Third Sister and Fourth Sister

Turtle Bay

With resident green sea turtles, including the regular characters such as “Friendly Girl” and three flippered “Lucky”, the chance to encounter one of these endangered gentle giants in its natural surroundings is one of the highlights of this site.

Turtles are far from all this reef has to offer though. The site is a special location, being a small bay in a satellite reef on the very edge of a major gap in the outer reef with lots of water flow. This site is unpredictable and you never really know what will turn up, even occasionally hammerhead sharks, sea snakes and once or twice a tiger shark (which gets the crew swimming after it for a better view!) have been seen here recently. There are often encounters with other megafauna and pelagic fish. The only downside is the site is not suitable to use when a very large swell is running outside the reef.

Little sister and Big brother

These sites on Third and Fourth Sister reefs have very good coral cover varying from large boulder corals to patches of branching corals and huge clams. There is a good selection of reef fish and also, being on corners of reefs good water exchange and frequent sightings of pelagic fish including some very large barracuda hanging out over the tops of deeper boulder corals keeping station in the current.

Phils lagoon

This is an unusual geological feature on the southern side of third sister. It has a virtually enclosed lagoon full of coral and reef fish. On the outside is a drop-off with a occasional grey reef sharks swimming past and schools of plankton feeding fusiliers. There are some enormous giant clams and also frequent turtle sightings.

Where can we find Third and Fourth sister?

These small reefs are just of the seaward side of Tongue Reef, about 70 miles off the coast of Australia, right in the Coral Sea. The journey can take about an hour and a half, but the trip is well worth it. Turtle Bay is a low impact reef area and Wavelength has exclusive access to this amazing natural site. Snorkelling with turtles is an experience you will never forget!

Our Locations

• Opal Reef
• St Crispin Reef
• Tongue Reef