swimmingpooldivein
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Overview
Dive Report: Snorkeling with Dwarf Minke Whales and Diving at Ribbon Reef, Australia
Liveaboard: Mike Ball (booked directly), 5 days / 4 nights
When: June, 2023
Context: I’m PADI AOW, 183 dives across 10 countries
(Thank you, as always, to the entire community for helping me research what I had wanted to dive and how!)
Review of trip
Wonderful trip!! I booked this liveaboard for my love of larger sea life as well as diving. We had the opportunity to snorkel with 16 minke whales throughout the trip, for a total of about 6 hours of snorkel time. There were a max of 8 minkes in one snorkeling session, and a few got as close as 2 metres from me on multiple occasions. Plenty of adults showed up, with lengths up to 8 metres. We also had a minke whale researcher onboard who ran great presentations two of the nights and was available for answering questions.
The diving was also epic. We did 10 dives along the Ribbon Reef, 2 being night dives. My buddy group also got EXTREMELY lucky because during our safety stop on dive #6 of the trip, a minke whale swam by us!!! Beyond incredible. Also, the second night dive was swarming with sharks and giant trevally, making it very hectic and a bit nerve-racking
.
Besides the beautiful hard and soft coral (and especially the fan corals), the marine life highlights were whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, wobbegong shark, adult and juvenile giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, chevron barracuda, blackfin barracuda, barramundi, flowery cod, potato cod, humphead wrasse, turtles, lionfishes, stonefishes, longnose hawkfish, juvenile leopard blenny, black-saddled toby, dardanus megistos (crab), disco clams, giant clams, thorny oysters, and a dancing worm.
Since this trip started in Cairns and ends in Lizard Island, we did a low altitude flight back to Cairns, which provided some very picturesque scenery.
Review of dive operator, Mike Ball
This is my third liveaboard booking with Mike Ball, and it’s always a fantastic trip. There were 2 crew for every 1 passenger. I felt safe the entire trip - the boat briefing and dive briefings were very thorough, and everyone was given a Nautilus Lifeline Rescue GPS. The food was delicious, the cabins were a good size (I got the Standard), the rental equipment was in good condition, and Nitrox was available. The boat was big enough such that you can find privacy outside of your cabin. They also organized a BBQ party on the last night which was a lovely ending.
Logistics of snorkeling & diving
The first and last days of the trip were for boat travel. We snorkeled with minkes twice on the second day, once on the third day, and once on the fourth day. We dived 3 or 4 times per day. The schedule was essentially the captain went in search for minkes, and you snorkeled once they’re found. Since you can’t start a dive if minkes are around (Australian law), whether you went diving at that location depended on whether the minkes arrived before or after your dive started.
Dive Report: Snorkeling with Dwarf Minke Whales and Diving at Ribbon Reef, Australia
Liveaboard: Mike Ball (booked directly), 5 days / 4 nights
When: June, 2023
Context: I’m PADI AOW, 183 dives across 10 countries
(Thank you, as always, to the entire community for helping me research what I had wanted to dive and how!)
Review of trip
Wonderful trip!! I booked this liveaboard for my love of larger sea life as well as diving. We had the opportunity to snorkel with 16 minke whales throughout the trip, for a total of about 6 hours of snorkel time. There were a max of 8 minkes in one snorkeling session, and a few got as close as 2 metres from me on multiple occasions. Plenty of adults showed up, with lengths up to 8 metres. We also had a minke whale researcher onboard who ran great presentations two of the nights and was available for answering questions.
The diving was also epic. We did 10 dives along the Ribbon Reef, 2 being night dives. My buddy group also got EXTREMELY lucky because during our safety stop on dive #6 of the trip, a minke whale swam by us!!! Beyond incredible. Also, the second night dive was swarming with sharks and giant trevally, making it very hectic and a bit nerve-racking
.Besides the beautiful hard and soft coral (and especially the fan corals), the marine life highlights were whitetip reef sharks, grey reef sharks, wobbegong shark, adult and juvenile giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, chevron barracuda, blackfin barracuda, barramundi, flowery cod, potato cod, humphead wrasse, turtles, lionfishes, stonefishes, longnose hawkfish, juvenile leopard blenny, black-saddled toby, dardanus megistos (crab), disco clams, giant clams, thorny oysters, and a dancing worm.
Since this trip started in Cairns and ends in Lizard Island, we did a low altitude flight back to Cairns, which provided some very picturesque scenery.
Review of dive operator, Mike Ball
This is my third liveaboard booking with Mike Ball, and it’s always a fantastic trip. There were 2 crew for every 1 passenger. I felt safe the entire trip - the boat briefing and dive briefings were very thorough, and everyone was given a Nautilus Lifeline Rescue GPS. The food was delicious, the cabins were a good size (I got the Standard), the rental equipment was in good condition, and Nitrox was available. The boat was big enough such that you can find privacy outside of your cabin. They also organized a BBQ party on the last night which was a lovely ending.
Logistics of snorkeling & diving
The first and last days of the trip were for boat travel. We snorkeled with minkes twice on the second day, once on the third day, and once on the fourth day. We dived 3 or 4 times per day. The schedule was essentially the captain went in search for minkes, and you snorkeled once they’re found. Since you can’t start a dive if minkes are around (Australian law), whether you went diving at that location depended on whether the minkes arrived before or after your dive started.
