In our front yard are some of the most incredible nature experiences on earth. Featuring two World Heritage listed areas of Fraser Island and the Great Barrier Reef, the Fraser Coast hosts some of the worlds most sought after natural experiences. It isd also the capital of Whale Watching in Australia. Come and experience and up close encounter with giant humpback whales.

You will find long sandy swimming beaches, abundant marine life and pristine national parks. The Fraser Coast region is a relaxing holiday playground. There are a wealth of coastal paradises, recreational pursuits, adventure activities and historic explorations that will keep you busy for days, even weeks.

Rich in diversity and natural beauty, the Fraser Coast region encompasses the areas of Fraser Island, Hervey Bay, Maryborough and the Great Sandy Strait. There is also extended touring to neighbouring regions including Childers, Apple Tree Creek, North Burnett and South Burnett.

The following article is by Nigel Marsh
Rainbow Beach may be the gateway to the world famous Fraser Island for most people, but for divers it is the gateway to two spectacular dive sites, Wolf Rock and Round Bommie.

Located about a 1km off Double Island Point, Wolf Rock barely breaks the surface, but what lies beneath is one of the most impressive dive sites in Southeast Queensland.

I have done a number of wonderful dives around Wolf Rock over the years, but some of my most recent dives were simply spectacular. Upon entering the water we found the visibility was around 20m, which allowed us to see a large school of barracuda moving off into the distance.

Descending onto the rock we decided to swim around the sheltered southern side, which drops straight into 30m of water. Following the wall we quickly spotted many beautiful deepwater corals, including black coral trees, soft corals and spiral sea whips. The fish life mainly consisted of reef fish - including angelfish, butterflyfish and morwongs.

Wolf Rock is made up of five pinnacles lined up almost north to south. The two at the southern end break the surface, and heading to the north the others get progressively deeper. Moving up the eastern side we explored the gutters between each pinnacle, finding more bushy black coral trees.

Reaching the northern most pinnacle we found ourselves in the current line and surrounded by an explosion of life. A dozen spotted eagle rays where hovering over the pinnacle, as we got closer they broke formation and started to swim circuits around the pinnacle, it was like being at an air show and watching the Roulettes perform.

Looking down to the gutter below two large Queensland gropers started moving in our direction. These large fish, over 2m long, came in close to inspect the bubble blowing visitors to their realm. Their curiosity satisfied they moved back into deeper water.

Looking around there was a constant influx of fish, schools of batfish, trevally and surgeonfish were sweeping by, but we could also see sweetlips, bream, angelfish, goatfish, globefish and fairy basslets.

Suddenly out of the blue a bronze whaler shark zoomed in with effortless grace. I was ready with my camera to photograph this streamline predator, but as with most sharks it shyly turned away about 8m from us. The whaler made two more passes, but always kept its distance.

We then drifted with the eagle rays for a while, swimming in midwater with these majestic rays. Heading south we headed over to explore the gutters on the north west side of the rock, which sit in 20m to 25m.

Grey nurse sharks can be seen here almost year round, but none were in residence today, but we could see some Queensland gropers. First one, then four, then six, then eleven. Swimming around us were eleven massive gropers. These large fish were once senselessly killed by fishermen and spearfishermen, but are now fully protected.

As we headed back to the anchor it got quite dark, like a cloud was passing. I looked up to see a dense school of trevally, hundreds of then swimming in a tight formation. But as quickly as they appeared they were gone.

We spent the finale minutes of our dive looking at some of the smaller critters that live at Wolf Rock; including moray eels, nudibranchs, gobies, scorpionfish, sea stars, shrimps and coral crabs.

Summer is one of the best times to explore Wolf Rock as both grey nurse sharks and leopard sharks are at their greatest numbers, plus manta rays are also likely to be seen.

Also located off Rainbow Beach is Round Bommie, a large slab of rock rising from 15m to 6m. Surrounded by sand, Round Bommie seems to attract marine life like a magnet, making for some wonderful marine encounters.

The rock is a large oval shape monolith, about half the size of a football field, and the best way to explore the site is to swim circuits around the whole bommie.

On the sand at the base of the bommie are usually schools of stingrays. Blue spotted, black blotched, cowtail and leopard stingray species are all common, and easily approached for photographs. Also on the sand are huge flatheads, flounder, large white spotted shovelnose rays and dozens of leopard sharks over the summer months.

As you make your way around the bommie you will be amazed by the constant flow of fish. One minute you will be surrounded by a school of kingfish then a school of trevally will swarm past, followed by a school of barracuda or surgeonfish.

Watch out for spotted eagle rays, at times a dozen or more will sweep by, or if a current is running they many just hover in formation. Manta rays also cruise around Round Bommie, occasionally stopping to get cleaned by the resident population of cleaner wrasse.

At the eastern end of the bommie is a cave where sweetlip, lionfish, squirrelfish, stripeys and the odd estuary groper can be found. This is also where a couple of huge Queensland gropers can be seen. They are more commonly seen when the water is a little dirty, then they suddenly loom up beside you, give you a wary look over, and just as quickly disappear.

Loggerhead and green turtles are quite common around the bommie. They are either seen sleeping on the bottom or feeding, and divers can usually get quite close to these large marine reptiles.

Abundant reef fish dart around the bommie, most common are butterflyfish, morwongs, damsels, fairy basslets and wrasse.

The top of the Round Bommie is well worth a look, as here there are many ledges that shelter a variety of species. Morays eels, wobbegong sharks, cuttlefish, nudibranchs, cowries, sea stars, feather stars and shrimps are all common.

There is also a very healthy population of octopus. These masters of camouflage are difficult to spot at times as they can change their skin colour and texture to blend in with any background.

Visibility at Round Bommie can vary from 5m to 20m. The site is generally washed by currents, but they are never strong enough to stop you enjoying a brilliant dive.