Going to Australia

[Ryan19]

Hey,

My girlfriend and I are looking into going to Australia in mid Jan to Mid Feb roughly for a month, We live in Toronto Canada, and have too many questions on when we should go, were abouts we should stay and so on, if anybody could help us with this it would be great, so far we are wanting to leave around Jan 20th 2012 or any time after that date, we were looking to stay in Townsville, herd it was great for diving and so on, We would probly rent a house or apartment for 5 or 6 weeks, we are looking to get are dive masters while down there, any info on better places to stay, or local dive shops would be great

Thank You
Ryan

 

[Tortuga68]

It might help if you could say a little more about what your interests, expectations & budget are...

FYI the pre-requisites for DM are usually AOW & Rescue certification with 50+ dives (depending on agency) & you often need to have or be prepared to buy your own equipment (some shops may insist on you using the brands they stock)

The time you're planning to visit is the middle of summer, short-term accommodation rentals will be in high demand. Jan 26 is Australia Day and a lot of people take a long weekend and head for the beach

The temperatures will probably be in the low-30Cs although it can get over 40C... it's also the rainy season

 

[Ryan19]

My girlfriend and i both have are own gear, we have are AOW and are getting are rescue cert this weekend, are budget is 7000 each, the plane trip alone is like 3000, also should i book the plane trip well in advanced or wait till it gets closer will the price drop? We can almost go any time from in jan or feb, would it be better to go middle of feb, from wat we hurd jan is summer so that is better, How is Cairns for diving compared to townsville, from what iv read online and books townsville is great for diving, thanks

 

[Tortuga68]

Feb is also summer... the weather in Far North Queensland doesn't change much year round, in winter it averages 25C and in summer 30C. Main difference is the rainfall. I would suggest you consider starting your trip in Feb, the temps in March should be much the same but with less rain. In Cairns the wet season goes a little longer, and is also cyclone season

 

[Aquapro Dive Services]

Townsville is not really the main diving centre for the Reef. Cairns is. Townsville is not really what I would class as a tourist destination. In Townsville’s favour because of this it is not such a production line for divers. But remember numbers are down due to the economy so to take your DM course you need to make sure courses are run regularly.

There are only 2 schools out of Townsville (Remote Area Dive and Adrenaline)and one over night boat. If you are looking to stay somewhere for a while and take the DM course then you really need to be somewhere where classes are run every day and there are a lot of options.

Cairns has 5 schools and about a dozen day boats plus 5 over night boats.

Cheaper prices compared to Townsville due to more competition.

Diving wise, Townsville has the Yongala wreck (3 hours boat travel each way though) and Wheeler Reef. All the boats offering the Cod Hole, Coral Sea and Ribbon Reefs (these are the best the Barrier Reef has to offer and see the numerous posts here about Mike Ball, Sprit of Freedom and Taka etc). Not comparable to Townsville at all.

There are 2 options to taking your DM. Beast way is to pay for it and get it done in about 3-4 weeks. Second is to work it off. This can be OK with a decent school, but remember you get what you pay for, so it will take about twice as long (OK if you are staying for a while like you are, and can afford to keep yourself as there is no pay). You will do menial tasks on the boat, (tank fills clean up etc – but all good practice) as well as get involved with the classes. Study will all be self study rather than organised classes. But this may be a better option for you.

If you have tons of questions may be better to PM me (am based in Cairns and work up here in the diving industry), but am also happy to post.