Newbies to diving visiting GBR - need advice

[rutuja]

Hi everyone-

We are 29 year olds. We want to learn to dive while in GBR. I looked at open water referral course and 2 day/1night liveabroad crusies ...and am confused as to which will be a better experience for us.

We are in Cairns for 3 days and so cant really do the 5 day learn to dive schooling there.

1. If we do the study and confined pool part here - we could take the open referal course with Poseidon or Haba. But that is 2 day trips to Agnicourt reef. We will probably spend more time on the boat than diving.

I am sold on this as Agnicourt is the most pristine reef with tons to see.

2 We can do the 2 day/1 night liveabroads and learn to dive. We spend less time travelling to outer reef - but we dont go to Agnicourt reef.But it would be real fun to spend the night on water - never done that either.

What do you recommend we do # 1. or #2.

As first time divers and visitors to GBR, will we "know" the difference between Agnicourt reef and other reefs? Or do you think we will probably enjoy the 2 day trip even though its not the best reef in GBR?

Any other thinsg to keep in mind ?

Please let me know!

Rutuja

 

[Daveo957]

If you decide to do you classes in the states and then do checkout dives while in Austrailia ( this is what I would do) I would choose a shop that teaches PADI. I had a freind take the same course I did (NAUI) and went to that area to do her checkout dives and they gave her lots of problems, they wanted her to pay for and do a 2 day class there. Since all the shops in that area are padi and worked together they all decided to do this so there is really no way around it they can do what they want even though its not right. The owner of our shop had a close friend there that took her diving and she did her checkouts when she got home.

 

[mkutyna]

better yet, get certified at home and spend your entire vacation diving for enjoyment.

Checkout dives consist of quite a few skills that can potentially take up the majority of your dives. Reg retrievals, alternate air ascents, ESAs, rescues and others all take up time that you can spend just diving and looking at the reef. Then factor in the briefings and debriefings for each training dive.

Of course, it also depends on what kind of vacation you're wanting. I don't expect getting fully certified in the PNW would be too difficult though.

 

[Daveo957]

I do agree with that, getting it all done at home is the best way, so when you go on vacation you dont have to worry about taking a class at all.

 

[miketrance84]

You won't really fully enjoy diving until you are very comfortable in the water. I would recommend doing all your training back home. Personally, I would get a few dives in locally. Things like Bouyancy should be ironed out before any trip. You won't get your full enjoyment out of your dive vacation if you

 

[Damselfish]

The best experience is probably going to be whatever is least rushed with the fewest people.
I would not recommend cramming in the entire course in 2 days. You're not going to spend any more time in the water on a liveaboard than a dayboat at this point anyway, because you are limited to a couple certification dives a day.

Getting certified before you go would be better. Doing the classroom and pool at home and referral dives someplace warm definitely has it's points, especially if you have no interest in ever diving at home. But it makes more sense if you have more days so you can do your referral dives, then get to do some more diving to get more practice and get to enjoy some fun dives. Think of your certification as more of a learners permit, you won't really know how to dive very well without a bunch more practice. If you do just checkout dives then don't dive for awhile, you're going to forget a lot because you won't have really learned it well yet. Besides, spending your couple days in Cairns doing checkout dives seems like a huge waste.

I would not get too hung up your first trip seeing what someone claims is the "best." You probably won't appreciate it yet anyway, and if you do it's all downhill from there! (BTW, any any reef that is close enough to be visited by a dayboat or one night liveaboard from Cairns is not the best. You need to go on at least a 3-4 night trip for that.) But really, on your checkout dives you are doing skills, you probably won't be very good at a lot of it yet and you might not have much chance to see the reef. Any sightseeing you get to do, for a new diver pretty much any reef out there is going to be great.

 

[Adelaide Jay]

Yeh we're all seeing the same issue here. If you have less than 50 logged dives, Qld requires you do a checkout dive with each operator you work with. For that reason I would try to book all my dives whether liveaboard or day trip, with the same company. That way at least you'll only lose out on one dive.

Definitely get certified before you go on holidays. Remember that you will be doing your course with a bunch of other people. That means a lot of time doing skills while sitting on the bottom and a lot of that time you'll be doing nothing but sitting there while the instructor checks out the other divers in your group. I strongly recommend you get your certification before going on holidays. Especially given your tight time frame.

Your course will likely require you to buy your own snorkle, mask and fins. Bring them with you on your holiday!! Hire gear is never as comfortable on you as the gear you picked out yourself. Especially as a new diver, having gear you know is brand new, good quality and fits the way you like it will help you relax and enjoy the dives.

Unfortunately, Damselfish is dead right about the reefs. GBR is awsome, but not a patch on what it was 20 years ago, simply because of the amount of damage accidently done by the hundreds of thousands of divers/snorkellers that have bumped, kicked or stood on it over the years. In saying that, it is still beautiful and you'll be like a kid in a candy store with all the colour and life. Tropical diving is always good!!

Dont get too hung up on a particular dive shop's sales pitch. While it's their job to convince you that they're the best and everyone else is rubbish, the reality is that there are hundreds of lovely and sheltered sites for you as a novice diver to enjoy the reef. They will all be filled with hard and soft coral and multitudes of fish species. Just about impossible to get amongst that and not have fun!

I would definitely go the liveaboard, but I love liveaboards Bear in mind though, that you need to wait 24hours after diving before flying, so that's going to restrict your dive time even more.

 

[Aussie scuba chick]

I must recommend the Cairns Dive Centre's liveaboard. I did my Open Water with them a while back and my friends and I really enjoyed ourselves. Spent three days out on the reef with some great dives. Good food too!

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

That's the first time I've seen the words 'Agnicourt' and 'Pristine' together in the same sentence.

During your first dives all reefs will look much the same: you will be too busy trying to get your buoyancy and other general skills under control. Don't worry - We all go through this initial stage and its best that the 'pristine' reefs are for when you have nailed the basic skills and can appreciate whats around you.

Learn at home and get a few dives under your belt before coming over. Diving out of Redmond will make the warm water GBR dives feel easy.

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

:blinking:It's in the eye of the beholder or the mouth of the seller really
I agree with most of what is said here....

One caution.... how are you for seasickness? Do you know? With this short time frame I would suggest it would be nasty to get on a live a board get sick and not enjoy yourselves. Frankly I haven't done the live aboard thing myself yet for that reason. I have done a fair few boat dives (with medication in most cases) but nothing erases the horrific experience of my first attempt at boat dive. I never managed to get a dive in I was that sick! As a working paramedic used to being in the back of an ambulance working on people and getting tossed around it never occurred to me I would get sick on the boat!:depressed: I don't like diving medicated with anything that dehydrates as most anti-nausea meds do.

I will be returning to Lady Elliot Island..... see the report posted by Almitywife I don't want to chance wasting a dive trip being sick... but that is just me at this time. One day I will try a live aboard when time frames allow a fallback plan.

I absolutely agree... get certified there... try to get some dives in before you come over so your bouyancy is better controlled. You will enjoy it more when you aren't having to work so hard to keep from touching the coral. The coral is very delicate:blinking: as is your skin..... but coral takes a lot longer to recover than our skins do. Many operators won't take divers into their best sites until they prove skillful enough not to damage them. The comment earlier about the reefs not being what they used to be is true and I personally don't want to cause any further damage :blinking: