Lodestone Reef

Lodestone Reef is a habitat protected reef (dark blue zone) on the Great Barrier Reef, around 23 nautical miles west of Wheeler Reef. It is reasonably close to Keeper Reef (8 nautical miles) and Helix Reef (16 nautical miles). The maximum depth is about 18 m (59 ft), the bottom is reef, and the current can be strong.

The reef was damaged by Tropical Cyclone Yasi in 2011, and you will occasionally notice lost fishing tackle. It is still favoured by Townsville operators, who often call it an all-rounder. Snorkellers get colourful coral gardens, and divers get interesting structure.

Central lagoon. A common approach is to anchor over sand close to the central lagoon. Drains through the reef wall lead to the other side, where the lagoon can be explored in visibility of up to 25 m. Nudibranchs, flatworms, leopard sharks, white tip reef sharks and turtles are found here.