Cherubs Cave

Cherubs Cave Moreton Island Dive Guide

By ScubaDownUnder Team · 2025-11-28

The Queensland Government names Cherubs Cave and its close neighbour, Henderson Rock, as critical aggregation sites for grey nurse sharks in Moreton Bay Marine Park, alongside Flat Rock off North Stradbroke Island. Cherubs Cave lies about 4 km off the exposed eastern side of North Moreton Island, inside a marine national park (green) zone and a designated grey nurse shark area, in 14 to 30 m of water. Its entrances are hidden under kelp, it is surrounded by gutters, gullies and overhangs, and the operators that dive it ask for advanced certification and recommend or require nitrox.

## The site

Scuba World, which dives it from Mooloolaba, places Cherubs Cave 4.1 km off the eastern side of Moreton Island near Henderson Rock, with depths of 14 to 30 m. The cave lies under a large, circular bommie on the north-west side of the main bommie. Manta Lodge, at Point Lookout on North Stradbroke Island, describes the main bommie as a single characteristic rock extending to the north, with 18 to 30 m on the bommie and kelp covering the ground between it and the bommies around it. Brisbane Scuba describes the cave as located on Henderson Reef, and in the marine park zoning plan the centre points of the Cherubs Cave and Henderson Rock grey nurse shark areas are less than 500 m apart.

Each source describes the cave a little differently. Brisbane Scuba calls it a large, circular cave roughly 20 by 15 m with six exits, giving a choose-your-own-adventure dive. Scuba World and Manta Lodge count four entrances, hard to find under the kelp, with light coming in through the other openings to help navigation, and a maximum height of 2 m. UniDive, the University of Queensland's dive club, puts the accessible area at about 15 by 20 m, with about the same again that divers cannot get into, and describes rocky gullies and smaller caves all around.

This is a true overhead environment, not an open cavern. Gold Coast Dive Adventures warns that the overheads and gullies are a constant danger and advises bringing a torch for the darker recesses. If you are not trained for overhead environments, explore the gullies and look into the cave from its entrances.

## The cherub

The site is named for a small concrete cherub that once marked the main entrance. A 2013 trip notice from Professional Dive Services said it had last been seen near the engine of the wreck of the St Paul, 6 miles to the north. In October 2023 Brisbane Scuba announced that a cherub had been returned to the site during one of its regular trips, in an exercise initiated by Andy Henderson, and invited divers to find it.

## Marine life

Grey nurse sharks are the reason most divers come. Brisbane Scuba says they gather in the gutters at Cherubs Cave over winter and typically show up in Brisbane waters from May to September. Nigel Marsh, writing about Moreton Island for Scuba Diver magazine, says anywhere from two to a dozen can be seen on the eastern Moreton sites, but they move from reef to reef, so encounters are never guaranteed. The east coast population is listed as Critically Endangered internationally and nationally and as Endangered in Queensland, and the Queensland Government says it is thought to number no more than 2000 sharks. UniDive mapped the habitat at Cherubs Cave in 2003 for a grey nurse shark habitat project, according to the Moreton Bay Foundation.

Brisbane Scuba lists barracuda, kingfish and trevally patrolling the area, with turtles, gropers and wobbegongs. Scuba World adds several kinds of cod and grouper, anemones and clownfish, and plenty of macro life for photographers, and the 2013 Professional Dive Services notice mentions a large resident Queensland groper. Gold Coast Dive Adventures notes eels, eagle rays and large groupers, and UniDive mentions big schools of fish.

## Conditions and who it suits

The eastern Moreton sites are exposed. Marsh says they are generally only dived over the winter months, when conditions are calm and the grey nurse sharks are in residence. Manta Lodge warns that the Cherubs Cave area is prone to strong currents and rough conditions and switches to Flat Rock or Shag Rock when its skipper judges the site unsuitable, and the 2013 Professional Dive Services notice said the ride can be bumpy in any swell. Marsh gives water temperatures of 26°C over summer and 18°C over winter for the Moreton Island sites, and visibility of 15 to 30 m on the sites outside the bay. A Brisbane Sub-Aqua Club notice for a July 2024 charter expected water below 20°C.

The operators set the bar high. Scuba World requires nitrox and Advanced or Deep certification for Cherubs Cave and Henderson Rock and limits dives to 45 minutes unless divers are on an extended range dive. Manta Lodge asks for Advanced Open Water and at least 50 logged dives, and highly recommends nitrox because of the depth. Adreno's China Wall and Cherubs Cave trip asks for Advanced Open Water, at least 20 logged dives, nitrox certification and a dive within the last 12 months. UniDive calls it a site for more experienced divers.

## Grey nurse shark area rules

Cherubs Cave is the GNS01 Cherubs Cave grey nurse shark area, which the Marine Parks (Moreton Bay) Zoning Plan 2019 defines as the area within 1.2 km of 27°07.670'S, 153°28.670'E. It also lies inside the MNP10 Cherubs Cave to Henderson Rock marine national park zone, where the Queensland Government says fishing is not permitted. In a grey nurse shark area, the zoning plan says a person must not:

- dive between 6pm and 6am, unless they have a reasonable excuse - touch, feed or trap a grey nurse shark - interfere with a shark's natural behaviour, for example by chasing or harassing it or interrupting its swimming pattern - block a cave entrance or gutter - use electro-acoustic or mechanical apparatus in the water, such as scooters, horns or shark repelling devices (ordinary scuba equipment is not included) - dive as part of a group if that would put more than 10 divers from the group in the water at once (this does not apply to people diving under the instructions of a commercial tourism operator)

Tourism operators may have no more than 12 people from a group in the water at the same time, and anyone beyond 10 must be a dive instructor or certified assistant. Operators and dive clubs must give each diver a summary of the restrictions before they get in. At a site where sharks gather in gutters and the cave entrances are narrow and hidden by kelp, the rule against blocking a cave entrance or gutter matters: hang back and give the sharks room to pass.

## Site Access and Logistics

Cherubs Cave is a boat dive only, and there are no facilities at the site. Brisbane Scuba runs an eight-hour, two-dive day trip to [China Wall](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/moreton-islands-china-wall) and Cherubs Cave from Manly, departing from the public boat ramp at Manly South (meet at 6am for a 6:30am departure). Adreno's Brisbane store sells a similar China Wall and Cherubs Cave day. Scuba World runs three-dive days to Cherubs Cave and Henderson Rock from June to December and says the boat ride from its shop takes 80 minutes. Manta Lodge's Cherubs Cave area double dive leaves Point Lookout at 7:30am, and its second dive may be at Henderson's, China Wall or another nearby site, depending on conditions. Marsh also lists Go Dive at Manly and Sunreef at Mooloolaba among the day boats that visit the Moreton Island sites.

Trips depend on the weather on the exposed side of the island, so expect a backup site if the swell is up. Our guide to [grey nurse sharks](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/the-grey-nurse-shark-the-gentle-giant-of-australias-reefs) covers the species in more depth, [Flat Rock](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/flat-rock) off North Stradbroke Island is the marine park's third grey nurse shark area, and the [best places to dive in Queensland](https://scubadownunder.com/blog/best-places-to-dive-in-queensland) covers the rest of the state.

## Sources

- [UniDive (University of Queensland Underwater Club): Dive sites](https://www.unidive.org/diving/dive-sites) - [Brisbane Scuba: Cherubs Cave](https://brisbanescuba.au/about-brisbane-scuba/brisbane-dive-locations/dive-site-cherubs-cave/) - [Brisbane Scuba: Cherubs Cave, The Cherub Returns](https://brisbanescuba.au/cherubs-cave-the-cherub-returns/) - Brisbane Scuba: 2 Dive Trip, China Wall and Cherubs Cave, brisbanescuba.rezdy.com/191641/2-dive-trip-china-wall-and-cherubs-cave - [Brisbane Scuba: 2023 Grey Nurse Shark Census](https://brisbanescuba.au/2023-grey-nurse-shark-census/) - [Brisbane Scuba: Boat Departure Info](https://brisbanescuba.au/contact/venue-info/) - [Scuba World: Dive Cherubs Cave](https://scubaworld.com.au/dive-sites/cherubs-cave) - Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre: Cherubs Cave area double dive, mantalodge.rezdy.com/259566/cherubs-cave-double-dive-unguided - Adreno Training and Travel: China Wall and Cherubs Cave Dive Trip, adreno-training-travel.rezdy.com/562812/china-wall-cherubs-cave-dive-trip - [Professional Dive Services: Experience the Awe of Cherubs Cave and Henderson Rock, Moreton Island](https://www.professionaldiveservices.com.au/amazing-structure-and-big-pelagics-experience-the-awe-of-cherubs-cave-and-henderson-rock-moreton-island/) - [Gold Coast Dive Adventures: Brisbane Scuba Diving Sites](https://goldcoastdiveadventures.com.au/brisbane-scuba-diving-dive-sites-reefs/) - [Brisbane Sub-Aqua Club: Cherubs Cave and Henderson Rock charter with Brisbane Scuba](https://www.brisbane-bsac.com/events/210874) - [Nigel Marsh Photography: Moreton Island, Scuba Diver magazine](https://www.nigelmarshphotography.com/blog-posts/moreton-island-scuba-diver-mag) - [Queensland Government: Grey nurse shark-diver interaction research project](https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/coasts-waterways/marine-parks/projects/grey-nurse-shark) - [Queensland Legislation: Marine Parks (Moreton Bay) Zoning Plan 2019, current as at 1 August 2024](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/sl-2019-0175) - [The Moreton Bay Foundation: Building an understanding of Moreton Bay Marine Park reefs through citizen science](https://moretonbayfoundation.org/articles/building-an-understanding-of-moreton-bay-marine-parks-reefs-through-citizen-science/)

Header photo: Moreton Island's eastern ocean beach running south from Cape Moreton, the exposed coast that Cherubs Cave lies off, by pcwiles, [CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Morton_Island,_Queensland_-_panoramio.jpg).