ivorynightfall
Registered
Hi all,
I'm a relatively new diver - got OW certification in Hawaii last January, and stayed for 6D/5N on the Seaventures oil rig in Sipadan, Malaysia - got to see a lot of incredible marine life, including sharks, turtles, barracuda, parrotfish, etc. Will be in Cairns from June 9-17 and would love to get your opinion on whether to go on :
What do you guys think? Is the marine life - and the sharks - I'll see on the Osprey Reef very much different from what I saw last year at Sipadan (or what I could easily see in North America, I'm based in California)? Is diving with minkes rare? What's best in the current weather? It looks like things have been thunder-y lately, not sure what impact that has if any at all...this may be the only time in my life I will dive the GBR, so want to make sure I have the best (and most unique!) experience possible.
I'm a relatively new diver - got OW certification in Hawaii last January, and stayed for 6D/5N on the Seaventures oil rig in Sipadan, Malaysia - got to see a lot of incredible marine life, including sharks, turtles, barracuda, parrotfish, etc. Will be in Cairns from June 9-17 and would love to get your opinion on whether to go on :
- 4D/3N minke whale liveaboard with Mike Ball (in the southern part of the GBR)
- Never seen whales before - did see white tip, black tip & tiger sharks at Sipadan last year, plus barracuda, trevally, etc.
- No need for advanced cert - they don't even offer it on this particular expedition
- Or 5D/4N liveaboard with Spirit of Freedom out to the Coral Sea.
- Would love to do the shark feed and am attracted to the idea of going out much further into the ocean.
- Plus, complication with flights means I will either need to book a new flight (which I'm fine with if it is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity) or run greater risk of decompression sickness. SoF will be going from Thu 6/13 to Mon 6/17 (arriving at 6:30AM in the morning on Mon) and my flight back to Sydney is at 10:40AM - so may need to either skip out on late afternoon diving on Sun 6/16 to keep with the recommended 18 hours before the flight or run greater risk of the bends.
- Also, would be best if I had advanced certification - am happy to get it on board if necessary
- Would love to do the shark feed and am attracted to the idea of going out much further into the ocean.
What do you guys think? Is the marine life - and the sharks - I'll see on the Osprey Reef very much different from what I saw last year at Sipadan (or what I could easily see in North America, I'm based in California)? Is diving with minkes rare? What's best in the current weather? It looks like things have been thunder-y lately, not sure what impact that has if any at all...this may be the only time in my life I will dive the GBR, so want to make sure I have the best (and most unique!) experience possible.