Local divers have been exploring the waters off Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park, aka the Prom, at sites such as Great Glennie Island for years, but researchers are just beginning to record the breadth of the park’s underwater treasures. Using a $120,000 SeaBotix robot, a remotely operated camera, they found marine-life diversity that rivals Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef.

Famous for its stunning vistas topside, Wilsons Prom also has “spectacular marine life found in many of the deeper areas of the park,” says Steffan Howe, marine science manager for Parks Victoria. “The extent and abundance of sponge gardens and corals is a particularly exciting find.”

Researchers had begun mapping the Prom’s seafloor several years ago, discovering structures such as deepwater spires, but wanted to record the marine life that lived in this habitat. The SeaBotix robot is able to record in water as deep as 300 feet.

The 38,000-acre Prom is mainland Australia’s southernmost point. Its granite cliffs plunge below the surface, and divers encounter eastern blue groper, anemones and perhaps Victoria’s most beloved underwater inhabitant, leafy sea dragons.