Moreton Bay and Stradbroke Island diving advice

[ozzydamo]

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

All site have localized conditions- having pre-booked in one place, limits your options if that area has crap viz. Book the nite before, unless a major event is on 5m vis is bad and the worlds best site! dive operator would hate that advise, but you want the best for yourself don't you?
Flexibility in diving is paramount, thing don't happen just because you want it.
You said sharks in particular then #1 is Sundive, they are a cool bunch to dive with as a bonus.

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Flexibility in diving is paramount, thing don't happen just because you want it.

Reminds me of the time I was at a Straddie cake shop during whale season. Some yuppie tourists wandered in and one of them asked the owner 'what time do the whales come past?'
The answer; 'When they bloody feel like it. They're not a train service, love'!
Exit embarassed yuppies.

 

[ozzydamo]

Reminds me of the time I was at a Straddie cake shop during whale season. Some yuppie tourists wandered in and one of them asked the owner 'what time do the whales come past?'
The answer; 'When they bloody feel like it. They're not a train service, love'!
Exit embarassed yuppies.

Priceless Wobbe! How many people understand the physics of tidal effect and the moon, earth & sun interaction.....not many at all.
Whether dependents! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l37ofe9haMU

 

[Mantra]

Forget the seaway. It's an OK site - but nowhere near world class. The best thing it has going for it is it is a shore dive, and as such is much cheaper than the other options listed here. Diving in Australia with a commercial operator is comparatively expensive by world standards but if you're not on a shoestring budget, as Ferris and Wobbe have suggested Sundive at Byron are the way to go. Many of the guides there have been diving the rocks for decades, and some are the folk behind julianrocks.net - which you might like to check out as a great way of IDing the stuff you see there. Giac will look after you there. EDIT: Feb is a peak time of year for diving, and Sundive often books out a week in advance - just to clarify that point. If they book out, Blue Bay Divers are your next best bet (but they often book out more than a week in advance). Byron Bay Dive Centre is the other dive shop located in Byron and usually have a berth free, but the guides there tend to be passing through rather than long term residents.

 

[Anthony A.]

okay, so byron bay it is. i just emailed sundive hoping to get my place locked in. in any case, i will be renting a car so i can drive down to byron for the day. if i allocate 1:30 travel time should that be sufficient in case i run into traffic in the morning? dive starts at 9:30am on weekday so if i leave my hotel around 7:30 should i be okay?

and finally, are the dive spots decided that day by the operator based on weather conditions or can you choose which spots you want to do? if i am able to choose, which are recommended for large pelagics and sharks?

 

[ferris213]

Leaving at 7.30 should give you plenty of time (more than enough really) best to ask the hotel staff when you get there. I don't know how much time you will have but Byron is a great place to pick up a few surfing lessons too.

Dive sites are picked by condition, but it is typical to dive the cod hole in the morning then the needles later. Unfortunately the Grey nurse sharks have moved south by now but it is normal to see leopard sharks and bull rays. Turtles are common. Lots of wobbegong sharks all over, though not what most people picture of when they think of 'real' sharks! Not a huge amount of big pelagics, you'll probably see a few nice kingfish around if you look. Slim possibilities would be eagle rays or cow nose rays, and of course a manta or two.

I really hope you enjoy your dives around here, please do let us know how it all goes.

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Remember Qld has no daylight saving and you need to leave an hour earlier. Ie 7am Qld is 8am NSW time. If you do the conversions correctly (it regularly trips people up, including locals) an hour thirty should be okay, but don't cut it any finer IMO; Gold Coast traffic can be unpredictable.

Have fun!!!!

 

[ozzydamo]

re-mention of EDST!!! good work Wobbe'

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

The first time I dived Byron I nearly got caught myself . Fortunately I remembered the night before; if you're driving somewhere relatively close (rather than say, flying to Sydney) it's easy to forget the time changes at the Big Red...Thing on the highway.

I dived Byron today and it was just lovely. The vis was only about 10m (and the rain probably won't improve that) but there were more sea creatures than you could point a stick at, including a shovel nose shark and lots of turtles. As someone who's been sick off every dive boat between here and Port Douglas :tmi2:, IMO one of Byron's great advantages is the rocks' proximity to the shore.

 

[Anthony A.]

Thanks again everyone here who posted a lot of very helpful info. I will be leaving in a few days time, but as an update to this thread i booked 2 dives at cook island with cooly dive, and 3 dives at julian rocks with sundive. I will post pics and impressions when i return in a month.