide recommends slack water. On a typical south-east trade-wind day operators are more likely to use the Stepping Stones or Gary's Lagoon, saving the Southern Face for calmer conditions. Bait Reef is a Marine National Park green zone, and the Southern Face benefits from that protection with healthy fish numbers. For divers on a Bait Reef day in light winds, it offers a very different experience from the pinnacles: a continuous reef face with gully after gully to explore, clear outer-reef water and excellent shallow coral.
What you might see
Angelfish, sweetlips, cod, soldierfish, turtles, manta rays (May–Sep), mackerel, barracuda, reef sharks, hard corals
Location
Southern edge of Bait Reef with numerous deep gullies, hard-coral shallows and a slope to 30 m.
Facilities nearby
Departures from Coral Sea Marina and Port of Airlie (Airlie Beach) and Hamilton Island marina; air fills, hire and courses at Airlie Beach dive centres. No facilities at the bays.
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
100magicmiles.com100magicmiles.comtourismbowen.com.auRecord updated 27 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.