Diving in Australia

[martin.bov]

Hi,
Im going to be spending 6-7 weeks traveling down the east coast of australia in september/october 2011. Ill be starting in Cairns and finishing up in Sydney, as im traveling with my fiancee, who does not dive liveaboards are out of the question.
Im looking for dive sites and dive operators up and down the east coast that can offer a good days diving when we stop off and spend a couple of days in one place.
Any advise and suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Martin

 

[*Ag*]

Hey Martin,
Lots of great places to dive. My favorites in NSW would be Coffs Harbour and the Solitary Islands and South West Rocks. There is also some great diving in Byron Bay.
All the operators are very good from my experience.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

From Cairns there are plenty of day trips, ranging from smaller boats that offer snorkelling and diving, to more family orientated trips where the boat goes to a pontoon.

If your fiancee doesnt want to stay on a boat look at Reef Magic as you still get to dive, snorkel and swim, but also have space and solid deck to walk around on. Underwater observatory etc.

Cairns Day Diving Trips to the Great Barrier Reef

Cairns Day Diving Trips With Reef Magic To Marine Work On The Great Barrier Reef

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Cairns Discount Dive And Snorkel Trips. Live Aboard And Day Trips To The Great Barrier Reef

 

[TSandM]

We did three days in Byron Bay and dove with Sundive. We stayed at Planula Lodge. The diving was absolutely fantastic and still ranks as some of the best I have done anywhere. The town was cute, the bay was beautiful and there were some truly superb restaurants. My report of the trip is on our website at www.tsandm.com, but the site is down right now, so I can't link to it.

 

[Wcad2048]

Don't miss south west rocks on your way down...dive operators at swr dive centre are great and fish rock is amazing. I did my open water there earlier this year so I haven't got many dive sites under my belt but theres no disputing the awesomeness of close encounters with dozens of grey nurses.

 

[martin.bov]

Thanks for the all the help, ill do some research and see what's close to where im going to be.

 

[Kern]

Sth. Queensland
Bundaberg Aqua Scuba
Wolf Rock Dive - Grey Nurse Sharks|Scuba Diving|Commercial Diving|Charters|Training|Equipment - Welcome
http://www.scubaworld.com.au/index.htm
Sunreef Scuba Diving - Padi Dive School | Wreck Diving | HMAS Brisbane | Scuba Dive Trips
Diving The Gold Coast
Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre : Stradbroke Island

Nth. NSW
http://www.divequest.com.au/
Wooli Dive Centre Wooli New South Wales Australia
Banana Coast Divers - PADI Scuba diving Solitary Islands Marine Park Coffs Harbour
Welcome - Sundive Scuba Diving Dive Byron Bay
Dive Byron Bay with the Byron Bay Dive Centre - your professional PADI and SSI dive shop to dive Julian Rocks
Fish Rock Cave - Dive Fish Rock with the South West Rocks Dive Centre Australia
Home - Fish Rock Dive Centre at South West Rocks
SCUBA Haven web site
Forster Dive Centre - Scuba Diving & Snorkelling
Dive Forster at Fisherman's Wharf: Swim with Dolphins, PADI SCUBA Diving, Forster, NSW, Australia
Aqua Zero Dive Centre
Cental Coast Scuba Diving - Scuba Shack
Dive Imports Australia Central Coast Scuba Diving & Online Sales
http://home.kooee.com.au/gosdivserv/
http://www.prodivecentralcoast.com.au/sitepages/welcome.html
Feet First Dive, Nelson Bay - Your Port Stephens Scuba Diving Pro Shop
Dive and Snorkel Byron Bay | Planula Divers Retreat Planula
Discount Scuba Gear, PADI SCUBA Dive Courses and Scuba Diving at Coffs Harbour's Solitary Islands, Northern NSW- Australia Scuba Gear and Dive Equipment Jetty Dive, NSW Australia

 

[Kern]

All of the above are worth a dive or 3. Places like Wolf Rock, Pimpernel Rock, Julian Rock & Fish Rock Cave are a must. Bargara on the coast out from Bundaberg has some good shore diving, with coral just off the beach in some areas. The Solitary Islands has the choice of 5 small islands, several rocks, washes & sunken reefs to pick from.

 

[Soggy_Diver]

I travelled Sydney to Brisbane a couple of years ago.

My favourite dive site was South Solitary Island off Coff's harbour. Great variety and numbers of big fish!

If your fiancee snorkels, Juliann Rocks in Byron Bay is a great day trip. My non-diving kids (then 8 and 12, good swimmers) loved it and saw lots of cool stuff: dolphins (above water), turtles, sharks, rays.

 

[Suzzy]

Definetely do South west rocks (6hrs drive north from Sydney) if you get the chance... Fish rock cave was an experience in itself. I dove with Jon from Fish Rock Cave dive centre and had a great time. (haven't dived with swr dive centre so cannot comment)

Other places to dive include Nelson Bay (2hrs drive north from Sydney). Superb macro dives but are tide dependent. The dive shop there by the marina is very good. I've been up there about 4 times in the last 2-3 months.

Jervis Bay (2hrs south from Sydney) has some great diving too and good places to hang around for a non diver (very beautiful beaches)... The seals should be around in September and are awesome fun to dive with! (Dive Jervis Bay were the people I dove with... experience with them have been good)

Also great shore diving in Sydney... Shelly beach in Manly and The steps in Kurnell are great for spotting weedy sea dragons.

Couple of friends just recently did the Yongala wreck and have been raving about it... might be worth checking that out too! - Haven't done this so no direct experience