Advice for diving the Great Barrier Reef

daveg

I'm trying to finalise our booking to Oz for January next year. Were planning on spending 6 nights in Queensland and I've been told the Whitsunday Islands is the place to stay. However my main interest, of course, is diving. As I'll have a wife and son on the trip a livaboard is not really an option (unless anyone can recommend one would suit a family). Were looking at staying on day dream island but I'm wondering what dive trips I'll be able to do from here. The Island has it's own dive centre but I'm sure you won't experience the Barrier reef diving just off the island.

Can anyone recommend dive sites not to be missed? Any good dive operators? Is day dream the place to stay if you want to dive the reefs (do any dive operators pick up from here)?

Also how bad are the stingers? Is swimming/snorkelling from the beach a no no?

Thanks in advance.

SimElaine

Hi!
I'm not familiar with the island you're staying at but I spent two days diving off the great barrier reef and was also snorkelling off the whitsundays (its so shallow there there's no point diving).

The first day diving was with a real budget backpacker boat and it seemed like a great deal and they insisted it was the outer reef we went to but loads of the coral was dead and it was very shallow. I was really disappointed- not what i was looking for at all and a waste of money.

So i went and talked to a girl at one of the travel booking centres who knew about all the dive companies and sites and she recommended a few places and said that although we'd been taken to the 'outer' reef it wasn't really and that it was a really over-dived site.

For the second day I went with passions of paradise and was one of only a handful of qualified divers on a beautiful catamaram packed with loads of people. If your wife and son aren't into diving they might still enjoy the day out on the nice catamaran with a fabulous lunch. And they cater for snorkellers and first time divers too. The sites we went to were great - lots of lovely live, beautiful coral and fish, great visibility. The thing is that i'm sure there are lots of sites just as good (and also lots of not so good ones). I don't think its a case of unmissable sites, more of making sure that the one(s) you go to are good quality so double check with people in the know at the time you're booking it (e.g. in case an operator who normally goes to a good site isn't going there at the time or something).

If you do decide to do the liveaboard option i heard the cod hole (loads of potato cod!) and steve's brummie (or something like that) are very good.

I have a feeling Cairns Dive Centre are good aswell for daytrips.

If you're staying at the whitsundays i'd recommend going a bit up the coast cause as far as i know the whitsundays isn't the great barrier reef as such. still lovely but you should go up further and as i said i don't think its worth diving there.

Also if you're around townsville/magnetic island check out the yongala wreck, better than the great barrier reef in my opinion!

about the stingers, when i was there i remember them not being a problem in the great barrier reef but they were a possible danger in the whitsundays but this could have been a seasonal thing. best thing to do is ask when you're over there.

Have a great trip!

daveg

SimElaine thanks a million for the info. I had heard that a lot of the cheaper dive charters visited outer reefs only, and that to get the best diving you need to travel to the inner reefs. Also I had heard that Cod hole was a great site so I'll try and dive that one. I'll check out passions of paradise. Thanks again for the info.

If anyone else has any dive operator recommendations please post em up.

Ginger

I have just finished diving the GBR..

I used Taka Dive (www.takadive.com.au) excellent operation. Cost 650 AUD standby for a 4 day 3 night dive trip. 10 dives all equipment included and the viz was amazing.

Northern reefs are so much better than the middle of the reef just off Cairns. The Saxon and Hastings reef are in the worst state due to the number of novices learning to dive on those sections of the reef.

http://www.underwater.com.au is an excellent site that will give you a list of dive sites and operators throughout Queensland.

Stingers are only in the first 5 meters of water. Now the thing is they bloody do sting. But some Stingoes on the sting and about 30 mins kinda tingling and it goes. Stinger suits are fine, they do the job. I was diving with a 1mm steamer vest and boardies and luckily didnt get stung.. strangely enough tho the bloke in the full 3mm suit did get stung so there you go. Just luck I guess. If you need more info, just yell.

daveg

Ginger wrote:

I have just finished diving the GBR..

I used Taka Dive (www.takadive.com.au) excellent operation. Cost 650 AUD standby for a 4 day 3 night dive trip. 10 dives all equipment included and the viz was amazing.

Northern reefs are so much better than the middle of the reef just off Cairns. The Saxon and Hastings reef are in the worst state due to the number of novices learning to dive on those sections of the reef.

http://www.underwater.com.au is an excellent site that will give you a list of dive sites and operators throughout Queensland.

Stingers are only in the first 5 meters of water. Now the thing is they bloody do sting. But some Stingoes on the sting and about 30 mins kinda tingling and it goes. Stinger suits are fine, they do the job. I was diving with a 1mm steamer vest and boardies and luckily didnt get stung.. strangely enough tho the bloke in the full 3mm suit did get stung so there you go. Just luck I guess. If you need more info, just yell.

Hi Ginger. Thanks a million for the info. I've seen Takka's website and they seem like a very professional outfit to dive with. My dates don't fit in to do a trip with them though so the search continues. I'm determined to dive cod hole though.