Eel Garden

Eel Garden is a shore-entry dive site characterised by a broad, gently sloping sandy bottom flanked on both sides by colourful coral reef. After crossing the reef flat and descending through a narrow channel, the sand opens up into an expansive flat area where the site's namesake garden eels carpet the seafloor, swaying in the current like synchronised swimmers and retreating into the sand as divers approach. A pinnacle at just 7 m is a particular highlight and a favourite with underwater photographers.

The terrain drops along the reef to around 20 m, where the slope levels into a flat sandy plain dotted with coral blocks and table corals; the return journey at 5–10 m passes healthy hard and soft coral with high fish density. Entry is from shore, and divers should time entry for high tide — the entry and exit can be challenging in wind and swell. Current runs strong when it is windy, and conditions are more exposed on windier days.

The sandy bottom and pinnacle hold a strong selection of critters: scorpionfish and lionfish are numerous on and around the sand, frogfish are found on the pinnacle, and night dives reveal resident toadfish and red swimming crabs that shelter inside the pinnacle's recesses by day. The seagrass pipefish can be spotted on the reef on the return leg. A large school of barracuda regularly patrols the deeper flat, and whitetip and grey sharks are also recorded at the site.