On the way out Kev explained why we were heading out to The Group, a small collection of rocks just off Point Lookout. Australian diving legend John Harding had been diving with Kev all week and asked him if there were still manta rays seen at The Group, a spot he had dived 20 years ago. Kev had only dived The Group over winter, but had never seen manta rays there, so they took the boat over for a look, and there they were.
As soon as we anchored we saw dark shapes swimming around the boat. Gearing up quickly I was first into the water and was confronted by a manta ray immediately. With 15m visibility I shot a couple of quick photos as the manta graceful cruised by me. I then looked down to see four leopard sharks resting in a sandy gully below. By then Vicki, my buddy, had joined me and we descended to study the leopards below.
Three of the leopards took off as soon as we approached, but the fourth just sat there and allowed me to capture a number of close photos. Looking up I saw two more manta rays gliding towards us. They were feeding with their mouths open wide and their cephalic fins (each side of the mouth) spread wide. They proceeded to swim circles around us, interrupting their feeding to study their bubble blowing visitors. As they swam off I could see two more mantas ahead hovering over a small group of bommies. As we got closer I could see they were getting cleaned by a colony of cleaner wrasse. The larger manta then turned on its side to reveal it had a black belly, with just a few white patches.
This was amazing, we had only been down 5 minutes, and gone no deeper than 9m, and already seen five manta rays. Suddenly the two feeding mantas came back into view and flying in formation headed towards the cleaning bommies. We now had four manta rays immediately in front of us, two hovering and two cruising around. I shot photos frantically, trying to get as many mantas in the view finder as possible, but this was proving difficult.
The rest of the divers had finally joined us by now and were mesmerised to see four manta rays patrolling this group of bommies. I indicated to Vicki that we should explore more of the reef to see what other surprises it had for us.
Heading into a slight current we poked around a number of rocky ledges to find spotted and ornate wobbegongs, lionfish, a resting green turtle and a multitude of colourful reef fish. At this stage we hadn’t gone any deeper than 10m, we then found the edge of the reef that dropped onto a sandy plain at 15m.
The sand here was covered in shell debris and looking ahead I could see why, stingrays, and dozens of them. A massive school of stingrays (an undescribed whiprays species) were scattered across the bottom. Some were buried, others were lying on top of one another. There were also three huge white spotted shovelnose rays. We drifted along the reef edge with the current and watched the rays explode off the bottom.
Continuing across the sand I also saw a leopard whipray, blue spotted stingrays, a cowtail stingray and two spotted eagle rays. A number of small ledges cut into the dropped off and here we found resting loggerhead turtles, more wobbies and a black blotched stingray. Reaching the end of the reef we came back to were the other divers were still watching the manta rays. I quickly finished my film as two of the mantas swam circles around us clumsy divers.
With no more film I had a quick look at the small bommies to find angelfish, clown triggerfish, bannerfish, fairy basslets, moray eels, rabbitfish, rock cods, soapfish, goatfish, butterflyfish, damselfish, hawkfish, wrasses and a number of pufferfish. The invertebrate life was also impressive with sea stars, octopus, nudibranchs, cowries and even a few crayfish.
With the manta rays still in view we headed back to the boat. Everyone was buzzing on the boat. It was one of the most amazing dives I had ever done, and it was right on Brisbane’s doorstep.
That was in April 1991 and I have since had many more memorable experiences at Manta Bommies. I can’t remember who came up with the name, I think it was Kev, but it is now the most popular dive site off Brisbane.
The reef seems to attract marine life like a magnet, beside all the resident reef fish pelagic fish swarm to the area. I have seen kingfish, bonito, batfish, trevally, rainbow runners, Spanish mackerel and even barracuda. Turtles frequent the area to feed and rest, green, loggerhead and hawksbill are all common. On one dive I even found an olive sea snake.
For those taking close-up photos there is plenty of invertebrate life as mentioned above, but also keep your eyes peeled for Spanish dancers. Also expect something unexpected as dolphins swim around the area regularly. One unusual encounter was with a mass of mosaic sea jellies. A thick carpet of them covered the surface of the water and swimming carefully through them was reminiscent of Jellyfish Lake in Palau.
The most memorable experiences at Manta Bommies are with the manta rays and the other elasmobranches. The manta rays are in residence for all but the winter months, but are not always seen. I have seen as many as six manta rays cruising around, but divers are more likely to see one or two. Most of the other sharks and rays are in residence year round, except for the leopard sharks which disappear from May to October to parts unknown. The leopard sharks can be quiet prolific, on some dives you will see dozens lazing on the bottom.
The greatest concentrate of sharks and rays is found on the sand flats from the drop off. This area is almost always swept by currents but you can see some spectacular sights here. Spotted eagle rays soaring in formation, or grubbing in the sand for food, I even saw an albino eagle ray here. Swimming out here once with a small manta ray we had a bronze whaler zoom in to check us out. To get close to any of the sharks and rays out on the sand get down low and slow your breathing right down, you will then find you can swim up beside leopard sharks and even shy white spotted shovelnose rays.
Manta Bommies can be dived at anytime of the year, but from experience the mantas and most of the other large species disappear over winter. Currents, surge and dirty water can effect the site, but conditions can change very quickly. Visibility averages 15m, but with the current picking up sand particles photography can be a challenge at times.
Besides Manta Bommies there are dozens of wonderful dive sites off North Stradbroke Island, including sites around Flat Rock, Boat Rock, Middle Reef and Shag Rock.