Cook Island

Cook Island, it astounds me. It’s like an amazing restaurant tucked away and no one knows about it. Once found you will return for ever but if not found you never know what you have missed. Its menu is filled with succulent delights, always wanting to have the same taste as last time but knowing there is a lot more to indulge on if you can just tear yourself away from the very first dish.

An Island Paradise

The thing is, is that when you go there you fill like you’re the only one and you can never express just how really good it is to anyone else, but you want everyone to know, it’s just too good to keep all to yourself. Then you have the Chef’s special which only you know about that conquers all else but you know it’s time to share. Well, that’s how I feel about Cook Island.

An amazing menu of dives yet I feel like I am the only one truly enjoying them. Sure there are other divers but I always wonder why there always stuck on the entrée and never get to experience the main course or desert. And yes, Cook Island is like that amazing restaurant, tucked away that no one knows about.

Some days myself and my buddy are the only ones there enjoying the delights of what this marine reserve park has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I do get visitors, weekends especially, but some days I go out there and I am shocked that once again I have it all to myself.

For those of you have who have never dined on its menu let me introduce you to it.

Cook Island, one of the few NSW islands, is located approximately 600m offshore from Fingal Head and four kilometers southeast of Tweed Heads in Northern NSW and right on the boundary of the Gold Coast.

Cook Island Aquatic Reserve was declared on October 23, 1998 to protect the marine biodiversity of the island's reef system.

• Cook Island hosts a great diversity of marine life resulting from the warm east Australian current from the north converging with cooler currents from the south. Temperate, subtropical and tropical species of fish, crustaceans and molluscs are found around the island.

• Cook Island is also visited or inhabited by a number of protected species including the Giant Queensland Groper, black cod, estuary cod and the grey nurse shark.

• It’s renowned for its green and loggerhead turtles. Leopard and wobbegong sharks are also frequent spectacles and the south side is teeming with macro. Its fish species are bountiful and nudibranchs, rays and eels and occys are plentiful.

There are 13 moorings around the island which almost all of it is dive able. It’s comprised into three sides, the North, South and East; all have totally different topography and marine life.

The North Wall is popular for its long easy navigational wall which extends right through to Mary’s Rock. The ledge which is at 5m and perfect for safety stops or snorkeling is home to baby wobbegongs, nudibranchs, lionfish, octopus and a diverse range of schooling fish. The ledge drops down to 12 meters and meets a sandy bottom where you will find green and loggerhead turtles, leopards in summer and grey nurse in winter, a variety of rays, groper and much more.

The South side is a photographer’s dream, a macro delight that on a nice day takes me back to my time on the GBR. Its colorful soft corals are teeming with micro marine life and sometimes feel like I’m diving in a giant aquarium. Eagle rays and even the occasional Manta ray can be seen flying the waterways plus shovel nose rays, groper, cod, and schools of kingfish are all residents in this colorful neighbourhood. With a depth of only 10m is doesn’t get any more relaxing than this.

The East and the most adventurous. It takes me back to being a kid again and playing in the school playgrounds. It’s full of caves, crevices and swim throughs like a magical garden it awaits to be explored. And around every bend and on the other side of each swim through will await a Wobbegong. Its also the hang out for the baby turtles to flourish before they move on to the more open waters of the North side.

Each side has its own charm to lure you in and many more secret spots to discover, I have lived around this Island from birth and have been fortunate enough to dive it for the past five years. I love this magical Island and want you to share its beauty too. Come discover Cook Island so we can both share its delights together.