Liveaboards in Aussie

[slipslop]

a word of warning (which i ignored at my peril!) its hot and very wet in January and its cyclone season. I got there just as cyclone ingrid hit and no boats ventured out for at least a week and when they did the sea was rough and the vis was bad

 

[likelite]

Seconding both Spirit of Freedom and Lynn at Ozdive. We just got back from a trip to the GBR last week. I've been on trips where the vis was better (which is hardly the fault of the dive crew) but these guys worked their TAILS off to take us to good sites and to ensure we had a good experience. We really made friends with them and I hope we'll see some of 'em again some day. (You really can't go wrong with Cap'n John, A*W*E*S*O*M*E divemasters Sarah and Liz, dive tech Mark, the best chef in the world Rob and awesome cabin helper Shelly...can you tell we loved them all?) My only advice is, take lots of Dramamine! Jet lag and seasick is no fun, and the trip out to Osprey was a little rough. (Disclaimer: I get seasick easily, unfortunately.) The cabins are plenty comfy, each with its own restroom; the food was fantastic; and at the end of the trip we got to jump off the top of the boat. Good times.

We didn't see any mantas, but lots of turtles, sharks, giant cod, lionfish, cuttlefish, titan triggerfish, reef stonefish, tons of false clownfish, and amazing coral bommies and scenery. Save room on your card for Steve's Bommie - I went through two gigs in about 15 minutes.

If you stay on land in Queensland, consider Port Douglas - Cairns is bigger and has more nightlife, but P.D. is more quaint and picturesque. I'd compare Cairns to Panama City Beach and P.D. to Cape Cod, although I'm sure others may disagree. If you stay at P.D. go to Rainforest Habitat to see really amazing tropical animals such as cassowaries, parrots and flying foxes.

We did an extra add-on to New Zealand, planned by Lynn (her website is www.ozdive.com) - couldn't have been better. The hotels were all topnotch, and we met some really cool people. We did only the north island (which is volcanic as opposed to glacial). We plan to come back to see the south and will definitely book through Lynn again.

Anyone with questions feel free to email.

Oh, and p.s. - take any airline but Qantas unless you want to get hassled on their VERY STRICT weight limits. The L.A. ground crew will let you on with whatever you like in your carry-ons, but forget taking it with you anywhere in Australia or carrying it home. Plan on having to put EVERYTHING (including your regulators and sensitive camera equipment, medications, etc.) in your checked bags if you take Qantas. And don't expect them to cheerfully convert kilos to pounds for you - the counter attendant I asked laughed in my face. You can rent dive gear in literally every corner in Cairns or Port Douglas, so consider leaving anything heavy at home.

The seats are also incredibly tiny and cramped, which makes a 14 hour flight real misery. The seats ahead lean back until your tray table is pressing into your stomach. The counter and gate crew were very rude to us. Alternatives are Air New Zealand, and Continental.

 

[SubMariner]

We went directly to Spirit of Freedom's website (http://www.spiritoffreedom.com.au/) and booked directly with them for the end of May/beginning of June. It saved us some $$$!

 

[Darnold9999]

You will be visiting a country that no longer uses the bizarre imperial system. Might be worth learning it before you get there rather than expect the world to come to you. Nobody but the US and to a minor degree Canada uses it anymore. Weight is easy 2.2 pounds per kilo. Depth is easy 10 metres is 33 feet (roughly). Pressure I never did get a good rule of thumb, but 200 bar is a full tank and you want to be on the boat with 50 bar left.

We also found weight to be an issue when flying internally. You will pay for extra weight in baggage on domestic flights. Never had any problems on United or Virgin Blue with staff. The flight is long, we were in business on points so was perfect, but to pay for business class is VERY expensive.

Second the rave re Steve's bommie. Only site that when I finished the dive I jumped right back in with my snorkle until it was time to leave.

 

[likelite]

D, I'd agree except that I was dealing with an agent whose sole charge was checking Americans onto a flight from Auckland to Los Angeles. Sure, most people know that a kilo is roughly 2 pounds, and to get the temperature in Fahrenheit you double the degrees C and add 30, but it'd have been a nice touch if the gate agent who was really, really rude to me at the Qantas checkin had stopped her diatribe on what a bad, bad person I was for (gasp!) buying souvenirs in AU and (horrors!) taking a dive camera to the Great Barrier Reef to actually be helpful for a minute, which is mostly what I was mad about.

Here in the states, we're pretty much stuck with Qantas since their management is cozy with the AU government and has been given preference to run the LAX-SYD route. Their only competition is Air New Zealand (and United runs a small number of flights - I had heard Continental, which is no longer true).

A friend from Oz told me they have really gone more toward cattle-carrier status, and they used to be a lot better. Seems they've crammed more and more seats on the 767s in recent years, which means of course that each person is allowed less baggage. But then, a first-class ticket to Sydney from L.A. is about $15,000 on Qantas - business is $5,000 - coach is $1,000. You do the math on who they're going to treat well! Each class has different weight limits, from more to less generous. Qantas' official policy states that you can pay extra to check additional baggage, but they have no set policy on the fee - when I flew Cairns to Sydney, it was $11 to check a 22" pullman bag weighing about 25 pounds, but when I flew to Auckland later they tried to charge me $140. [Edit: I am actually wrong about this. They do have set schedules on their website, which states the above for domestic vs. international fees for extra bags. However, I only had the extra bag due to the L.A. Qantas staff cheerfully letting me board with it as a carryon - but was hassled about it later by Qantas in AU.]

I just wrote a lengthy email in response to a private email I received on this issue and would be glad to post if folks would like - but my short recommendation is, avoid Qantas at all costs. A solution might be to take them over to Oz but to book another airline for domestic travel, because they could very well decide to stick you with the domestic weight limits - one checked bag of 70 lbs and one carry on of 15 lbs - which are severe for those of us trying to carry dive gear and enough clothing and toiletries for a fortnight's stay. (A trick Americans can employ in the Caribbean - the shipping home via UPS or FedEx of soiled laundry, etc. - is prohibitively expensive from Australia, unfortunately.)

 

[ScubaLizard]

I’m looking to take about a week holiday to Cairns while I’m in Australia. I’m glad I read the thread because initially I was gona go from the US to Cairns to Sydney & back. I’m gona be going with a local aussie who lives in Australia, so any ideas as to a nice get away for the both of us? Maybe something secluded? Also my window for the holiday is December to mid February, when would the best time to go there be? I haven’t looked at the charters posted as I write this, but will be reviewing after I post. Thanks for the help =)

 

[twatto]

Definitely recommend Spirit of Freedom. Been out twice with them. Great boat, good staff - diver ratio, staff were excellent and would bend over backwards to help out, great chef & sit down meals, stabilisers!

Taka has a new vessel - fairly comfortable - bit more crowded - however did notice the difference when we got out to the deep sea on the way to Osprey (SOF's stabilsers made quite a difference)

Closer to land dives - any of the diving companies are okay - however there is always that underlying pressure to get everyone in and out of the water ASAP - due to the number of OW courses that are running and understandable need to get everyone in and out to keep on schedule.

Time of year: I think Dec - march is more of the cyclone season. Stinger season - Nov - May (irukandji). Have dived these times without much problem (except for the one time we actually got caught in a cyclone - rescue course was cut short). June-Oct - prob would provide the most consistent clear weather - but colder (winter).

Enjoy - Look forward to hear your reports!

 

[alcina]

FWIW if you fly via Brisbane the taxes are considerably less than into Syd/Melb - a few hundred dollars depending on the total fare!

And if you are coming to the West Coast, there are actually good connections to Perth from Brisbane - better than many of those I've done through Sydney!