Agincourt Reef
Agincourt Reef is found on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef, located around 65km northeast off the coast of Port Douglas. It's often visited by tours departing from Port Douglas Crystalbrook Marina and takes about 90 minutes to reach. Agincourt is made up of several ribbon reefs that run parallel to the continental shelf, and are long and narrow in shape. Ribbon reefs, such as those found at Agincourt, are considered to be some of the most pristine ecosystems in the Great Barrier Reef, making them great for both snorkelling and scuba diving.
The Agincourt Reefs
There are 4 main sites labelled 1 – 4 at Agincourt Reef that all have their own smaller, specifically named reefs within them for a total of 29 individual reefs. Let's explore a few here.
Barracuda Bommie
Barracuda Bommie hosts schools of barracuda, giving this interesting reef its name. It's found on the very edge of the Great Barrier Reef and hosts great visibility and a great diversity of marine life. The reef edge is host to an abundance of life and is enjoyed by both snorkellers and scuba divers. This location has nudibranchs, Christmas tree worms, tuna, feather starfish and more.
Castle Rock
Castle Rock rises out of a steep sand cliff and up into the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef. Divers can navigate around the pinnacle while snorkellers can enjoy the view from the reef flat, which hosts an array of fish. You can also keep an eye out for rays, which are known to hide on the sandy bottom.
The Channels
The Channels is a large coral reef that hosts several sandy channels and tunnels. This site is especially good for aspiring underwater photographers as the seascape makes it very easy to capture the fish and corals! It's a great dive site for intermediate divers.
The Chapel
Apparently named for a wedding that happened on the reef once upon a time, The Chapel is known for its colourful corals and huge diversity that hosts large pelagic fish such as tuna, trevally and mackerel. Here you can do a wall dive or snorkel over a reef flat, both which put you into a close distance of corals and fish. This reef site also had a clownfish family that live in an anemone on top of a huge ancient boulder coral.
Jump on one of these day tours or liveaboards to experience the Agincourt Reefs!
The Gap
The Gap is a small and diverse reef that is a blended environment, supporting both large and small species, creating a unique diving or snorkelling experience. It's great for both snorkellers and scuba divers, providing extremely similar underwater experiences. This is a great reef for intro divers as it gives you a great chance to snorkel with both large and small reef fish in shallow and sheltered reefs.
The Gardens
The Gardens are a hugely diverse reef with a large variety of fish. It's protected in all directions, creating a sheltered dive or snorkel. With both soft and hard corals, small fish, big fish, reef sharks and more, it is certainly one of the better places to explore in the Agincourt Reef. The visibility here is usually extremely good and the variety of the seascape including sand beds and coral formations makes it an extremely interesting place to explore.
Gary's Gut
Gary's Gut is found on the outer edge of Agincourt Reef #4 and can only be visited at certain times of the year. However, if you are lucky enough to catch this reef under the right conditions, you'll get to explore its vast reef wall or shallow coral gardens which are home to reef sharks, parrotfish, unicorn fish, cod, coral trout and more. It's even been known to host hammerhead sharks — an extra special species for snorkellers and divers to go fin-to-flipper with.
Harry's Bommie
Harry's Bommie is found on Agincourt Reef #4 and is considered to be a garden reef. The reef itself is split in two and the crevice between is often a great place to spot a hustle and bustle of marine life that is attracted by the current flowing through. It is often visited by manta rays, juvenile grey whalers, mackerel and colourful tropical fish, and also had diverse coral species that provide the perfect backdrop for both snorkellers and scuba divers. It's a great place to dive for the first time and has a maximum depth of 16 metres with an average visibility of 15 metres.
Horseshoe
Tidal movements at Horseshoe provide a great environment for plate and branching coral to grow, which host parrotfish, sea turtles and other fish species. The visitors to this reef are tidal dependent, but you may see trevally, red bass or Goldman's sweetlips. The reef here reaches 20 metres in depth with visibility usually around the same depth.
Nursery Bommie
Nursery Bommie is a current-prone site and can only be visited during the incoming tide. It has both pinnacles and sandy patches which support a variety of marine life. You may see rays, eels, wrasse, anemone fish, starfish and barracuda here.
Phil's Reef
Phil's Reef is a patch reef where you can spot turtles, cuttlefish and other awesome marine species. It's found on Agincourt Reef #3 and has a maximum depth of 16 metres.
Point Break
Point Break has a variety of pelagic fish (fish that neither live close to the bottom of the ocean nor near the shore) that are often found on the reef. It's a great place to snorkel or dive in during a northerly wind its shape offers ample protection from any subsequent motion in the ocean.
The Point
The Point Reef is right on the border of Agincourt Reef #3 and #4 on the southwestern point of the reef. Great for both snorkelling and scuba diving, visitors can look forward to swimming alongside reef sharks, red bass, parrotfish in abundance, and maybe even barracuda. Visibility here averages 20 metres and the reef reaches a maximum depth of about 25 metres.
Three Sisters
Three Sisters is a popular snorkel and dive site for many reasons. Firstly, it's a great place to spot the famed clownfish which live within the confines of the reef. To spot these funny little fish, you'll have to look for anemones they live in, which can be found in several places around the reef. Also found here are grey-tip reef sharks, giant clams, Queensland Groupers, ancient corals, wrasse and a huge array of other colourful fish. The reef itself is named for the three major pinnacles within the reef, known as the Three Sisters. Diving and snorkelling are both spectacular here and visibility is usually quite good.
Triggerfish City
This site has clefts and caves, and of course, Triggerfish. You have to be wary of these territorial fish during their breeding season, as they are known to attack those who venture into their nesting area! Keep a wary eye out for their erect dorsal fin, as this means they are warning you to stay away. The rest of the year you don't have to worry about these funny fish, taking the time to enjoy everything on offer at this reef site including schooling fish and sharks that might be out enjoying the current.
Turtle Bay
Turtle Bay is a great place for spotting Loggerhead turtles, one of the six species of sea turtle that live on the reef. It's a great site for both snorkellers and scuba divers and the diverse seascape of sandy sea beds and coral gardens host a variety of marine life. There is even a coral here that is between 500-600 years old! The reef wall is also a site that hosts a huge spawning each year, which will bring in a huge abundance of fish.
Turtle Bommie
Turtle Bommie is a great place for spotting sleeping green sea turtles as they rest on huge plate corals, which provide shelter for them as the rest! Also spotted at this site are fusiliers, drummers, sweetlip and clownfish, as well as many other colourful fish species. This site is rarely visited and very weather prone, so if you're able to visit here, savour this site and explore its every corner the best you can!
Two Rock
Two Rock is found on Agincourt Reef #3 and has great coral coverage. You can look forward to peering over the reef edge as you snorkel or dive as well as exploring the colourful coral gardens. There are both small and large species of fish here, giving you a well-rounded experience. Visibility is usually great and you're likely to encounter sea turtles are this site!
West End
West End is known for its swim through caves, which can be found along the reef wall. This site is a good place to go for a wall dive, or where snorkellers can explore the shallow coral garden.
Wreck
Wreck Reef is the site of an old Taiwanese shipwreck where scuba divers can look forward to participating in a wreck dive. Turtles and grey reef whaler sharks also frequent this reef as well as white tip reef sharks! You can look forward to a variety of fish including clownfish, sweetlip and fusiliers as well as colourful coral gardens.
Other reef sites include Paddocks, Scullys, Blue Wonder, Pavona, Izzys Wall, Kinder Garden, Helms Deep, Just Magic, Botanic Gardens and Stonehenge.
