Where to go?

[DeepB]

hello

i am going to study in australia for a semester, and am not yet sure where to go.

which areas of australia could you recoomend for diving (especially interested in wreks)?

will be there july to november '09

regards
DeepB

 

[rye_a]

When you have a break in your class schedule I would highly recommend getting up to Cairns to dive the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. When I was traveling 10 years ago I flew from Singapore to Cairns, walked into the first dive shop I could find, and asked them if any live-aboards were leaving soon that had an extra bed. Since the operator just wanted to fill a berth (and as it turned out have an even number of divers) I wound up on a great boat for four days and 16 dives for U$350 plus a minor fee for equipment rentals.

If you can be flexible you will find GREAT deals.

 

[CODiver78]

If wrecks are your thing, I would highly recommend getting over to Vanuatu if you have the time. You can get flights from Australia for under $500 AUD if you time it right and are flexible.

Once there, you can dive on one of the most amazing wrecks in the world... the SS President Coolidge. It was a former luxury liner converted to a troop transport during WWII. It was sunk by 'friendly' mines and now sits between 25 and 60ish meters. It is the size of the Titanic and allows for full penetration dives. There are lots of old jeeps, helmets, shell casings and even live ammo scattered literally all over the place. Ask anybody that has been on this wreck and I guarantee that they rank it in their top 3 all time.

Within Australia, I have heard great things about the Yongala up near Townsville... I have not been on that wreck though, so others can chime in.

Enjoy Oz!

 

[Andrew Jones]

Gidday DB,

Regarding the Yongala wreck.... the boat sank 11 nautical miles off the coast of Cape Bowling Green ( North Queensland) in March 1911 during a cyclone, all 122 passengers were lost with the ship. Exactly what happened is unknown, although the fact no life rafts were found indicates the loss was sudden and tragic.

She lies in 14-28 metres of water and is 109 metres long, and is one of the largest shipwrecks in Australia She is now protectd under the Historic Shipwreck act

The artefacts, marine life, and variety of Corals are pretty impressive. Turtles, seasnakes, giant trevally, Queensland gropers eagle rays, bullrays, sharks and in the cooler months humpback whales.

Options are a 1 day trip with 2 dives or a 3 day/ 3 night liveaboard with 10 dives taking in the Wreck and Wheeler and Davies reef. Both Mike Ball ( use to run a liveaboard operation there a few years ago ) and I are of the opinion that Wheeler and Davies are stunning locations and challenge many of the local Cairns reefs for quality. Only small problem with the Liveaboard boat is she is a bit shabby but what the heck... just a bed right?

Finally Yongala is exposed to the elements and cancellations due to winds ( 20 knots about the cut off ) can be frequent for the day trip

Cheers Andy

 

[hal9000]

If you can get to Brisbane, Queensland, there is a lot of diving out around Moreton and Stradbroke Island, plus on the HMAS Brisbane off the Sunshine Coast. The HMAS Brisbane is one of my favourite wreck dives, plus there are a few around Brisbane.