Where is the Best Overall diving in Australia/Oceania?

[TheShark1]

Hello all. I'm an instructor, and I'm thinking about relocating to the Australia/Pacific Islands region. I've read all the magazines, websites, top-10 lists, etc. But I was hoping to get some first-hand opinions from some well-traveled divers here..

I'm most interested in big marine life (Seals/Sea Lions, Dolphins, Whales, Whale Sharks, Sharks, Mantas, Manatees/Dugongs, etc.) and healthy coral reefs.

So.. with that being said.. Where is the Best Overall Diving in the Australia/Pacific Islands region?

Most people'll tell you Fiji, Palau, The Great Barrier Reef. What say you guys?

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Thank you very, very, very much in advance for any insights! I really, really do appreciate them!

 

[WetPup]

I've been to a lot of the above...

To be honest, there's no single definitive answer to your question. Most of those places have their merits.

GBR has the best hard corals and minke whale migration.
Ningaloo has whale shark aggregation.
Fiji has the best soft corals.
French Polynesia has the best shark-life.
Tonga has humpback migration.
Truk has the best shipwrecks.
Solomon Islands has the best plane wrecks.
Yap has the best manta-life.
Papua New Guinea has the best cultural experience.
Poor Knights has the best sub-tropical kelp forest type diving.

Overall, PNG would (in my opinion) have the most diversity in terms of diving. But it's not all in one place - you'd have to do a lot of flying around the country to see it. Milne Bay has macro, Kavieng has wrecks, Walindi and Tufi have reefs. I wouldn't say it was the "best" place for any of these individually, but it is near the top in all of them, as opposed to just being awesome for one thing.

The other places are, broadly speaking, single focus destinations. You go to the GBR to see the reef. You go to FP to see sharks. You go to Truk to see wrecks. If you wanted to get the "most" out of a trip to Oceania, I'd say PNG.

 

[Russjstewart]

Be prepared to spend a lot of time travelling. Anywhere in Australia, is generally a long way from anywhere else. Ningaloo and the GBR are on opposite sides the country, think LA to New York, and probably no direct flights. Tasmania can be very cold, especially in Winter (June, July, August) and is a long way from Cairns.

The PoorKnights Islands are really good temperate water diving, but the water can be damn cold in winter.

Liveaboards out of Cairns are probably the best option for the GBR. The day boats, from what I have seen,resemble cattle trucks, and are geared towards the lowest common denominator.

The wreck of the Yongala, south of Townsville, is well worth doing, but very weather dependant, best to contact Yongala Dive out of Alva Beach.

Truk probably has the most wrecks in a small area, and is absolutely awesome but depending on where you are can involve a lot of travelling.

Palau is really nice for a mix of fish and wreck diving. The wrecks do not have the wow factor of Truk, as most of the cargoes have been salvaged, but they are still very nice. Palau, has more infrastructure than Truk, so there are more options of things to do other than dive.

 

[drbill]

As has been said earlier, it is hard to give advice when each site has different attractions and we don't know specifically what you are looking for. Of those destinations on your list that I have dived, I found Palau to be the best for me... but I've never really seen a bad p[lace to dive!

 

[TheShark1]

As has been said earlier, it is hard to give advice when each site has different attractions and we don't know specifically what you are looking for. Of those destinations on your list that I have dived, I found Palau to be the best for me... but I've never really seen a bad p[lace to dive!

Thanks Dr. Bill -- I edited the OP to be a little more specific

 

[WetPup]

I think the challenge with the list in your edited OP is that many of those things are incompatible timing-wise.

Whale shark aggregation is not the same time of year as the whales show up, neither of which are around at the same time of year as dugongs, etc.

Unless you're planning multiple trips or you're planning a 9-12 month vacation, you're going to have to narrow it down.

 

[TheShark1]

I think the challenge with the list in your edited OP is that many of those things are incompatible timing-wise.

Whale shark aggregation is not the same time of year as the whales show up, neither of which are around at the same time of year as dugongs, etc.

Unless you're planning multiple trips or you're planning a 9-12 month vacation, you're going to have to narrow it down.

Ha, right. Sorry I wasn't more clear. I'm an instructor and I'm looking for nice year or so long working vacation lol.

 

[WetPup]

I think in that case, Australia's probably the best base of operations. A lot of the other Pacific Island destinations are "single focus" places, and you'd need a separate working holiday visa for each country. Whereas if you went to Australia, you'd just need the single working holiday visa and you could just travel around the country to see whatever you wanted to see at the right time of year.

Just be aware that almost every second person you see on the street in Cairns (the main GBR diving destination) is a dive instructor. Without significant additional skills (can you run courses in Mandarin, Korean, or Japanese?) you may struggle to find work.

 

[PalauDiver]

I am with drbill on Palau. It has a great variety in a reasonable area. It also has a lot of sites that are far off the beaten path, and not frequented by the regular divers and tours. Now, the OP references a massive area so "best" would need some additional criteria to define.