Watch the video · 1:46
Gary’s Gut dive site, Agincourt Reef, Port Douglas
Underwater footage is illustrative. Marine life varies by site, season and conditions.
The dive
You can drift north or south along the wall, or do a deeper static dive. Swim out from the wall and look back, and you get a sense of just how big the reef is.
Deep gutters cut into the wall. They’re home to unicornfish, parrotfish and pyramid butterflyfish, plus medium to large cod, coral trout, red bass and the odd Māori wrasse. White-tip and black-tip reef sharks and large Spanish mackerel work the current, and hammerheads have occasionally been seen. Soft coral gardens fill the shallows, with big fan corals deeper down.
Conditions and tips
- Season: the site is exposed, so it can’t be dived all year. The best time is spring and summer, September to March.
- Visibility: 12 to 40 metres, averaging about 20 metres.
- Depth: the dive averages about 20 metres, so it suits Open Water divers. The wall keeps going to 40 metres: plan your depth to your certification and experience.
How to dive it
You dive Agincourt Reef on a day trip from Port Douglas. Certified divers get up to three guided dives at three different sites, with a full briefing before each one. Sites are chosen on the day to suit the weather and tides, so we can’t promise a particular site.
Dive it with us
Port Douglas boat dives
Agincourt’s outer-reef bommies: walls, sharks and the big pelagics.
See the tripWhere it is
What you might see
- Whitetip reef sharkThe slender shark asleep under the ledge. Harmless, curious at night, and a resident at several of our sites.
- Blacktip reef sharkThe shark of the shallows: black fin tips cutting the surface over the reef flat and lagoon.
- Māori wrasseThe reef’s gentle giant: two metres of blue-green fish with a hump on its head and a face full of tattoos, happy to follow divers around.
- ParrotfishFrom the crunching schools of bumpheads to the sleeping bags of mucus at night, parrotfish are the reef’s builders and gardeners.
Nearby sites
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Barracuda BommieA deep-water pinnacle on the sheltered side of a small ribbon reef at Agincourt Reef 2, right on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. It’s one of the most popular sites on the Agincourt trips.22 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Harry’s BommieA garden reef among the pinnacles and patch reefs west of Agincourt Reef 4. It’s a favourite with dive instructors.16 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Horse ShoeA patch reef between Agincourt Reefs 2 and 3, in an area of strong tidal movement. You can drift it or dive it from the mooring.20 m
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Nursery BommieOne of the most spectacular dive sites on the Agincourt Reef system: a pinnacle rising from 25 metres to 16 metres, behind a small ribbon reef at Agincourt Reef 2.24 m
