Australia Diving

[Looka]

A couple questions???

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced quality boat operator?
What will the water temp be in late Jan-Feb?
What kind of conditions could we expect? Visibility, currents, ect.
Are the rainforests worth a look?
Should we take a day to go to the outback?

Please share ANY experiences that you have had traveling to Australia. Thanks!

[Sam2000]

there are sooooo many dive operators that the prices are generally about the same. I dived a few times with Cairns Dive Centre, and they were always pretty good to deal with. Funny fellas! Water temp in Cairns is literally bath-water temp throughout summer - no wetsuit needed! (You might need a stinger suit though). The dive operators in Cairns generally go to the inner reef where it's very calm with lots of easy dives. Visibility was always good for me whenever I dove (ie: 15-20 metres +), but I guess it's also dependent on the weather. Rainforests (especially the Daintree) are definitely worth a look. Outback is gorgeous but literally, it's outback. You should do some research as to what you want to see (ie: desert, cattle station, remote rural town). It also may take a good part of a day just to get to where you want to go to, so you may need more than one day.

Re: Brisbane: Most dive spots are either north, east or south of Brisbane, which means driving times range from forty-five minutes to two hours. Here's some of my faves. There's the HMAS Brisbane at Mooloolaba, which is around 1.5 hours north of Brisbane. It's a good dive and the last time I went I had great vis (25 +). There are two dive shops in Mooloolaba, but as I take out my own boat I can't recommend any. There's a few spots around Stradbroke and Moreton Islands, but only one dive shop on Stradbroke. Plenty of dive shops in Brisbane, though, so might be worth your while checking out them first. South of Brisbane is the Gold Coast with plenty of little islands and reefs to check out, and then there's Julian Rocks at Byron Bay which is well worth looking into. Byron seems to have plenty of dive shops, and so I'd assume that their prices are all around the same.

You will need a wetsuit for Brisbane dives. I have a 3mm shortie that does me fine over the summer months. Current is dependent on where you go (ie: one side of Stradbroke island is sheltered, and the other is facing the open ocean). Visibility tends to follow the same rule as well as the weather dynamics.

Hope this is somewhat helpful!

[mgrover]

This is perhaps the most important information for me. In the coming year I will be moving to Australia for a few months and upon knowing the extreme weather conditions there in summer the best alternative for me would be to spend as much time with my passion of scuba diving. I was not aware of the dive operators there and the information supplied here is like a piece of gem for me. Thanks a lot, that is why I simply cant ignore the value of the travel communities which are always for us for help.