Best places to dive anywhere in Oz in July / August

[Fintbeast]

Thanks all again for the brilliant advice...much appreciated.

Fin

 

[alcina]

Actually, there is a lot of accommodation here:
Potshot: backpackers(dorms, doubles & singles), budget hotel rooms, standard hotel rooms, self contained apartments and self contained multi bedroom apartments
SeaBreeze: hotel rooms (located about a six minute drive north of the townsite)
Novotel: 4* accommodation from hotel rooms to self contained apartments; right on the beach
Ningaloo Lodge: hotel rooms more on the budget end; recently refurb'd
Two other backpacker style accommodations
Ningaloo Caravan Park: camping, RVs and self contained chalets (mini villas!)
Lighthouse Caravan Park: camping, RVs and self contained chalets (larger than NCPs and overlooking the ocean, high up on the hill)
Real estate agents: all have holiday homes for rent (there's also a holiday homes rental agent but I can't remember who they are, sorry)

There are multiple restaurants ranging from pretty reasonable to really high. Two supermarkets, a bakery and a butcher if you want to DIY.

You don't need a 4WD to access anything from Exmouth, really. A normal car will get you to any beach and you can do the whole national park & canyons without one.

Diving tour prices haven't significantly risen in five+ years. Yes, the Pier is available only through one operator - can't remember what their minimum numbers are. Night dives are only available at certain times of the month due to tides, so make sure to plan ahead if they are important to you.

A don't miss is Bird's Eye View mircolight flight over the range & ocean. I just did this the other day and it was phenomenal!

As has been said before, this is not the cheapest destination by any stretch of the imagination, but just plan accordingly (and give yourself a bit of time once you're here - don't rush your stay since you've come so far!)

 

[CoralSeaVideo]

Agree on Minke comment, and of course I'm biased because I love FNQ and Port Douglas so much, but it is a fantastic little village and that is a great time to come to the Cairns / Port Douglas area as the temperatures are cooler and it is not our rainy season.

I've started documenting some about Port diving, keep in mind this is brand new and very much a work in progress. Scuba Diving Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas Australia

With Cairns live aboards and Port Douglas day trips plus the other activities around you really cant go wrong up in FNQ.

 

[ozzydamo]

Sundive Byron Bay- experienced local dive guides, lots of big fish, HEAPS OF SHARKS AND RAYS and a cross over point for hot and cold water fish where kelp meets coral- great town to stay at with lots of good restaurants, nightlife and other things to do like surfing.

Best of all, good value diving $55/dive, tanks and weights supplied.

To miss going to Byron would be simply stupid!

 

[Mike.D]

If you want GNS then Seal Rocks at Forster is the place to go. Dives there 2 weeks ago. 200+ GNS is one fishbowl about 50m by 70m. Vis was easily 30m+. Unbelievable. Wouldn't even bother with Byron bay for sharks diving after going to forster.

 

[DanMont]

I too am going to be in Oz in July/August. Going to be spending a week in FNQ to do a liveaboard from Cairns and day trip out to the Agincourt reefs before heading down to Jervis Bay for 6 weeks, hopefully i will be able to do some diving there as well. I had looked at going to Ningaloo but seeing as I was already on the East coast it is a lot more hassle to get there than get to cairns, maybe I will make it there on another trip.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Seal Rocks is only dived when a group requests it. You are unlikely to be able to dive there except on a weekend and as part of a large group. Sundive at Byron Bay, SWR Dive Centre at South West Rocks (even bigger chance of seeing grey nurse sharks) go out every day.

 

[Knackas]

+1 for South West rocks, you would be hard pressed to not see a grey nurse, and don't forget the cave.

 

[Wingy]

Or we could all do what Paul Allen is doing......noticed his Octopus is bound for Osprey Reef

 

[CoralSeaVideo]

I'm not certain on this, but I think my Instructor was out supporting what Allen's Octopus was doing. I do know for certain he was out with some NatGeo folks / Fisher Stevens and Sylvia Earle helping them shoot a documentary with a local boat from Port Douglas and he said the mother ship yacht was one of the microsoft guys' so it could well have been Octopus.

Incidentally, the Port Douglas boat was returning back from the documentary help when they spotted all the minke and pilot whales that made the news.