Bait Reef, sitting behind the Whitsunday Islands on the Great Barrier Reef, is home to the spectacular Manta Ray Drop Off – this dive site boasts stunning underwater cliffs, as well as a plunging wall that drops to 75 metres.

The wall is covered with gorgonians, soft corals, sponges and sea whips, all full of resident reef fish and invertebrate species. Manta Ray Drop Off has lots to offer both snorkelers and divers alike, with shallower reefs leading to the steep underwater cliffs. Best known for the soaring manta rays found cruising up and down the wall in Australia’s winter months, the Manta Ray Drop Off is also home to reef sharks, turtles, Maori wrasse and schools of pelagics all year round.

With exposure to southerly winds, the dive site is highly prone to strong currents, so is best dived during slack water and neap tides.