Moreton Bay and Stradbroke Island diving advice

[ozzydamo]

Hi everyone, I am close to visiting Brisbane at the end of this month and still haven't booked my hotel

Anyway, I will taking a cruise from Brisbane but I will be flying there 5 days early to do some diving and site seeing. In regards to diving Moreton Island and Stradbroke Island, what is the best location in or around Brisbane (on the beach of course) to book a hotel that will allow me to visit both areas. From what I gather, you need to take a ferry to Stradbroke Island, in which case Manta Lodge is the dive operator on that island? Can people visit Stradbroke to just lay on the beach there?

Also, what about Moreton Island, is it a nice dive or should I just stay at Stradbroke. I really will ony be doing about 2 days of diving (4-5 dives max) while im there so perhaps I may have to choose on or the other. I'm dying to see some large fish like nurse sharks and rays, but are nurse uncommon this time of year? Really excited to visit! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Flinders reef off moreton is the best dive site.

Go on big cat reality with this guy you wont regret it! - http://www.facebook.com/ProfessionalDiveServices?ref=ts&fref=ts

 

[Mantra]

Coming late to the party here - but ditto to everything Ferris has said. As ozzydamo points out, flinders is a great dive - but you are staying at the Gold Coast which is a different city south of Brisbane. It would take the same amount of time to drive to the ferry to flinders reef than it would to drive to Byron. Both are great sites. But if you dive cook island (on our first dive there we saw a manta and leopard sharks - but this was a fluke) it is a very shallow easy dive, and Byron Bay is world class. You are in a good spot there to dive Byron.

 

[ozzydamo]

Coming late to the party here - but ditto to everything Ferris has said. As ozzydamo points out, flinders is a great dive - but you are staying at the Gold Coast which is a different city south of Brisbane. It would take the same amount of time to drive to the ferry to flinders reef than it would to drive to Byron. Both are great sites. But if you dive cook island (on our first dive there we saw a manta and leopard sharks - but this was a fluke) it is a very shallow easy dive, and Byron Bay is world class. You are in a good spot there to dive Byron.

Thanks for protecting my site! lol
BRYON=GOOD DIVE (better GNS & LEOPARD/STEGO/ZEBRA SHARKS)
FLINDERS=GREAT DIVE
BOTH ARE "UNIQUE"


The seascape of Byron bay is a 5 out of 10 on a good day, weather is more of a concern too, good large fishes, flinders is an 8 maybe 9 with lots more tropical's like 5 bar wrasse, clown triggers and emperor angels!
no brainer really, but you have to have traveled, skippered and dived!
There are LARGE caves at flinders, not so many know about! talk to John Gransbury, see what he has to say.

Byron also is a hard boat launch from the beach for older people, youngens and the disabled diver.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN A 40KG NAPOLEON WRASSE AT BYRON! OR A TRAWLER WRECK! OR THE TURTLE SQUADRON AT THE CLEANING STATION!!!!!!!! AHHHH THE LIST GOES ON AND ON!!!!
???????????If you came from Toronto why in heck's name would you miss diving flinders or byron or the brisso or flat rock(hammerhead land!)

nubba dubb dubb'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRwUlLahpiI

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

There are LARGE caves at flinders, not so many know about! talk to John Gransbury, see what he has to say.

Really? Cool, I never knew that! Are they accessible from where the commercial boats moor?
It's been a while since I've been to Flinders but I used to dive it a lot, and never found or heard about the caves. Would love to know more...

 

[ozzydamo]

Wobbe-
One large one is on the southern side, but the mooring is to the east of the location, I have seen a charter boat on it(anchored). Be careful of wobbegongs in that cave/swim thru.
there are others to the east, but we are talk "some" distance, takes a good scooter to find them at first. Ask Adreno's John Gransbury about it, he's dived the place for 20 years!
http://www.facebook.com/Professional...ref=ts&fref=ts

Flinders isn't at it's best after the coral dies back in summer after spawning, it kicks into good colour after the water temps drop below 25*c in April.
Flinder's is always the greatest turtle dive in the world! especially is you wanna do a half in/out WA lense shot! I love to scratch the algae of their back and get set apon by rabbit fish and moon wrasse- yes they don't mind me doing it, they are used to me after 4 years of playing with them, I can remember them personally, many are permanent residents there- they are almost over-populated due to the lack of tiger sharks these days..................

Good thing happening this march the 1st is no more marine collectors- seen one of the 4 turds doing his scam; taking corals and black lip oysters(pearl oysters) which the public(who "own" the reef) are not allow to take.
The ol' beatty gov. has a lot to answer for in the corruption dept!

Being a sports-fisherman also- I don't give out marks~
Safe diving,
Damo'

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Thanks for the tips!
Agree re the turtles; I've often wondered what they think of divers. Being long lived they must have noticed the influx of strange looking bubbly creatures. Maybe they say to each other 'I dunno, there are more of them every year; must be global warming or something...'

Being a sports-fisherman also- I don't give out marks~

The only fishing I do is at Sammies so you're safe from me.

 

[Anthony A.]

oh man, i wish i had booked 3 weeks in brisbane alone! that way i could do every spot. i almost feel like cancelling my cruise now lol. im definitely going to do cook island for my first day, but the next day im not so sure yet. so i could:

1.) stay in gold coast and do 9 mile and either gold coast seaway entrance or the pinnacle (which is better between the 2... im a shark junkie
2.) drive to byron for the day and do julian rocks

im assuming from all the comments here that julian rocks is better than 9 mile and seaway entrance/pinnacle? i love wide angle photography so naturally im all for large pelagics.

 

[ozzydamo]

oh man, i wish i had booked 3 weeks in brisbane alone! that way i could do every spot. i almost feel like cancelling my cruise now lol. im definitely going to do cook island for my first day, but the next day im not so sure yet. so i could:

1.) stay in gold coast and do 9 mile and either gold coast seaway entrance or the pinnacle (which is better between the 2... im a shark junkie
2.) drive to byron for the day and do julian rocks

im assuming from all the comments here that julian rocks is better than 9 mile and seaway entrance/pinnacle? i love wide angle photography so naturally im all for large pelagics.

3.drive to Brisbane and do a day with Nautilus at flinders, but it has to be the Sunday Dive Trips to Moreton Bay and Flinders Reef and there is another boat now saw it last sunday.

THE TIME OF YEAR and what you really want to see would determine what I'd do........
If you went tomorrow I'd go Byron, if you didn't have much budget, I'd go with John Gransbury to the seaway and if you went between april and october I'd go Flinders to see CORAL REEF FISH and pelagics.
Forget the tweed it's a lowly muck dive............9mile you might get a fish hook in you!

The many thing is to relax and have a fun holiday, my commonwealth brother! go to Byron and dodge Stego's http://www.sundive.com.au/dive-byron-bay/dive-conditions/p/16

ohhh and ask Ji what an Artic Skua looks like...........(private joke here)

 

[Anthony A.]

I will be in gold coast first week of february. Im so confused..... thanks a lot

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

+1 for Byron rather than the Gold Coast. The Goldie has some nice enough dives (Cook Island for example) but Byron's got a lot more fish/sharks/miscellaneous swimmy things.
It's an easy enough drive down from the Coast (about an hour and a bit) but allow some time to find a park.
+1 also for Sundive; they're great.