BallPark idea to Great Barrier Reef?

[psinyc]

I wanted to start doing some research about the great barrier reef. Has anyone been there, that might know about ....

*overall dive experience (viz, h20 temp, ops)

*indiginous (sp?) species to the area ... that we might never have seen in Hawaii or Caribbean

*suggestions on hotel and airlines (i know the flight from NY will be LONG!!)

*are there other nearby islands or dive locations that might be nice to hit also in the one trip

*how far is that part of australia from the outback and the aboriginies (sp?) ... and maybe other activities in the area (safari? or rock climbing)

thanks all ... happy diving!

 

[Coogeeman]

You have to buy 'Atlas Of Australian Dive Sites, Travelers Addition...can't remember who wrote it but I know that it was released this year. Its a comprehensive book on the dive sites of Australia...lists locations, maps, difficulties of dives etc etc...there are over 100 photographs by some of Australia's best photographers and if you are traveling its the best guide that I have found.

I dive in Sydney and use in constantly when I travel up and down the coast.

Good luck

Coogeeman

 

[Jaytor]

My family and I took a trip to Australia this past December and did a little diving. This was primarily not a diving trip, but we wanted to see what the diving was like to help us decide whether to go back for a diving specific trip. We booked several days on Heron Island because it supposedly had great diving without long boat rides. We were not impressed with the diving compared to Fiji or the Big Island.

Yes, there were a few things that we hadn't seen before (Tassled Wobbegong Shark, and a few things that you don't see in Hawaii (Anemones with Clown Fish, various soft corals, sea snakes, etc.), but the coral and fish life was sparce, and visibility was poor (~20-30ft). Currents were strong necessitating drift dives, although this is not uncommon in other areas as well. In general, we found the diving in Fiji much better with similar kinds of corals and creatures.

There were a few unique things about Heron Island (green sea turtles laying eggs, tens of thousands of birds), but overall we were not impressed and would not go back.

I assume there are other places in Australia that are better or it wouldn't have the reputation it has. But I'd advise checking numerous sources before making a decision. Some of the people we were diving with thought the diving was great, so it all depends on what you've seen before.

 

[ns2ny]

Hi..

My wife and I have done this trip more times than I care to recall. But from my perspective, it is well worth the time, effort and money.

On getting there from NYC, try to get the Qantas flights out of JKF if possible. They make a stopover in LAX and then to Sydney. This will minimize lay-overs, lost baggage, etc. You want to shorten the travel time as much as possible.

If you take another airline and have a long lay-over in LAX, ask the folks at the Qantas desk for a "guest hotel discount". Basically they can get you a hotel for 30-50$ near the airport and you can go have a shower, swim, sleep, etc. and prepare yourself for the unpleasant 14-16 hour hop across the pond.

There are showers and good coffee at the Sydney airport so that is the first thing I do when I hit the ground (assuming that I am connecting on to another city). I would recommend to hang out in Sydney for a bit as it is a great city.

My worst flight over (door to door) was 41 hours in travel time from NYC to Brisbance. Not pleasant but a good thing I had a sleeping pill ;-)

Our best place so far was Heron Island. HUGE mantas, plenty of nasty deadly critters that Oz is known for and great coral formations. We also were there during turtle season so that was an added bonus. Overall, the GBR is the most beautiful places to dive.

While Sydney_Diver can confirm, I think that corel spawning season is in Sept/Oct. That would be great to catch.

When we don't use FF miles, we use Austravel (www.austravel.com) for a lot of our trips. They seem to have pretty good deals.

Anyway, enough for now...Have a great trip.

 

[RSdiver]

I spent nearly 2 months there in 2001 and it was fantastic, I actually extended my trip to stay longer.

The people are great, fun loving, there are endless activities and things to see.

While the Great Barrier reef is great diving, I would recommend getting further out to the Coral Sea (Flinders, Holmes, or Bougainville reefs) where the water is clearer and fewer divers go.

The variety of sealife is wonderful.
I recently went to Indonesia and the resort operator made claims that they have the greatest bio-diversity in the world, but in the back of my mind I kept comparing it to Australia. In some cases Indonesia didn't come close to the wonderful diving in Queensland, Australia.

Here are some underwater photos I took in Australia

 

[frogfish]

RSDiver - Maybe I am a bit side tracking but was wondering where you went to in Indonesia (... as I tend to disagree re. your comment on Queensland being superior to Indonesia in terms of diversity)