Best way to dive the yongala

[chris kippax]

Hi guys,
Looking to dive the yongala but am stuck on an operator to use.
Yongala dive has shocking trip advisor reviews and when approached about there prices or a %10 discount for locals they expressed that there prices are inline with the rest of oz. (bullsh$t).
adrenaline dive is also around $245.00 for a two tank charter and $50 for two tank nitrox fill.
Is there any locals that dive this area with experience with the local operators? I just want a fair days diving for a fair price!

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Yongala Dive. Adrenalin eout of Townsville are notoriuosly unrelaibel and need minimum numbers to run. They have cancelled so many times its not funny, plus its a 3 hour trip out.

Not sure if Yongala Dive at Ayr deserve the bad reviews, but at least their trips run and its fast (40mins).

There are no more that I know of.

 

[diver00014]

I was In Australia for the entire month of March, I used Adrenalin Dive for my trips to the Yongala.

No complaints of any kind.

Keep in mind its an all day experience, your going to leave early in the morning and return late in the afternoon.
Boats the size of theirs use lots of fuel and their not going to run it all day for three or four people.
From a business stand point I am going to guess it takes at least 6 people just to break even .

For what its worth, IMHO, I have spent the last 25 years diving ship wrecks from Egypt to Brazil and back and In My book The Yongala is worth every penny.

It and the Thistlegorm rank high on my list.

I don't do many return trips unless there is a good reason but I will without a doubt return to Townsville and use Adrenalin Dive again.

My experience while in Cairns however was nothing to brag about. When I feel the need to be Jammed on to a boat, rushed out to a beat up half dead Reef, treated like a first day PADI student and bent over my wallet backwords I will just catch a quick flight to Cozumel.

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

FWIW, I dived with Yongala Dive about eighteen months ago and they were fine. It's not a nice trip out if you don't like boats (and I don't like boats ), but I had no issues with the operator. It is a great dive and IMO was worth the price, though I agree they're expensive. However, personally I wouldn't stay with them at Alva Beach, because it's really small and boring. Ayr is only about fifteen minutes away and has some reasonable motels and restaurants.

P.S. I just had a look on Tripadvisor and the reviews seemed pretty positive ? There seemed to be a cluster from one group that got stuffed around, but generally people sounded happy... or am I missing something?

 

[diver00014]

I planned my trip to Au far in advance. I wasent going to come home without diving that sight regardless of what I had to do. I had a plan B and a plan C to achieve my goal. I never felt the need to go anywhere else once I arrived in Townsville and found Adrenalin Dive.

I don't put much if any credit to all the reports about Hotels, resorts, dive shops ect....ect...

Im sure someone probably didn't get their Frappa Chino Lata Mocha with whipped cream and a Scone handed to them when they arrived onto the boat so they got pissed and wrote a bad report.

People think they can travel three hours out into the shipping lane of the Coral Sea and its going to be smooth as glass.
They choose the dive shop in Ayr because it offers a fast ride out from a closer starting point then they bitch because it was ruff and they got wet.

I am so sick of that kind of crap.

Everyone wants High adventure and excitement with action packed thrilling diving but God forbid there is any inconvenience of any kind on the way there.

It will never change.

 

[NautilusCairns]

Living in Cairns I have dived the Yongala a few times and the reality is that it is always a bit of a gamble weatherwise. It is in an unprotected area, as Semo points out, so trips can be cancelled the day before.

As conditions can be far from ideal I personally prefer to go with Yongala Dive from Alva Beach south of Townsville as it is only a forty minute run to the site rather than three hours from Townsville with Adrenalin. These are the only two operators I know who do daily trips to the wreck.

There are a number of good websites to check the offshore weather, however an alternative plan is recommended in the case of things going pearshape.

The site itself is great with a huge amount of life and the wreck is a fish magnet as it lies away from any surrounding reef, on a sandy bottom

It is fair to say that Yongala Dive is a no frills operation at four to five star prices, however choice is limited.