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Scientists in Australia say a mass of floating rocks - the size of Manhattan and drifting in the Pacific Ocean - could be good news for the Great Barrier Reef.

The raft of pumice stones is believed to have been produced by the eruption of an undersea volcano, near Tonga, and is quickly becoming home to millions of marine organisms, including corals. The mass is drifting slowly towards Australia, where the world's largest coral reef has been in severe decline.

The pumice raft was discovered by Australian sailors, Larissa Brill and Michael Hoult, who explain what it was like to accidentally sail into it.

Photo: Michael Hoult holding large pieces of pumice found in the South Pacific Sea Credit: EPA/Sail Surf Roam / Handout