Australian Scubacation

[goducks96]

I'm a yank finishing off a year living down under, but before I go I'm going on a massive perimeter trip with a scuba buddy from back home. We have 3 weeks in May and are trying to narrow down locations, always keeping the water in mind.
Starting in Melbourne, going to Perth (and surrounds), Ningaloo, Darwin, GBR (he's thinking Cairns...been there done that so I'm pushing for Hamilton Island), and Sydney.
Wondering what the consensus on a priority scuba list? Ningaloo looks great, but seems to be a pain to get to. (sidenote: Darwin was picked more for the land-based beauty and adventures)
Suggestions?
I'm in the middle of planning this (including flights and accom!) as well as a trip to Malaysia so some direction would be great...my brain is fried from all the web searching!
Thanks!!!

 

[Tortuga68]

I would stick to the east coast... three weeks isn't that long. If you have a car it's a nice drive along the coastal roads from Melbourne up through Sydney and on to Brisbane. It's roughly the equivalent of driving from Miami to New York, distance-wise. You could do a side trip & fly to Lord Howe Island from Sydney & do some diving & hiking there. If you're lucky the HMAS Adelaide will be down soon. Either way you can do Fish Rock and the HMAS Brisbane/Flinders Reef north of Brisbane which are all pretty cool, as well as some shore dives along the way. If you have time you can continue on up to Hamilton/GBR

 

[bracko]

if you have a bit of money to spend, Lord Howe island has some AMAZING diving as well...

it's not a party island though.

HMAS Adelaide won't be divable (unless you do it illegally) until mid june at least. 8-12 weeks is required to ensure the wreck has properly settled, and ideally the safety people would prefer at least one period of large swell/huge storm

 

[WetPup]

Ningaloo isn't that difficult to get to from Perth. It's a 2 hour flight from Perth to Exmouth-Learmonth on SkyWest. Or an 11 hour drive. I suggest flying There's a shuttle bus that runs from the airport in to town.

If you're planning on flying to Perth anyway, it's not difficult. And there's some decent diving in Perth itself over at Rottnest Island.

 

[alcina]

Qantas now also offers service to the Ningaloo Reef several times a week and it's worth checking their fares against Skywest's.

The Ningaloo is definitely worth it - let me know if I can help