Brisbane in August 2009 MUST DO DIVES? GBR Really???

[rgiles]

I have been trying to absorb as much as possible before posting this so here goes.
We will be in the Australia for 3-weeks between Brisbane, Adelaide and maybe Canberra visiting relatives. We have not filled in any travel within Australia except that we arrive in Brisbane on Aug 2 and depart Brisbane Aug 23. Although this is not specifically a dive trip, we have not been back since 1985 so I do plan on getting wet. We have 2-kids in college so cost is a concern.

Just an FYI on our history: I was certified in 1971 and recertified in Oct 2009 and have 53 dives since then. IÃÎ AOW, wreck, nitrox, deep, drysuit, Rescue and other little specialties (reef & equipment). My bride of 29 years was certified in 1981 and will need some recertification and maybe AOW by Aug. Still talking about her diving.(??)

The reason IÃÎ saying all that is because IÃÎ not sure I really want to take the time, and $$$$, to go up to the GBR. I will absolutely be diving in the Brisbane area (Moreton Bay Marine Park, HMAS Brisbane, maybe Stradbroke Island and definitely Byron Bay). That seems like plenty of 2-weeks or so. (We need to do Adelaide too)

Is there really a value to Spirit of Freedom or Mike Ball 3 or 4 nights on the GBR?? If I do that I canÃÕ do Byron Bay and after seeing pics from AussieByron, Almitywife, Bowlofpetunias and Saspotato I think, IÃÎ OK without the GBR.

What are MUST DO DIVES in the Brisbane/Byron Bay area and shops that run those dives??

Thanks for your help and TIME.
Rich

PM's are always welcome.....

 

[deltablade]

greetings ..
i am new to diving but ive heard from fellow peers and dm that flinders reef is in alot of ways better than the great barrier reef,, it is located N/E of Moreton island. Flinders Reef is near the northern end of a chain of shoals that runs from Roberts shoal in the South to Hutchison shoal in the North.
More than 175 fish species have been identified including pelagics, esturine fish and those tipical of coral reef species.The odd Turtle and reef shark haunt the area.The best sites include the canyons and pinnacles on the eastern side.or the deep drop-off on the north eastern corner. A great site for begginers to advanced. av depth 10 m , max depth 20 m and av vis 15 m,, there are also plenty of other places to dive ie Curtin artificial reef, Cook island,, the list goes on

 

[almitywife]

personally we're a fan of the Big Cat Reality that dives Morton Bay/Nth Stradbroke (close to brisbane), Moreton Bay (Brisbane) Scuba Diving aboard Big Cat Reality - The Brisbane Liveaboard

its a 2 night weekend trip, board friday night, all meals and 8 dives for less than $500AUD

the accomodation is no where near as luxurious as Mike Ball (well Ball is a leader in his field but they charge like a wounded bull) but the diving and the boat set up is great.

i would also suggest Lady Elliot Island, we did a trip last August and LOVED IT and planning on gonig back in November (re old thread: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/australia/243575-lady-elliott-dilema.html ) and another scubaboarder dived LEI recently and loved it (see last page of this thread for his post)

otherwise you can go to Nth Stradbroke Island and stay/dive there, Manta Lodge and Scuba Centre : Stradbroke Island the accomodation is backpackers or you can book accomodation at one of the many many hotels and its only a few mins bus ride to the dive shop

ive not dived GBR from a liveaboard so i cant recommend any of them sorry


edit:
adding our LEI trip report: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/australia/249296-lady-eliott-island-gbr-dive-trip-report.html

 

[rgiles]

You must be thinking how rude, give him good information and no reply - Sorry.

Well we bought our tickets from LAX to Brisbane. Looks like we will try and do Big Cat Realty (Aug 7-9) and spend some time in Byron Bay. Hope to dive the Brisbane wreck and a few local dive spots in between.

I have been called crazy for not doing a high end live aboard on the GBR, but would rather get a ton of diverse diving in vs a lot of over the top pampering. Not that I don't like being pampered just like diving more.

Anyway, thanks for all the tips home we run into someone in August 2009.

Rich

 

[almitywife]

ive heard very good things about Byron and i think by memory you just miss the school holidays which is a huge plus for you. TS&M here on SB (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/members/tsandm.html) has posted quite a few times how much she enjoyed diving there

i dont know about crazy - yes, its an effort to come down here to dive but queensland liveaboard trips are so exy, thats why we usually holiday in the south pacific as its much more affordable for us (plus we get away from all those annoying aussies!)

i like the idea of spreading yourself around, hopefully you can tick alot of stuff off your list

do consider a Lady Elliot side trip if you can. we went last august and the diving and critters were superb!

hope to hear back from you when you return and see pics!

 

[MA]

just one note - the liveaboards aren't about pampering. I tend to take the quad share option. And for me its about the diving. 5 dives a day. Its the most economical way to dive if you ask me! and the sites are incredible!! that said, i think you really need to get out to osprey. I like big walls, 40+ viz and just the big blue. not to mention sharks, cod, hammerheads, manta's and amazing coral. Maybe next time!!

I also concur on lady elliot, not just the diving (as i had bad weather and missed out) but its the most natural, serene perfoect location.

Have heard great things about the Big Cat - enjoy!!

 

[DownUnderDave]

Big Cat - great diving, fun crowd, lots of places to visit.
ExHMAS Brisbane (off of the Sunshine Coast) is a very easy wreck dive with lots to see.
Byron Bay has a wide variety of dives, depths swim throughs etc.
Lady Elliott - just luxury and great diving/snorkeling
Morton Island – Heaps of sites

Who to dive with will be the next question – Pro Dive, Go Dive, Redcliffe Dive, Blue Water Dive, DiveXSite…..Lots of choices.

David

 

[burna]

Blue water dive were taken over by Sunreef. Both Sunreef and Scubaworld are good ops. I prob'ly prefered Scubaworld as their boat was right there at the shop, no bus ride which wa a slight PITA.

 

[fredaroony]

Here is a run down of the dives I have done in the last 3 weeks:

Byron bay, Julian Rocks:

Saw about 13 grey Nurse sharks and 8 of them were in one spot just as I came over a ridge, was a fantastic site. Lots of other stuff to see as well like a massive potato cod, cuttlefish and turtles. Byron itself is a nice spot but spoiled due to the pretentious idiots! If you are with a couple friends then you wouldnt probably care. I was surprised how busy it was this time of year as it was the first time I had been there. I'm thinking about doing Julian Rocks again tomorrow if I can!

Viz 8-10 metres

Stradbroke Island, Flat Rock:

Saw lots of Bull Rays, Cow Tail rays and a couple turtles. Quite a few tropical fish that surprised me being so far south. The highlight was the Humpback whale that breached several times just when we got back on the boat!! Very rough boat ride due to the swell being 3 metres

Viz 15 metres which was surprising considering the swell.

Sunshine Coast, HMAS Brisbane:

I've heard a lot about this dive so was excited to finally do it. To be honest I was a bit bored. I guess wreck diving is not my thing as I prefer all the corals etc. Lots of fish to see but the wreck itself doesnt have much in the way of corals.

Viz was only 5 metres at best.

 

[deltablade]

dive xsite are a good crowd,, my wife and i did our ow with em and we well looked after ..

thumbs up