Great Whites, the Yongala, and the GBR in Feb - advice needed pls

[Cosmographer]

Hi All,

We have about 10 days in Australia but also need to squeeze in some time for business . I figure we will have basically have 2 long weekends for diving (3 nights or so each) with a few days of work in between.

We would love to do the shark cage dives, the Yongala, and the GBR (I guess the outer reefs are better? We will be coming from Palau so we'd like to stick to the best areas of the GBR since some have posted that the inner reefs are not much good anymore). Anyway, I've come up with a preliminary tentative itinerary and would like to see if you guys have any advice or input:

• 1st weekend: 3-4 night Yongala/GBR liveaboard (I guess Adrenalin divers is the only outfit that offers this?) This sounds good but since it seems that most operators sail out of Cairns further north, I wonder if the GBR down in the Yongala area is worth diving?
• Between weekends: Business in Sydney
• 2nd weekend: 2-3 nights with a shark diving operator (Rodney Fox is good?)

We might be able to fly in directly to Cairns so we could do a Hong Kong - Cairns - Sydney - Adelaide - Hong Kong to cut down on travel time and avoid backtracking too much. This will be my first time in AU, so any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

For 10 days in Australia and trying to fit all those things in good luck! I don't think you realise how big Australia is and where these sorts of dives are obtainable.

First off Great White diving is South Australia - Port Lincoln.

At the other end of the country you have the GBR and Yongala. I would not recommend Adrenaline as they only run 3 times a week, painfully slow boat (3 hours each way) and of recent very unreliable. Dive out of Ayr (one hour south) as it is 40 mins in a small RHIB - 12 pax. Runs every day.

The best diving is on overnight boats that visit the Ribbon Reefs (Cod Hole etc) and you are not going to do that in 2 days. Your only option is a 2 or 3 day trip to the Outer Reef areas out of Cairns. For 2 day 1 night trips you only have 2 choices Kangaroo Explorer or Taka. Also run every day.

Plenty of good dives on the East coast though, so these may be an option other then the GBR.

Those 2 are out of Cairns, as Townsville only has Adrenaline and again 2 times a week are their live aboard trips - 2 day 2 night or 3 day 3 night, and depart on the wrong days for you itinerary.

 

[Cosmographer]

Thanks for the info! I'm getting a better idea of how things work out there. Now my only concern is the weather, but it seems way too early to predict what conditions might be like in a few months. I suppose if the weather is good, we could do Yongala/GBR. If not, then perhaps Port Lincoln would be a better choice for this particular trip. I guess I'll need to keep an eye on the cyclone indicators.

 

[diver257a]

Hi All,....
2nd weekend: 2-3 nights with a shark diving operator (Rodney Fox is good?)

Hi Cosmographer,

Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions is probably OK... I have never heard any bad words about this business apart from the fundamental criticism of shark cage diving (i.e. using bait to attract sharks) which applies to all of the businesses offering shark cage diving. Anyway, Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions is only the licensed operator that will offer trips longer than a day trip. You need to check the availability (& duration) of trips online at https://www.rodneyfox.com.au/shop/i.../category_id/5e210feb04190e44008089457f2df815.

 

[ocdiver1]

You'll have to pick and choose what you do with the limited time you have and the huge distances you'd have to cover. Personally, I'd do a 4/3 or 5/4 LOB out of Cairns for the first part (Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom, or Taka) before you go down to Sydney. Then you'd have to fly back up to Townsville if you were going to the Yongala. As another mentioned, don't do the Adrenaline out of Townsville..I found out the hard way that they frequently cancel..rent a car and get down to Ayr..they often can go out as they don't have a 3 hour trip over open ocean like Adrenaline has. The Yongala is well worth it..probably my favorite dive in the world...but note you'll be flying back 4 hours in the same direction you just came from. It, like all diving in Australia, is very expensive...you're talking over $225 AUD for a two tank dive. Another option that might not be so rushed with the little time you have would be to dive the Julian Rocks area off Byron Bay..a couple hour shorter flight, shorter distance from the nearest airport, and a great place to spend a couple of days topside. Personally, I'd skip the great white cage dive.. while I did it in South Africa and not Australia and did enjoy it, you might find yourself a little underwhelmed by it and having only this take up the entire second part of your trip when other options I'd say are better. If you do wind up going to SA for a great white dive, give yourself one day to dive the same area for the leafy sea dragon, as spectacular a fish as you can see diving!