Another First Trip to Australia - Leaving soon!

[ElliottM]

fyi diving in both Melbourne and Sydney is excellent. Both have top level shore diving and unusual creatures you won't see on the reef. The pier diving in Melbourne is astounding. You may even see a tassled anglerfish likely to see Weedy seadragons. In Sydney Weedies, Red Indian fish and other interesting stuff.

I know a lot of people post about going to the reef but IMHO posting a thread about your upcoming trip and asking your questions keeps the information alive. Just reading old threads about a topic doesn't keep the topics ALIVE. Thanks for posting

Thank you very much for the advice. It turns out that the Spirit of Freedom only has a double-bed berth available, and since my wife isn't going, this isn't an option. So I will likely look at a shorter liveaboard outing, and the idea of shore diving in Sydney or Melbourne sounds excellent!

 

[ElliottM]

We are actually based in Cairns but liveaboard.com are in Bali. Unless you have your spaces already reserved there are no spots left on the13th. Hopefully you have them reserved. Otherwise there are plenty of Outer Reef trips to look at, but I agree with bowlofpetunias here that its well worth considering places outside of the GBR to dive. Personally I grew up on the south coast of Victoria and love the Bay area around Queenscliffe, Sorento etc, but I guess that's to far south to fly.

If you are set on the GBR then as I posted above book early as its peak time now and the Ribbon Reef trips are well booked out.

Thanks, AquaPro. The GBR is on my bucket list of places to dive, so I am pretty committed to checking it out. As I replied to bowlofpetunias, I am very intrigued with the idea of shore diving too. I will check out your website for liveaboard options and go from there.

 

[ElliottM]

Please post a report. We are on the SOF one week later.

RDRINK25, as it turns out the Spirit of Freedom was booked, so I am going with another operator. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Rainer]

Just got back from the Spirit of Freedom Coral Sea trip. It was WELL WORTH the time and cost. Absolutely amazing diving.

 

[ElliottM]

Just got back from the Spirit of Freedom Coral Sea trip. It was WELL WORTH the time and cost. Absolutely amazing diving.

Awesome! Sounds like you need to share some photos.

 

[Rainer]

Just have them up on FB as of now. Need to work on a trip report for posting here. Hopefully soon!

 

[MA]

As well as shore dives (which in addition to previous comments includes huge smooth rays, blue rings, seals, etc etc), there is awesome boat diving in Melbourne (and I presume Sydney) as well. The colour down here is incredible, and loads of wrecks too.

Look up redboats.com.au if you are interested.

The water is cold though. And conditions can vary.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

We didn't do any boat diving in Melbourne but I know there are some excellent boat dives. I can only talk about my experiences and I found the shore dives there to be a match for dives I have done in more so called exotic locations.

I've been fortunate to dive in the Coral Triangle, GBR, California and Florida. IMHO the diving in Sydney and Melbourne compares favorably.

 

[ElliottM]

Thanks for the tips. This trip we won't make it to Melbourne, but I am definitely going to check out diving in the Sydney area. I have done most of my diving here in the Puget Sound, so cold water doesn't scare me away.

 

[scuba stan]

Are there any islands closer to the outer reef that have great diving but don't have 2 hr boat rides to go diving. I would love to have an island base so my wife can hang out while I dive. To get 4-5 days of great diving do I really need to be on a livaboard. If so, does anyone have any suggestions for a great experience?