Sometimes I got to laugh!
If you were in Brisbane at that time of year, I would agree in the prejudicial sentiment that cockóroach land is better diving at that time of year. But most of that is Byron bay, Coffs and S/W rocks not Sydney', too many people flushing the toilet in Sydney to have great viz!!
If the viz is good on your dive in Brisbane(its been a funny year, I would bet this summer will be good viz!). Flinders reef off cape Moreton is a full coral reef- something NSW doesn't have, Bio-diversity NSW doesn't have.....
I never saw a Maori wrasse 60kg in Sydney- I have in Brisbane(shy from spearos, lucky to see it really) I never saw a 40kg Spanish Mackerel in Sydney! or a 300kg+ giant grouper.......fun Sydney/nsw is better diving- well you boys keep tell yourselves that stuff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_WDKFIIhmI
http://vimeo.com/25394241 (lots of Brisbane diving in that collection.) ask for Sydney videos????
I did see a weedy sea dragon dead on the shore one time in cidney, great diving to see sweep and striped butterfly fish feeding on human effluent.
A guy from Seattle??? a temperate water dive- I reckon you'd like to dive coral reef instead of kelp and sandstone boulders.
You have options to do a dive here in brisso, go to Flinders reef, also Hmas Brisbane at the sunshine coast.
Pm me when your here- if the conditions are good at that time maybe you could hop on board of my little boat for a dive or two....then you can compare it to NSW.....on the way to mascot to get out of cidanee.
---------- Post added August 6th, 2014 at 05:27 PM ----------
I completely agree with this sentiment. New South Wales is one of my most favorite diving locations, period. Queensland has pretty reef fish and all that but the nanny state has choked all of the fun from diving. To say nothing of the truly unique and awesome experiences you can have with the less ubiquitous wildlife in the temperate waters.
You can see pretty reef and colorful fish in a lot of places. You can see shipwrecks in a lot of places. There just aren't many places you can come across a weedy sea dragon and a giant cuttlefish on a dive. And that's before I get going about the sharks... so many sharks. I really love NSW diving.
So will those sharks be there in January?