Rottnest Island - recommendations please

[Irishdiver]

Greetings all, haven't been on the board for a while, but I'm back to look for some info about diving out of Perth in November.

My girlfriend and I are off to Oz for a month and this time we're flying into Melbourne, up through Yalara and Alice Springs, into Darwin, from here to Perth, and then home.

We probably won't have time for travel to Ningaloo, but we aim to get back here in whale shark season some time in the next couple of years anyway.

The guidebooks don't seem to say a lot about diving out of Perth, but Rottnest (or Rottsnest?) Island seems to be about the best bet.

However, I can find very few mentions of this place on the board, which is always worrying...anybody know anything about it? And can you recommend dive operators there? Or is there somewhere else we should be looking at?

We'll probably have only a week in Perth, and we want to see some of the surrounding area as well as dive, so time is very limited.

Thanks in advance.


ut:

 

[underwater]

Hiya,

Rottnest Island offers superb diving that will suit beginners and experienced divers alike. Enjoy snorkelling at Pocillopora Reef, named after the beautiful pink coral that grows there in profusion, and you could be forgiven for thinking you were in the tropics. The maritime history of Rottnest dates back to the seventeenth century and the remains of 14 wrecks lie around the island. Shipwrecks include the Macedon, Denton Holme and Lady Elizabeth and most can be dived. Such is the variety of underwater formations around Rottnest Island that virtually its whole coastline is divable. Beneath the water, the limestone reefs have eroded into stunning cave formations, swim-throughs, ledges and grottos. Roe Reef, for instance, is among the most spectacular diving locations near Perth, with numerous underwater grottos and caverns.

To find operators in Perth that do Rottnest use

http://www.underwater.com.au

Australia's hottest dive site.

Have fun ... and get something warmer than a 3 mm suit - temps will be around 16-18 degrees Centigrade.

See you underwater ....

Tim

 

[Jen-UK]

Rottnest Island is a popular local holiday resort about 40 min ferry ride from Perth. I haven't dived in Perth but I believe they have several good dive sites within a couple of hours drive from Perth. Try posting your query on diveoz.com.au you might get more response from aussie divers, i saw a similar query on one of their boards recently.

 

[Reefwalker]

Dear Irish Diver
I live in Perth and have dived Rottnest for nearly 30 years, it is one of my favorite dive sites, though we do have a lot of other very good sites here in West Oz. Rottnest has lots of varied dive types including - Wrecks, Limestone reefs eroded with caves and ledges, sponges and corals with great colour on all dives, shallow and deeper sites, including some great snorkel dives. November is often the best month for visibility (if we don't get late storms).
Best dive company to get to the island is Dolphin Dive in a suburb named Welshpool, there contact details are www.dolphinscuba.com.au
dolphin@dolphinscuba.com.au
Mike Watson is the manager, an expat for England who runs a very efficient operation with a friendly atmosphere onboard there boat. You'll love it.
Second choice would be Perth Diving Academy, not quite so personal - but a bigger outfit
http://www.perthdiving.com.au/
fremantle@perthdiving.com.au
If you want to read some information on Rottnest you could get a back issue of Sportdiving Magazine (December/January 2001-2002) which has a feature that I compiled. Contact the publishers at sportdiving@motpub.com.au or if you want more info, try me by e-mail direct at reefimages@hotmail.com
Regards
Jeff Mullins

 

[Irishdiver]

Thanks everyone for the information - looks like we have a lot to look forward to!

Underwater: water temperatures of 16 to 18 celsius will be like heaven compared to what we're used to in the Irish Sea and Atlantic! We were in Byron Bay on our last visit to Oz about three or four years ago, and we had the most fabulous time! The beach is amazing, the walk around the headland and past the lighthouse was fantastic, and the whole atmosphere of the place...a truly memorable experience.

Thanks for the suggestion Jen-Uk, I will try that.

And thanks also to you, Reefwalker. I'll check out those links and will probably be in touch soon.

Safe diving all! ut:

 

[annie]

Hi Irishdiver

Long time no talk. Hope all is well down in Wicklow. I think I mentioned to you before that I spent 3 months doing my divemaster with Perth Dive Academy. I don't really have any experience of the other dive shops.

PDA is a large outfit but very well run and professional. Their dive boat is huge but very comfy. It holds max 40 divers. You can be in a situation where there's a lot of divers in the water but it's not necessarily crowded down there. What I liked about PDA was that they give you a good day out in general. Get on big boat, walk around, go upstairs, sun bathe whatever. First dive, huge lunch of a whole selection of stuff + dessert, lay around some more, do second dive. Very comfortable compared to a smaller boat. No underwater guiding to speak of but they do give a good brief. make sure to know exactly where the caves are or you could go off in the other direction and miss them altogether. The caverns and grottos are great fun. At weekends they also do an early morning dive.

It's not tropical which surprised me, but it's still very nice. Lots of wobbygong sharks, cuttlefish, rays. I always wore a two piece 5mm. You could manage with a 3mm but it would be chilly.

Say hi to Steve and Darrell for me if they're still on the boat!

 

[Irishdiver]

Hi Annie - been a while, all right. I changed jobs in March and haven't had net access at work since then, so I haven't been on the board very much.

How are you getting on in the big smoke? Doing lots of diving, I hope.

Thanks for the information. I'd forgotten you were in Perth, always good to get first hand info.

We're off to Oz for four weeks in November - can't wait!

Take care.

 

[DaG]

annie once bubbled...

Say hi to Steve and Darrell for me if they're still on the boat!

As of last time I dived with PDA, be less than 2 months ago - Scuba Steve and Darrell were still alive and kicking around on PDA

Steve was the instructor who certified me last year sometime so its always good to see him!