Cook Island Marine Park (Otherwise known as Turtle Island) is a small, volcanic outcrop located approximately 600m offshore from Fingal Head (Southern end of the Gold Coast). In 1998, this beautiful marine park was declared an aquatic reserve to protect the marine life and biodiversity of the islands reef system.
Cook Island is home to the green loggerhead turtle, as well as a stunning array of sub-tropical fish, rays, nudibranch, clownfish, gropers, parrot fish, puffer fish, octopus bullseyes and many more. You will also find migratory species of leopard sharks and manta rays in the summer and the grey nurse shark in the winter, and the wobbegongs throughout the year.
The island is essentially broken up into three different sections; the north, south and the east. There is always a range of sites to choose from because there is always a calm side of the island protected from wind and swell, and each section has its own unique topography and marine life. And if you think the Great Barrier Reef is beautiful, wait until you see the diversity of the coral reef at Cook Island.
Another bonus of diving Cook Island is we get to spend our surface intervals watching whales as they migrate to the north, then again as they head south playing with their newborns (June – October).
