Mudjimba Island is a tiny island on Queensland's Sunshine Coast; a little over an hour’s drive north of Brisbane.
History of Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
There are two Aboriginal dreamtime stories about Mudjimba Island.
The name Mudjimba refers to an Aboriginal legend in which a woman became stranded on the island, where she lived into old age.
The other story is about the creation of Mudjimba Island. There were two men: Coolum and Ninderry, who fought over a woman called Maroochy. Ninderry knocked Coolum’s head off and it landed in the sea to become Mudjimba Island.
Modern history tells of Mudjimba Island once being owned by actor Sean Connery. He was married to Australian actress Diane Cilento in the 1960s and early 1970s. They were said to have spent time on Mudjimba Island during their marriage.
Location of Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
Mudjimba Island is about one kilometre offshore from Mudjimba Beach on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. It is about three kilometres north of the outlet of the Maroochy River. This results in mediocre visibility. Fifteen metres on a good day, but average around seven metres.
The GPS coordinates for Mudjimba Island scuba dive site are:
-26.614611, 153.114674
What’s at Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
The soft corals at Mudjimba scuba dive site provide an amazing array of colour. In a short scuba dive a diver may see many different colours of bright fluorescent soft corals.
This feature alone would make Mudjimba Island scuba dive site a perfect spot for macro underwater photography buffs.
Fish Life at Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
A sad feature that can be found at many similar sites around Australia is the lack of large fish. Most have been taken on the fishing line over many years of fishing at the spot.
The occasional meal-sized bream warily swims through at Mudjimba Island, but the majority of the fish left are small tropical fish.
Scuba Dive Plan for Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
Being an island, Mudjimba Island has to be a scuba boat dive. The island offers a safe comfortable dive in any prevailing winds, though anything over 15 knots can make the trip across from the Mooloolaba River boat harbour a bit uncomfortable.
Good scuba dive sites can be found all around the island, all in a maximum of 12 metres, which makes for long easy dives.
The corals are predominantly soft with many outcrops, bommies and gullies making an interesting seascape.
Snorkelling at Mudjimba Island Scuba Dive Site
Mudjimba Island is a good location for snorkelling. The coral gardens with a range of soft corals and rocky ledges start around two metres.
Mudjimba Island scuba dive site is a reasonable dive site. The poor visibility and lack of large fish life are a negative. A positive for this scuba dive site is the range of soft corals.
Mudjimba Island is a good second scuba dive site, after visiting other sites in the Sunshine Coast area.
Bruce Iliff - Hello from an Australian freelancer! I’ve been scratching articles together in Australia in a range of subjects for a number of ...
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