Melbourne/Sydney - 1st time in AUS!!

[Sparg93]

I'm taking my first trip to Australia next week and will be there until January 5th!!

I'll be between Melbourne and Sydney and must get some diving in. Is there anyone out there that would like to meet up and/or can recommend a dive site or group?

I'm traveling with dive computers, regs, goggles/snorkel, skin, but not bringing my BC/fins b/c of space constraints...so i would need to rent some basics.

I would love to meet up with someone or a group and go for a dive. Please let me know if you'll be around!!

-Craig

[Carl_Fallon]

G'day Craig!

My name is Carl Fallon and i work at Abyss Scuba Diving in Sydney. We would love for you to come diving with us while you are here!

We go diving all the time, with day trips and weekend trips out of Sydney all the time. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday we head out and a lot of our diving activities are free, because most sites we have are accessible right off the shore~!

For our dive schedule check out: Sydney Scuba Diving - Calendar

Also, if you need any help planing your trip or need any tips on good spots up and down the East Coast of Australia just shout out. We have dived a lot around here and will be able to offer you some good advice!

Craig, are you on facebook? If so look us up and check out what all the guys are doing. The link is bellow. We post trips, photos etc there, and you can even chat direct with our staff.

[Sparg93]

Carl, thank you so much!

I will definitely reach out to you guys and try. and put something on the calendar...i'm so pumped knowing I'll be able to dive when I head out there now!!

I'm on facebook, i'll look through the link...thank you again!

[apertyx]

You'll love diving with Carl and the kids there -- I took my O/W with them, and still enjoy their company!!! Some nice shore dives around the area (and hopefully the water's warming up - was 17/63 when I was back in October!)
Steve

[Carl_Fallon]

No worries Spag93... Make sure you PM me on facebook and i will be able to chat directly to you to help you plan your great Aussie adventure! Chat to you soon... :-)

P.S. Thanks for the kind words Steve... Yes the water has been warming up. Nearly 20 odd degrees at the moment, and currently is nice and flat!

I had 5-6 degrees yesterday in a lake near the snowy mountains called Lake Jindabine. It was a township before becoming flooded by a damn for the snowy mountain hydro system. Very weired diving around buildings.

[Sparg93]

Thanks everyone!

What type of exposure protection are you wearing in Dec?

[Carl_Fallon]

G'day mate...

Sorry for the late reply. The temp at the moment in Sydney in December is around 18 - 20 degrees. Most divers that dive with Abyss use 7/5mm Semi Dry Wetsuits. About 1-2 months ago we where all wearing Neoprene Hoods, but it isnt essential in December. Just for the sun burn if you have a shaved head like me!

I hope this helps...

Cheers.

[Tortuga68]

In Melbourne, dive the ex-HMAS Canberra. Try Dive Victoria. It's about 19c so maybe 5mm with a hood IMO

[Sparg93]

Hey Tortuga - great advice, i called them up today. Seems like a good idea, but at $200 for two dives, it's a little pricey.

Know of any other places or groups in Melbourne that dive the area and the price would be a little lower? I'm looking to rent tanks, weights, fins, and exposure suit.

Thanks!

[Tortuga68]

Don't know who you called, I went out there with Dive Victoria, it's AU$128 for a double boat dive (including marine park fee), plus whatever you need to hire (tanks@$22 each etc). I don't think you'll find anyone much cheaper. So $200 sounds about right for what you need to hire. Not cheap compared to Asia but yeah - welcome to Australia. That, the water temperature, and the time it takes to get from home/shop/boat to dive sites & back is why I don't dive here much. Took me 10 hours to do the double dive from door to door. IMO it was worth it but that's up to you to decide