Fiji, Vanuatu and Australia in April-May

[violincuty]

Hi diving friends!

This is my first post. I am a fairly new diver- open water certified last year before going to Belize (I know, I'm spoiled, Belize was my first "real" diving experience- does it get any better than that?!)

I am a 27 year old female, and I am planning a solo 5 week backpacking trip in April-May of this year. I'm basically looking for any advice regarding safety (especially with regards to solo female travel), tips for the regions I am visiting, where to go/stay, must-do activities and most of all- diving tips!

I am starting with 9 days in Fiji on the Tuitai liveaboard. I know that there are mixed reviews on this forum regarding that liveaboard, but I felt like most of the recent reviews I read were pretty positive. Anyone have firsthand experience they are willing to share? I chose it over the Nai'a because I liked that there was a balance of land activities with up to 19 dives (and several night dives!) The cost was also significantly cheaper. There was one review regarding bad air quality in the tank (!), but it seems like that was a fluke because the compressor broke and they had to get air from one of the islands. I've been emailing the owner of the liveabord and he has been very responsive/seemingly upfront about the negative events that have been discussed on the forum.

After Fiji, I am going to Vanuatu for 6 days. I know I want to see the active volcano but no other solid plans here yet. Has anyone ever been here? I've read that the diving is so-so.

Lastly, I'll be in Australia for 18 days: Brisbane, sailing in the Whitsunday islands, Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney. I've heard that the best place to dive the Great Barrier Reef is Cairns, but I am considering adding a couple dives during the sail in the Whitsundays. Thoughts on this? Is it worth it? I have also seen videos of cage diving to see great whites in northeastern Australia (close to Cairns)- while absolutely terrifying, it looks somewhat intriguing. Evidently they use sound waves to attract the sharks. Does this mess with the local ecosystem at all? I don't want to participate in something that is going to actively harm the reefs. It also seems really dangerous...but, you only live once, right?

Well, thanks for reading if you'd made it this far. I am incredibly excited for my trip but also a bit nervous to be doing such an adventurous/involved trip to remote areas alone. I'd welcome any advice at all that you may be willing to share with me. Thanks in advance!

 

[Mike.D]

Hi diving friends!

This is my first post. I am a fairly new diver- open water certified last year before going to Belize (I know, I'm spoiled, Belize was my first "real" diving experience- does it get any better than that?!)

I am a 27 year old female, and I am planning a solo 5 week backpacking trip in April-May of this year. I'm basically looking for any advice regarding safety (especially with regards to solo female travel), tips for the regions I am visiting, where to go/stay, must-do activities and most of all- diving tips!

I am starting with 9 days in Fiji on the Tuitai liveaboard. I know that there are mixed reviews on this forum regarding that liveaboard, but I felt like most of the recent reviews I read were pretty positive. Anyone have firsthand experience they are willing to share? I chose it over the Nai'a because I liked that there was a balance of land activities with up to 19 dives (and several night dives!) The cost was also significantly cheaper. There was one review regarding bad air quality in the tank (!), but it seems like that was a fluke because the compressor broke and they had to get air from one of the islands. I've been emailing the owner of the liveabord and he has been very responsive/seemingly upfront about the negative events that have been discussed on the forum.

After Fiji, I am going to Vanuatu for 6 days. I know I want to see the active volcano but no other solid plans here yet. Has anyone ever been here? I've read that the diving is so-so.

Lastly, I'll be in Australia for 18 days: Brisbane, sailing in the Whitsunday islands, Cairns, Melbourne and Sydney. I've heard that the best place to dive the Great Barrier Reef is Cairns, but I am considering adding a couple dives during the sail in the Whitsundays. Thoughts on this? Is it worth it? I have also seen videos of cage diving to see great whites in northeastern Australia (close to Cairns)- while absolutely terrifying, it looks somewhat intriguing. Evidently they use sound waves to attract the sharks. Does this mess with the local ecosystem at all? I don't want to participate in something that is going to actively harm the reefs. It also seems really dangerous...but, you only live once, right?

Well, thanks for reading if you'd made it this far. I am incredibly excited for my trip but also a bit nervous to be doing such an adventurous/involved trip to remote areas alone. I'd welcome any advice at all that you may be willing to share with me. Thanks in advance!

No great whites or cage diving for them up in Queensland, that would be be done in South Australia. A few thousand km's south.
Australia is very safe, especially the regions you will be travelling. I can't really comment on the diving up north or in fiji as I've had no experience with it (yet) however I'm sure there's a fair few people on here who can give you very good advice.
If your in Brisbane for some diving feel free to PM me and perhaps we can arrange a dive!
Cheers
Mike


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[violincuty]

Hi Mike,

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I actually didn't realize there was diving in Brisbane, but that would be great to have a dive buddy! Please know that I am really not that experienced though, so I may not be the best buddy to have. It would be really fun to dive with a local if you're open to it! Are there any wreck dives nearby? I haven't ironed out the details of traveling within Australia quite yet, but will likely be in Brisbane May 12-14 at the very least.

Re: cage diving- my mistake. I am still learning the geography of Australia. I thought Port Lincoln was in the north for some reason. Thanks for orienting me!

~Karen

 

[Wingy]

Hi Karen - from a female travelling solo diver - you are going to be safe as long as you keep your wits about you as you would at home. Vanuatu actually has one of the best wreck dives in this neck of the woods - google SS President Coolidge, one of the bigger passenger liners and an interesting dive. On Tana where the volcano is dress conservatively and respect the culture, women do not participate in kava ceremonies so beware any guy who befriends you and offers you a try of kava. Fiji you are on a LOB so no big deal there. NZ - dive Poor Knights out of Auckland and pay a few $ more for a hostel that is not in west auckland area.
I would strongly suggest you get a map of aus and overlay it on a map of the US so you get a sense of scale of the country. Distances are BIG between cities here. We are roughly the size of the US but have 6 cities on the mainland plus Tasmania (down south, near south australia where you can dive with whites in a cage if you want to...but be prepared to pay a lot of money for this). You should familiarize yourself with the geography of Aus because a wrong train or plane can have you 3000km away from your intended destination.

Do NOT hitchhike.

I would suggest given the time you have - in Sydney, grab a hostel not in Kings Cross but somewhere like Manley or Cronulla so you can enjoy the beach side and maybe do a couple of days up into the blue mountains - accomodation at Katoomba is pricey though. Melbourne - look for a hostel in the CBD area - try and avoid areas like Broadmeadows

Depending on how you like travelling - the bus from Sydney to Brisbane takes in some nice scenery along the northern NSW coast - perhaps take a night or two at Byron Bay or grab a cheap flight (start looking at jetstar and virgin flights now) you may be able to get a flight to Cairns from Sydney for under $200 as Cairns is the jump off spot for GBR diving and LOBs. Whitsundays are lovely. You will be diving with locals unless you have some way of bringing your own gear and tanks (impossible) so you will need to be diving with dive companies - your dive guides will be Aussies.

What I would suggest you do is hit youtube and watch clips of diving in brisbane, whitsundays, melbourne, sydney and make up your own mind from what you see whether that is somewhere that grabs you. I find dive spots then watch as many youtube clips as possible then decide if that is a diving spot for me then look for an operator. You may find walking into a dive shop in cairns to dive GBR and expecting to dive that day a problem as april/may is school holidays time so tourist numbers are up.

 

[Mike.D]

What I would suggest you do is hit youtube and watch clips of diving in brisbane, whitsundays, melbourne, sydney and make up your own mind from what you see whether that is somewhere that grabs you. I find dive spots then watch as many youtube clips as possible then decide if that is a diving spot for me then look for an operator. You may find walking into a dive shop in cairns to dive GBR and expecting to dive that day a problem as april/may is school holidays time so tourist numbers are up.

Excellent advise, I'll definitely be using that tactic

Karen,
There is a few good wrecks in QLD. Yongala in FNQ
Ex-HMAS Brisbane in Moloolaba
Tangalooma wrecks at moreton
Curtin artificial reef

If your in the brisbane area I would definitely recommend ex-HMAS Brisbane. Its a purposely scuttled ship with lots of access points cut out of it sitting in 28m of water. Fully penetrable.

Mike




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[ferris213]

Everyone has given very good advice so far. Safety in Australia should not be a big concern, although it should not be ignored either. Agree with Wingy about not hitch hiking. The east coast of Australia has many, many back packers so you shouldn't have too much trouble meeting people.

Airlie Beach is fantastic, sailing the islands should be awesome. Cairns day trips can be a bit of a let down (huge boats going to the same reefs) so a live aboard there might be an option. Alternately, we have gone a bit further north to Port Douglas and dived from there with pretty good results.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is DAN insurance. For a trip like yours I would consider it an absolute must.

If time permits I would try and get to Fraser Island. If you can band together with a couple of other travellers and hire a 4wd it is a great way to spend three or four days. (No diving there, although Wolf Rock nearby has year round grey Nurse shark populations.)

Enjoy your trip.

 

[cany920]

I spent a week on the Tuitai about five years ago. I very much enjoyed the opportunity to combine a lot of diving with trips ashore to mountain bike, hike, sea kayak, meet the locals, and watch some of their cultural activities. Everyone I met in Fiji was very friendly.

We me the boat at Taveuni, sailed north to Rabi Island, then worked our way back to the Somosomo Strait area before returning to Taveuni. The dive staff did a fine job, and i enjoyed every dive. Had no complaints about the food or our cabin. The top deck area with the lounge chairs was my favorite spot to watch the sun go down each evening as we cruised to our next destination.

Hope you have a great time.

 

[Frosty]

Gidday. Ive been lucky enough to have dived a fair bit around the pacific.
Ive dived Fiji and Vanuatu (based in Vila)
I'll be honest with you after doing 19 dives in Fiji I think if you just do random dives in Vanuatu you will be very disapointed.There is sealife but nothing quite as intense as Fiji.
I'll qualify this by saying I'm assuming you are basing yourself at Vila. BUT if you cherry pick your dives there I can honestly say you will have FANTASTIC diving.
Some you won't be able to do due to qual level.
the Coolidge wreck is a stunning place to dive but is another hours flight from Vila. Also sorry for passing judgement -I don't feel its a dive site for an inexperienced diver.The site starts at 25m but the really interesting stuff is between 35 and 45m
Now I'd STRONGLY suggest you diveing with Big Blue vanuatu-really nice guys. .
With THEM the dives I would do would be the Semille wreck.Its a 100 foot boat still in great condition and the dive groups are broken up into various experience levels so no need to worry about going into the wreck if you don't feel like it.
I'd also do the cathedral which is "kinda" a cave dive -Its a cave dive only in the broadest sense of the word. The "cave" is in12m of water and goes about 60m/180 feet deep -from top to bottom its 30 feet at the smallest section. --pretty impressive.
If you ever felt like trying a night dive these guys run a pretty slick dive to a nice easy dive site called twin bommies. Nice easy diving and the sealife at night is well worth seeing
Now if you walk maybee 200m from Big blue onto the main road there is a company who have a one day/2 tank dive you can do. Its a turtle/shark encounter dive and frankly is just fantastic.
One last note on the the specifically diving front.about 10 minutes by bus away from vila is a resort based on a small island.
If you go there they have an underwater post office. Kinda cool gimmick. You snorkle down to it and post your post cards in the box or get it franked by the postmaster there-as in 10 feet underwater.
If you just base yourself in Vila there is a lot to do.My wife felt safe walking around during the day and early evening. You DO barter with the taxi drivers there.
I can offer you lots of other advice re vanuatu if its any use to you​