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Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Poor Knights Islands location page.
Overview
Massive underwater archway between two of the Poor Knights pinnacles. The walls are blanketed in jewel anemones and gorgonians; stingray clusters hover in the archway during summer. Cousteau ranked these islands among his top global dive locations.
What you'll see
4 species curated- seasonalShort-tail stingrayPeak: Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar
- year-roundKingfish
- year-roundPink maomao
- rareBronze whaler shark
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- medium confidenceShort-tail stingray
- Last confirmed
- Mar 2026
- Recent records
- 45 within 10 km
- Cluster months
- Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar
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 We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.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 | 19–21 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Feb | 20–22 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Mar | 20–22 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Apr | 19–21 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| May | 17–19 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Jun | 16–18 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Jul | 15–17 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Aug | 14–16 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Sep | 14–16 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Oct | 15–17 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Nov | 16–18 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Dec | 18–20 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Gear for this site
Beyond the basic kit- 5mm wetsuit — Cool subtropical water year-round.
- Hood — Winter dives need head insulation.
Next step
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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
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