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You can also see grey nurse sharks if you dive from Stradbroke Island, which is a half hour ferry ride from Brisbane. North Stradbroke Island's only 5 Star PADI Dive Centre, Since 1992 I haven't dived with these guys but they have a good local reputation. I notice that their website says grey...

Wantonmien, thanks for the feedback about Bundaberg. I've been wondering if the the diving was worth the effort to organize it but I don't know anyone who's been there. It sounds like it definitely is! Cheers. The wreck of the Yongala is an awesome dive, but it's a bit out of the way (you...

Andy is the local so I'll defer to his judgement, but in my experience there is little or no shore snorkelling off Port Douglas or Cairns, and no commercial operators that I'm aware of. Apart from anything else there are crocodiles and they eat people. :shocked2: The owner of the motel I...

If it's your intention to drive the whole way just be aware that even if you break it up Cairns to Melbourne is a BIG drive on pretty lousy roads, particularly with kids. You may be better off flying some of it. There is decent diving/snorkelling from Brisbane (Flinders Reef or Stradbroke...

I've done day trips with Quicksilver out of Port Douglas (Silversonic) and Cairns (Silverswift, twice), and with Poseidon out of Port Douglas. They were all good in my opinion. Fish, coral, calm blue ocean etc. The PD trips were to the Agincourt Reef and the Cairns trips to Flynn Reef. All...

Sounds good, Aquapro. Hope it goes well for them, because I'd be interested later in the year. Thanks for the link. :D

In my experience both Poseidon and Silversonic are good. I've done a day's dive with each, and IME Poseidon had the better guides/staff and Silversonic had a better lunch. :D Both went to lovely dive spots and I had a great day on both occasions. There were fewer divers on Poseidon than...

Just lovely :shakehead:. Being a self confessed puker I always make it clear to boat operators when boarding that I have a limited useful time frame to set-up gear, attend briefings and participate in group activities. After the boat hits the open water I'm best left quietly lying out the...

+1 re the MB/SOF liveaboards if you have the time. The other NQ option is Port Douglas (north of Cairns); it's a nice place to stay with some good resorts and several operators who do day trips to the outer reef.

I've used these guys a couple of times and found them good. The Scuba Doctor Dive Shop - Buy Scuba Diving Equipment & Scuba Gear

That's a cute idea. There must be plenty of old theme park rides around that aren't doing anything useful and could have a second career at a dive site.

I don't know how you'll go in Brisbane with formal internships. There aren't many dive operators and AFAIK they tend to operate on the weekend or just occasional week days when there's demand. I think their instructors are mainly weekend warrior types who do it as a hobby rather than a career...

Good luck with your card. Why do these things always seem to happen just when you're going on holidays? :banghead:

Have a fabulous trip! I hope you get some great dives in. :D Plastic is good pretty much everywhere except for some very small shops. I don't usually carry more than $50 in cash with me to cover small purchases like drinks, newspapers and similar. There are plenty of ATMs (cash machines)...

Cool. Cairns and/or Port Douglas should be on your list then, and they're certainly not cold! If she prefers snorkelling then the day boats up there all offer both snorkelling and certified diving; maybe you could dive and she could snorkel. There are also plenty of non-diving activities...

Are there particular things on her bucket list? If so, let us know the towns concerned and people can tell you what diving is around them. For example, I'll assume Sydney is on her list, and while it's not the GBR there is great diving in Sydney, and several Board regulars can point you in the...

Queensland options... At a guess I'd recommend Cairns. GBR diving (either day dives or liveaboards), land based things to see and it's a party town that caters to young tourists, i.e. drinking, restaurants and Fun. It doesn't have a beach, but if you have a car there are beaches within an hour...

The Gold Coast: From world class dive to world class dive site! Things are looking up...:D Seriously, what about another military wreck dive a la ex-HMAS Brisbane? I know the wreck purists get huffy about purpose sunk wrecks, but the Brisbane's very popular with both local and international...

+1 for Poseidon. I dived with them recently and they were great; lovely boat, nice people and a fabulous lunch. I heard everywhere that tourist numbers are down in Cairns and Port Douglas, which is lousy for them but good for you. For the third dive with Poseidon there were only two certified...

And crocodiles...:nervous: I posted at length about the drive from Brisbane to Cairns and won't bore everyone again;), but the info (with lots from other people who've done it too, and also the Brisbane Sydney leg recently) is here...