Great Barrier Reef in January?

[love2godeep]

My son and I will be in Australia in January on business and will have a few days to do some diving. I'd much appreciate any advice or information on diving the GBR at that time of year. We need to know everything!

Thanks!

 

[almitywife]

where in queensland will you be? (its the size of texas so it helps). so will you be prepared to travel to Cairns (far north queensland) or will be be based in brisbane?

cheers

 

[under water]

Where is Australia will you be? GBR is not the only place to get in some good diving.
We enjoyed Sydney & Byron Bay as well as GBR and Osprey Reef.
The GBR is quite far from the coast and it will be a relatively long boat ride out and back.
If you are going to be near Cairns, your options are almost limitless. Cairns is a long way from Sydney, if that us where you will be.

 

[love2godeep]

Sorry for not being more specific.

We want to dive the GBR, so will fly Cairns from Sydney, and then fly out of Cairns for the U.S. Should we consider a liveaboard? I thought maybe Sun nite in Cairns, 3 nights on a liveaboard, and Thursday nite in Cairns before flying out. Maybe that will be too expensive. But for us it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

 

[MA]

Do a liveaborad!! thats the best way to see the best the reef has to offer. Day trips are mediocre in comparison.

But with liveaboards i've tried a few and here's a list of the only ones i'd go on:
- spirit of freedom
- taka
- mike ball (haven't been on it but does get good recommendations)

There are more that are a lot cheaper, but thats because you get what you pay for - and really here i'm referring to the dive sites. any of the above and you will have a great time. Osprey if you can get on a trip that heads out there is magnificent.

Jan - it is cyclone season, usually they don't get affected. But i was on a trip in Jan with cyclones above and below us. Trip still went ahead we just coudlnt' moor on to the best sites. Don't let it stop you booking a trip but just be aware it can happen (although rarely). On the poistive side the water is so nice and warm then!

 

[paperdesk]

I'm the "son" going on the trip! On the research I've done, it seems a lot of people go to Townsville, rather than Cairns itself. Should we be looking down there?

 

[almitywife]

hmmmmmmmm - what liveaboards depart via Townsville these days?

i think mike ball departs from Cairns these days

 

[Eau_Girl]

I'm the "son" going on the trip! On the research I've done, it seems a lot of people go to Townsville, rather than Cairns itself. Should we be looking down there?

hmmmmmmmm - what liveaboards depart via Townsville these days?

i think mike ball departs from Cairns these days

This might be slightly out of date, but here's what I discovered about 15 months ago. When I was planning my March-April 08 trip, I originally wanted to go to Townsville to dive the Yongala. At the time there was a Pro Dive boat that did 3-4 day trip which included the Yongala (weather permitting). I didn't see any other liveaboards pop up in my searches (but again I was looking specifically for the Yongala dives). I was going to book the Pro Dive trip but I needed to set my plans about 4-5 weeks (i.e., in Feb08) in advance so I could plan the remainder of my trip. At the time they could not guarantee any of the departures that I wanted. The sea conditions had been rough that year, and several of the recent trips had cancelled. Their rep told me lots of their trips fill up last minute with people traveling through the area. So that's still on my 'to dive' list.

I agree with MA -- do a liveaboard if you want to see the best of the GBR out of Cairns/Port Douglas. Out of Cairns there are several options so you might have more flexibility. I've been on the Spirit of Freedom and 2x on the Undersea Explorer (not longer operating :depressed. Many of the boats split their week long trips with a Cod Hole/Ribbon Reefs portion and a Coral Sea portion. You can do the whole week or one of the two halves.

Also, I would give up the either/both of the nights in Cairns if it meant spending more time on a boat -- there are loads of flights between Cairns/Sydney so you shouldn't be forced to overnight due to flight schedules.

I'll PM you the contact details of someone who might be able to help you (Andrew are you around these days?)

 

[MA]

HI Son,

I've dived Yongala (which is the best site near townsville). An absolute fantastic dive, but you'll get more value out of a liveaboard from Cairns for a few dives. (ie 4-5 dives a day on great
sites!).

Eaugirl - i agree of undersea explorer - my favourite! I"m hoping it will start again one of these days. Very sad to see it end for the moment.

 

[paperdesk]

Thank you all for the great tips.

I do see the Pro Dive trips you referred to. It's a 3 day trip, including the Yongala as well as GBR, but I'm not sure what the diving is like compared with up north. Here is the writeup from their website:

"Wheeler and Davies, Two of the most spectacular reefs within the marine park are located to the east of Townsville.

A distance of approx. 50 nautical miles from the mainland to the reefs ensures excellent visibility typical of the Coral Sea.

These reefs provide a unique dive experience with a variety of scenery such as swim-throughs, underwater canyons, caves, gullies and sensational wall dives."

I was wondering why Taka, Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom etc. were so expensive compared with some others, but I from what you're saying, I'm hearing that they actually visit different reefs than some other boats. That's too bad, cause their prices seem more than we can handle. . .