So many dive sites... so little time

[my911]

Hi divers,

My wife and I are visiting Australia for the first time, arriving May 25 and departing June 3 from Los Angeles (9 days). She wants to dive the GBR but we have no idea where the best dive spots along the reef are. We don't really want to stay at one of the island resorts because of the price. I would love to explore the cities, but aren't too sure which cities/areas I should definitely visit. So basically, we would love to know 1) which dive spots are best to dive along the reef, 2) Which areas we should definitely visit considering the short amount of time we have. 3.) Is it possible to drive from Port Douglas to Sydney?? Is this a good drive?

Any suggestions and recommendations would greatly be appreciated.

 

[almitywife]

australia is a BIG country, queensland alone is the size of texas so when you say you want to explore the cities - which cities are you talking about in particular???

would you consider a GBR liveaboard???

cheers

 

[Eau_Girl]

Hi divers,
3.) Is it possible to drive from Port Douglas to Sydney?? Is this a good drive?

Any suggestions and recommendations would greatly be appreciated.

Bit of long drive. About 2,500km and 28 hours of driving time :11: (according to a trip planning website!). I love Port Douglas. It's a 3ish hour flight from Sydney to Cairns and then about an hour north to PD. I've only done liveaboards in this region as many of the great dive sites are beyond the day board territory.

The local experts will be on soon with lots of good advice. The Yongala is supposed to be great -- I think you would fly to Townsville.

I am sure that Almity Wife will give you some great suggestions.

It's a huge country, and the distances are great between places. IMHO -- given the amount of time you have, I would advise picking a couple of areas/activities and really enjoy your time there rather than running from place to place. In 2006, I spent 8 week in Oz and barely scratched the surface. In my original plan I was going to see Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, the Red Center, Tasmania and maybe to side trips to Fiji and NZ! Then I did a reality check! In the end I spent 2 weeks in Queensland, 1 week Alice Springs/Uluru, 3.5 weeks in Western Australia and the balance in Sydney.

This year I was there for 6 weeks (Sydney, Forster, Far North Queensland and Melbourne). There are still many places (and dive sites) still on my list but that means I have a reason to go back.

Assuming that you are flying into Sydney, plan a few days there or the region. Then pick a place on the GBR for a few dives.

Have fun! I'm jealous!

 

[almitywife]

personally i would consider heading south and diving hmas brisbane (Mooloolaba i think) then morton bay (via Nth Stradbroke Island) and then head to Bryon Bay or Nth Solitary Islands

its not the GBR but i dont think you will be disappointed

 

[my911]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions. Almighty, I would definetely consider some liveaboards in the Cairns/Port Douglas area. Any suggestions?

Also, any ideas on to do for four days in Sydney? Restaurants? Nightlife? Tourist attractions? How about other than diving in the Cairns/Port Douglas area?

 

[Eau_Girl]

If you're interested in liveaboard options, you could do a 3-day Cod Hole Trip or a 4 day Osprey/Coral Sea trip (you need a week to do both). The main operators are Mike Ball, Spirit of Freedom, Taka, Nimrod and Undersea Explorer. Not sure what the weather is like at this time of year or availability. Andrew will be along shortly and will give you good advice -- especially on any last minute deals.

From Cairns you can do the day trip to Kuranda a village up in the rain forest. You can take a scenic train up and the sky train (gondolas) back down. Touristy but still fun. There are other possibilities as well -- a number of beaches north of town, other day trips, flights over the reef, etc.

North of Port Douglas you have the Mossman Gorge and the Daintree Rain Forest. I went as far as Cape Tribulation (were the paved road ends) and spent 2-3 days there. I was there in late January so you need to check the weather conditions.

 

[almitywife]

sydney is also big and can be a total pita to get around if you dont have a car

where will you be staying as this could help in pointing you in a direction?

tourist stuff:
sydney harbour bridge walk - even the locals do this as its so cool
if you want to see critters you can do taronga zoo but for a real hands on experience with koalas, kangaroos & emus road trip to Blacktown (birthplace of almitywife) to Featherdale Zoo or head to Darling Harbour for the aquarium & aussie wildlife centre and nearby is the maritime museum

restaurants:
you can catch a harbour cruise for morning tea, lunch or dinner for a trip or jsut catch a ferry to manly, have lunch and ferry back to the cbd
Ripples at Clifton Gardens is really nice, so is aqua luna or le kiosk at shelley beach (near manly and a nice dive site) - all exy of course

as far as liveaboards, ive heard very good things about Taka and Mike Ball but i dont have alot of expereince with gbr diving as its so expensive - cheaper for us to go to vanuatu

 

[my911]

Thank you everyone. This has been so helpful. We truly appreciate it and are so excited to visit as many of the places you all suggested as possible.

 

[mig_diver]

personally i would consider heading south and diving hmas brisbane (Mooloolaba i think) then morton bay (via Nth Stradbroke Island) and then head to Bryon Bay or Nth Solitary Islands

its not the GBR but i dont think you will be disappointed

If you are going to stop in Brisbane and do any of the above, let me know. I am a DMT at Pro Dive in Brisbane so I will be taking out a few trips around that time

 

[shlincoln]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions. Almighty, I would definetely consider some liveaboards in the Cairns/Port Douglas area. Any suggestions?

Also, any ideas on to do for four days in Sydney? Restaurants? Nightlife? Tourist attractions? How about other than diving in the Cairns/Port Douglas area?

On the Sydney drinking front - I'd put forward these places:-

Opera Bar Opera Bar - Home A nice place to have a few afternoon beers or fizzy wines in the sun! It is a must visit - plus live Jazz on a saturday afternoon - i find it a hard place to beat these days

The Argyle Welcome to The Argyle A fairly new place in the Rocks area in Sydney - well worth a visit - actually there are a number of places around The Rocks to spend an evening - it's right oposite the Opera House and leads around to under the Harbour Bridge. You have old (as old as we get in Oz) Aussie pubs, Irish pubs and a few places in between. A Pizza and a pint of Little Creatures at the Australian Hotel is a good option. I quite often start at the Opera Bar and walk my way over to The Rocks, it's only a short stroll and there are enough places around there to get you merry.

Also, it is worth visiting Manly from the city for a few hours. You can get the ferry from the City and it only takes about 30 mins - a nice little journey to do.

Well, I was going to make a list but i got kind of side tracked - you can easily fill 4 days in sydney - and get a couple of dives in also - it's not tropical diving - but there are some pretty decent places to dive around Sydney.