Ningaloo vs. GBR/Coral Sea liveaboard

[leakydrysuit]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post to the board (woohoo) although I've been lurking here for ages.

I need some help with travel plans.

My wife and I will be visiting Australia this June and will have 1 week's worth of time to do some diving while we are there. Right now we're having some problems trying to figure out where the best place to go would be. The two front-running ideas are either to do a liveaboard on the outer Great Barrier Reef / Coral Sea or to travel all the way out west to spend some time on the Ningaloo reef.

For background purposes, we are cold water divers (Great Lakes and St. Lawrence river - shipwrecks) primarily interested in seeing some interesting wildlife while in Australia. Large animals would be of particular interest. It would also be nice to experience some variety (ie different kinds of wildlife/terrain/ecoenvironment) rather than to spend the week doing a bunch of similar dives.

Our salt-water diving experience thus far is limited to 2 dives in Costa Rica (Pacific side) and about 20 or so dives in the Caribbean Sea. Neither of us has done a liveaboard.

I would appreciate hearing different people's opinions on this.

Thanks.

Kyle

 

[baitedstorm]

I just came back from the Ningaloo Reef about 3 weeks ago and it was AMAZING!!!! I dove with the Exmouth Dive Center , www.exmouthdiving.com.au , they were so wonderful and really went out of their way to ensure every diver had a great time(dreadlock Dave was great). I couldn't believe all the life and coral out there, it took two pages in my dive log book just to list everything I saw. The deepest dive I did while out there was 45 feet with temps around 104f air and 80f in the water.
If your wanting to see big life, thats the place to go. Whale shark season will last all the way through June or July and sometimes even August. Those things are giant!!!
I ended up staying at the PotShot hotel, which was an average hotel but nice, and the bonus was the dive shop is right behind it so in the morning I would just take my gear and hit the bus out to the boat.

Feel free to pm me if you want any more information. I dont know what its worth, but my dive buddy there had just gotten back from GBR and said that the dives we did on the Ningaloo Reef had ten times the sea life then the GBR. (I've never been to the GBR so I couldn't tell ya if she's right or not)

Vickie

 

[stefo2]

I have not dived the GBR, but from what I heard you really need to do a live-aboard to the outer reef to get to the interesting sites. Ningaloo is a lot more accessible (once you're in Exmouth, that is, which is a looooooooong way from anywhere - but worth it!), and like Vickie, I have also done some amazing dives there, sharks, potato cods, big rays on almost every dive. Don't know how good June in that respect, but in August it's Manta season in Exmouth, and I can't think of a more impressive creature to dive with! Beats the whalesharks for me...
I definetely have a soft spot for Ningaloo and Exmouth where I spent some of the best weeks of my life, so I admit I'm biased, but it's a great little spot.

 

[cdiver2]

Oct 03 dived PNG,= 10+. Coral sea,= 8 and GBR,= 5

PNG Best coral and exotic sea life a riot of color. A few shark, Dolphin.

Saw more big stuff at Osprey reef ( Coral sea ) lots of sharks and manta ray.

GBR better than Coz but would not pay all that money just to
dive it.
Hope this helps.
David

 

[Roz Amos]

I have dived Ningaloo from land, and the GBR on a liveaboard in the last year. We were in Exmouth for a week in April last, and did the whaleshark and manta ray experiences (snorkelling only), as well as about 10 dives, and it was incredible. The coral there is, IMO, inferior to the coral at the Far North ribbon reefs, but better than a lot of the stuff you get from day boats or liveaboards that go to the east of Cairns. The fishlife was good - more big game fish I thought, and more varied sharks (lots of reefies, wobbegong (carpet) sharks), and rays of all kinds, especially the mantas, than I have seen at the north of the GBR. There is also a greater variety of dive sites, in that there is the Navy Pier, which is basically a dive in 12m of water, with prolific and hugely varied life using the pier as an artificial reef- a twilight dive here was the highlight of the trip, not counting the whalesharks. There are then some dives out near there islands, and more reef dives. If you are counting on doing whalesharks, check the seasons, as I know they are there in April and May but not sure when they leave.

We did a five day liveaboard out to the Coral Sea, and did not make Osprey Reef due to wind (sniff!), but got up to the Northern reefs. Pixies Reef and around Cod Hole had some incredible coral, certainly the best i have seen in Aus, and a lot of life but not as prolific or varied as in WA. Sharks were very small reefies, and there was a lot of typical reef fish. It was beautiful, but to me there was nothing outstanding about it, and after two days of near identical reef dives of gradually declining quality as you got back nearer to cairns, I could take or leave the last few dives - there was not much new there. I suspect that Osprey Reef would make a difference though. Also think that June/ July may be whale season, so would be worth finding out the likelihood of seeing some of these.

To say Exmouth is remote is an understatement, however, you will need to get to Perth (a four hour flight from Sydney) and then hire a car and drive up (about 1300 kms) or fly up in a pretty small plane, which takes a couple of hours. To fly there from Syd will cost you in the region of $600-800 Aussie per person. Cairns or Townsville are about a 3 hour flight from Syd, and will cost $400 ish per person to get there. Also depends on whether cost is a factor and how much diving you actually want to do - we did a package deal in Exmouth for 10 varied dives (some pier, some reef, some island) and a day swimming with the whalesharks for $750 Aussie pp. The cheapest liveaboard that goes to the Coral sea (inc Osprey Reef) will set you back in the region of $1000 pp Aussie when booked in advance ), up to close to $3,000 for the luxury boats, with the majority in the middle (although all can be purchased much more cheaply on the ground in Cairns, if you are willing to take a chance on it).
The other thing to consider is how much else there is to see there - around Exmouth and the coral Bay area (the other main Ningaloo start point) there is amazing snorkelling, and a lot of red dirt, and not a fat lot else (lots of kangaroos though). Does help with the understanding of how empty a lot of aus is! Around Cairns there is the rainforest, and lot of things like crocodile farms, and some pretty incredible areas of natural beauty.

My favourite was WA, for the volume and variety of life, and I would express the opinion that it is not worth going to Cairns and doing day boats, as the sites are, IME, total crap. Other than that is up to you - have a great trip!

 

[leakydrysuit]

I'd like to thank everyone for their replies so far as all have been helpful. Looks to me like Western Australia is winning. Any other opinions?

What about Exmouth vs. Coral Bay?

 

[caymaniac]

I would say that Roz Amos has a good point, although I've never been to Ningaloo. Osprey and beyond the GBR in the Coral Sea was really great, and we enjoyed snorkeling and the dive with the Minke whales. The GBR around Lizard Island is some of the best coral (healthy) that we've seen. Such a choice, Ningaloo or Coral Sea, can you go wrong with either?

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac

 

[maccajim]

leaky look at this website www.diveoz.com.au
they have pretty active forum and few recent posts on GBR and the stupid rules regarding diving in that state, if i were you ningaloo would be first choice

 

[Oceanlovers]

I would have to agree with the majority of the posts - ningaloo wins hands down, not only for the amazing shore diving (Ningaloo being the longest fringing reef in the World) The locals protect their enviroment too - just check out the public support on this informative link http://www.envirolink.org/external....NingalooReef.org&itemid=200212051317580.83813
Try getting a little further out to the Murion and Peak Islands.
Recently I traveled out with the boat called Splash and dived and camped around these amazing islands.This is real adventure stuff and amazing wildlife - ya just dont know what your going to see when you hop in.The skipper and Divemasters Dave, Simon and Kristen love their diving and are always up for finding new sites.Have a look at their website - www.ningaloodreaming.com
I will return to Perth in June and will be very tempted to head up for more - keep me posted.
On a note about the daytrips on the GBR (inside) I found the divesites some of the worst diving I have ever done, although I cannot comment on Coralsea as I ran out of time..
Good luck and enjoy.
Cheers Oceanlovers

 

[stefo2]

I'd like to thank everyone for their replies so far as all have been helpful. Looks to me like Western Australia is winning. Any other opinions?

What about Exmouth vs. Coral Bay?

Coral Bay is more convenient for snorkelling, since it's right on the beach. Exmouth is on the "wrong" side if the peninsula in a way, with the best beaches being on the westcoast, but it's more convenient for diving (closer to the good sites) and has a better choice of dive operators. I think there are only 2 in Coral Bay. In my opinion Exmouth is also a lot nicer, but depends on what you like: Coral Bay is a resort and that's it. Exmouth is actually a small working town in rural Australia, complete with school and hospital and a small shopping centre, nothing pretty and picturesque about it, but very friendly and relaxed.