Australia in July

[Sir-Dive-A-Lot]

Queensland dives:
North of Brisbane: Ex-HMAS Brisbane. Easy wreck dive, lots of marine life there, lots of boats going out there weekdays too. About 1hr north of Brisbane. For the younger ones, you can still explore the upper decks without hitting 21m.
South of Brisbane: Cook Island - Short boat ride from tweed heads. 1.5hrs south of Brisbane. Lots of marine life, large loggerhead turtles are main attraction. Quite shallow, upto 15m in most places.
Between QLD and NSW:
Julian Rocks, Solitary Island, South West Rocks. Haven't dived them but already mentioned there as some pretty spectacular places.
Sydney:
Magic Pt: large Grey Nurse shark population. Lots of boats going out during weekdays. ~23m in depth so it may hit your kid's depth limits if you go into some of the lower areas.
Kurnell: Relatively easy shore dives, but depends a lot on vis as it's in the bay and can be quite murky at times. But can be shallow enough to get some good long dives out of.

 

[covediver]

Sir-Dive-A-Lot mentions the ex-HMAS Brisbane. I was in Oz back in November of 2011 on a dive and drive vacation. I went diving with Sunreef Diving Services in Mooloolaba on the Brisbane. It was a great couple of dives and Sunreef made sure that all was OK, especially with me traveling solo for that segment of the trip. Secure gear cleaning and storage area, a great staff, comfortable boat, and a bunch of friendly fellow divers made the trip even more memorable. I hope the trip to Oz is as memorable for you as mine was for me. I am planning a return this year or early next year.

 

[randreyo]

Thanks for all the good ideas... Looks like going from north to south I have to choose from...

HMAS Brisbane
Flinders Reef
Julian Rocks
Solitary Island
Southwest Rocks

Now.. which one or hopefuly two can i fit into our schedule. Solitary Island and Southwest Rocks looks about halfway from Brisbane to Sydney. Maybe drive 5-6 hours, sleep overnight and dive one of those in the morning.

 

[CoralSeaVideo]

Hello,

I have a suggestion if you have time. Come up north from Cairns to Port Douglas for a day, even if you cannot dive. I wasn't clear on if you'd have extra time when in the Cairns area, but Port Douglas is a wonderful town and you'd have a great time here. It is just an hour by bus north, but a far different experience than the Cairns area.

July is one of the best times to visit and the climate will be wonderful.

 

[Divepink]

Heya randreyo I'm not sure about Brisbane but check out this site for sydney
Sydney Dive Sites

Its a great site with detail info on some dive site and abyss scuba are awesome
to deal with I hope that helps

 

[clownfishsydney]

If you want real balanced information about NSW dives - Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site.

For Sydney dives - Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site.

A bit more information than Abyss has, but I agree they are a good shop.

I would allow at least 6 hours from Brisbane to South West Rocks and another 6 from there to Sydney. You would need more for meals and some sightseeing. I would not recommend driving from SWR to Sydney after diving unless you are experienced at long-distance driving on roads that are not 100% freeways.

 

[randreyo]

Hello,

I have a suggestion if you have time. Come up north from Cairns to Port Douglas for a day, even if you cannot dive. I wasn't clear on if you'd have extra time when in the Cairns area, but Port Douglas is a wonderful town and you'd have a great time here. It is just an hour by bus north, but a far different experience than the Cairns area.

July is one of the best times to visit and the climate will be wonderful.

CoralSeaVideo
We will be in Clifton Beach for a week prior to our 4 day live aboard to do all the tourist stuff that we can fit in. If you have any suggestions, let me know....and if there is something we should stay away from that would be good too.

 

[CoralSeaVideo]

Hello Again,

Clifton Beach is quite tiny so you'll maybe want to get out a bit. Palm Cove is just a bit away and is a great little spot for a meal and stroll. Port Douglas is a bit more north than that and I suggest you visit 4 mile beach, it is an amazing beach. Port really is a unique kind of town so it is very much worth a visit if you can manage it (we liked it so much we moved from Colorado to it!)

There's really nothing to stay away from, so you'll have a good time. Where are you staying in Clifton if you don't mind me asking? If you can make it up to Port or want to do some day trip diving in Port let me know. A lot depends on if you'll have access to a car or not.

 

[ozzydamo]

Hello,

I have a suggestion if you have time. Come up north from Cairns to Port Douglas for a day, even if you cannot dive. I wasn't clear on if you'd have extra time when in the Cairns area, but Port Douglas is a wonderful town and you'd have a great time here. It is just an hour by bus north, but a far different experience than the Cairns area.

July is one of the best times to visit and the climate will be wonderful.

Beautiful little town destroyed by Chris Skate, still has a nice Queensland hotel, Newell is my favorite now.

 

[randreyo]

Hello Again,

Clifton Beach is quite tiny so you'll maybe want to get out a bit. Palm Cove is just a bit away and is a great little spot for a meal and stroll. Port Douglas is a bit more north than that and I suggest you visit 4 mile beach, it is an amazing beach. Port really is a unique kind of town so it is very much worth a visit if you can manage it (we liked it so much we moved from Colorado to it!)

There's really nothing to stay away from, so you'll have a good time. Where are you staying in Clifton if you don't mind me asking? If you can make it up to Port or want to do some day trip diving in Port let me know. A lot depends on if you'll have access to a car or not.

CoralSeaVideo
I am sure we will hit Port Douglas one day. We will be doing the Jungle surfing canopy tour and the Billy tea Safari. we will be renting a car for the week so we will try to hit as many things as we can.