Diving in the south pacific from Australia

[Bert van den Berg]

You could try New Zealand. The Poor Knights is rated to be one of the top 10 dive spots in the world.
Friendly people who speak English and the flights from Australiar are not expensive. You could fly from. Australia to New Zealand and then home from New Zealand.

 

[LiveaboardCom]

I'm discovering no where is cheap to fly to... I think we're just going to follow Chris' recommendation and just dive Australia

Hi there,

I'm based in New Zealand and there is a huge variety of diving in Australia and also the South Pacific - but I agree with Chris, I'd focus on Australia to get the most for your budget. There are a number of short liveaboard safaris that would take you to the Outer GBR (great diving/marine life and avoids the crowds in the day boat areas). There are also short liveaboards in western Australia, plus it's whale shark season in western Aus when you're over this way.

Here are some of the short liveaboards to the GBR:


Scubapro III - 3 day outer reef safaris

Ocean Quest - a variety of 2 to 5 day outer reef safaris to choose from

Rum Runner - 2 to 4 day sailing/dive safaris (very budget-friendly option)


It's whale shark season at Ningaloo Reef, Western Aus when you visit. The Shore Thing catamaran offers 3 night dive/snorkel safaris and 5-night Ningaloo safaris. I would personally look into that option plus a short outer GRB safari.


Shore Thing - 3 night dive/snorkel safaris


Enjoy your trip planning. If you change your mind and decide to go diving in the South Pacific as well, I'd recommend Fiji as it's more accessible than some of the other top dive destinations in the area - yet still has beautiful diving. The soft corals are spectacular! Check out the Great White Wall and Purple Wall dive sites, plus bull shark diving at Beqa Lagoon.

Thanks,

Kathryn

 

[LiveaboardCom]

You could try New Zealand. The Poor Knights is rated to be one of the top 10 dive spots in the world.
Friendly people who speak English and the flights from Australiar are not expensive. You could fly from. Australia to New Zealand and then home from New Zealand.

I live in New Zealand and can confirm it is incredible diving there!

 

[SayNo2Snow]

Thanks Bert and Liveaboard. I think we'll just focus on Australia and New Zealand. we'd like to come for 4 - 6 weeks sometime between Mid March and the end of April.

 

[Bert van den Berg]

Hi SayNo2Snow,

Our summer is the reverse of yours so the end of summer is 7 April. The most settled weather is in Feb/March.
Hope you have a wonderful time. I dive at the Poor Knights often so drop me a line when you get plans settled. Maybe we can dive together. (I'm 71 and been diving for 50 years). My wife also dives and loves the Poor Knights.

 

[SayNo2Snow]

Hi SayNo2Snow,

Our summer is the reverse of yours so the end of summer is 7 April. The most settled weather is in Feb/March.
Hope you have a wonderful time. I dive at the Poor Knights often so drop me a line when you get plans settled. Maybe we can dive together. (I'm 71 and been diving for 50 years). My wife also dives and loves the Poor Knights.

Perfect!! we will be sure to. We can't travel earlier bcz we're diving in Curacao in the Caribbean and our house/dog sitter isn't available until March. BTW we're early 60's folks certified in 8 but really didn't have the time or funds to dive/travel until 2001 so I'll only count 18 years made up of short 2 week dive getaways yearly. Now we're retired we looking to dive more while we still can