Local Destinations
		Queensland • Great Barrier Reef • Heron Island • Lady Elliot Island • Liveaboards South Australia • Port Lincoln Western Australia • Albany • Dunsborough • Exmouth • Montebello Islands • Rowley Shoals • Liveaboards
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	Diving Montebello Isl
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The Montebello Islands, an
archipelago chain of around 174 limestone islands, lies 120 kilometres west of Dampier off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia. The islands feature beautiful beaches, bays and lagoons fringed by mangroves in places and are surrounded by luxuriant gardens of corals and colourful tropical fish. They form one of the most beautiful and important marine areas anywhere along the Western Australian coast. Their adjacent waters are havens for large marine animals such as humpback whales, dugongs and several species of marine turtles, and are stopover areas for rare and protected migratory wading birds.

The Montebello Islands have a long history of European contact, which began with the wreck of the English East India Company vessel the Trial, on the Trial Rocks in 1622 — Australia’s earliest known European shipwreck. The 46 survivors from the wreck who landed on the Montebello Islands were the first recorded Europeans to land on the islands. The natural resources of the Montebello Islands marine park have been exploited since whalers arrived in the late 1800s. Commercial turtle harvesting occurred from the late 1870s until 1973. Cultured pearl farming in the Montebello Islands began in 1902. The Montebello Islands also have an explosive history. Three British nuclear weapons tests were carried out there in 1952 and 1956. The 1952 test, Operation Hurricane, saw a 25-kiloton bomb exploded inside the hull of the HMS Plym, a frigate anchored in 40 feet of water, 400 yards off Trimouille Island. The explosion left a saucer-shaped crater—20 feet deep and 1,000 feet across—on the sea floor. Testing carried out for Operation Mosaic in 1956 saw a 15-kiloton device exploded on Trimouille Island and a 98-kiloton bomb exploded on Alpha Island—the largest nuclear weapon ever tested on Australian soil. Remains of the associated military activities including scrap metal, disused roads and the foundations of former British military operational headquarters can still be found on some islands.

There are no visitor facilities on these unique islands. Fishing and diving charters depart from Dampier and Exmouth.

Montebello Islands

With a 6 metre tidal range fed by the warm Leeuwin currents, the islands are perfect for diving, snorkeling, beachcombing and fishing. The waters surrounding the Montebello Islands offer some of the most colourful hard and soft coral gardens in the region, along with the opportunity to come face to face with giant potato cod, manta rays and turtles. Five of the six species of marine turtles found in WA inhabit the marine park and adjacent areas. Green, hawksbill and flatback turtles regularly use the sandy beaches in the reserves for breeding, while loggerhead turtles occasionally nest on Barrow Island.

Minke whales, Bryde’s whales, humpback whales, sperm whales, short-finned pilot whales, killer whales, false killer whales, common dolphins, striped dolphins and bottlenose dolphins have all been recorded from the Montebello and Barrow islands. Humpback whales pass through the park during their annual migration north to the warm tropical waters off the Pilbara and Kimberley coasts in June and July to give birth and suckle their young.

Dugongs are frequently seen in the shallow, warm waters near the Montebello Islands, Lowendal Islands and Barrow Shoals. Pelagics and reef fish abound in these waters which also make the region a popular fishing destination. Giant trevally, coral trout, mangrove jack, tuna, Spanish mackerel, red emperor, salmon, cod and snapper are prominent. Licensed operators can bring up the huge tropical crayfish for  dinner.

The Montebello Islands are accessible by liveaboard dive boat.
 

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