Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Darwin Island location page.
Overview
Liveaboard-only seamount off the remote Darwin Island. Schooling scalloped hammerheads in the hundreds, whale sharks in season, silky sharks circling the surface. Strong current, surge, cold thermoclines, and the second-best shark-density site on the planet. The arch itself collapsed in 2021; the pillars remain.
Briefing note
Park-permitted operators only. Required certs: AOW + Nitrox + 50 logged dives at minimum (most boats want more).
What you'll see
5 species curated- year-roundScalloped hammerhead
- seasonalWhale sharkPeak: Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov
- year-roundGalapagos shark
- year-roundSilky shark
- seasonalBottlenose dolphin
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceWhale shark
- Last confirmed
- Apr 2026
- Recent records
- 47 within 30 km
- Cluster months
- Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
The cleaning station beneath the arch (now collapsed structure) is a documented whale-shark cleaning hotspot.
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 24–27 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Feb | 25–27 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Mar | 25–28 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Apr | 24–27 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| May | 22–25 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Jun | 20–24 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Jul | 19–23 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Aug | 19–22 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Sep | 19–22 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Oct | 20–23 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Nov | 21–24 °C | 10–20 m | strong |
| Dec | 23–26 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- Coldwater wetsuit + hooded vest — Cold Humboldt upwellings — hypothermia risk on the third dive of the day if you're under-suited.
- Reef hook with safety lanyard — Standard procedure: hook into rock, watch hammerheads parade past at safe distance.
- Nautilus Lifeline or PLB — Surface currents have separated divers from boats here. Personal beacon is essential.
- Air-integrated dive computer — Multi-tank cold deep dives — accurate gas/NDL tracking matters more than at a warm reef.
Next step
Book your trip to Darwin Island
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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