ss Yongala and Navy Pier? Why are the operators charging so much!!!!

[bowlofpetunias]

Yes I do support fair wages and safety standards for people in the dive industry... and they cost but I don't like spending more than is reasonable either!

My point is that if people want to take in the world class sites in the highest style available you will pay through the nose. The average person will never be able to match the well heeled high rollers of our world and there are enough of them to keep the top end dive operators busy. If we want a birth on that boat.. we need to save up big time.

There really are some amazing diving destinations in OZ that are much more affordable than the Mike Ball type operators. My travel and diving is somewhat on a shoe string but I have gotten to do some amazing dives and see amazing things.

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

The USA has a population of 313 million in 9.8 million square km.
Australia has a population of of 22 million in 7.6 million square km.
Competition in Australia and competition in the US are two very different animals. It's not a question of blind payment (whether for diving, fuel, groceries or land) but a question of reality. If you think you can set up a viable dive operation in Australia at US prices then seriously, we'll all be there! I just don't think you can, any more than you could maintain a grocery chain that charged US prices against Coles/Woolies.

We know prices are high. We live here and we pay them every day, not just when we travel. However, no-one's been able to beat them down all that much and stay afloat financially.

 

[bowlofpetunias]

In all honesty I am cautious about my dive destinations and safety takes priority over cost. I prefer to go to places where safety standards are high. The other problem we have in OZ is the cost of getting anywhere. I'd love to dive Florida again but not sure I will be able to afford to get there or to the Caribbean dive destinations. I expect I will get to enjoy your kelp forests and Garabaldi again as a lay over when I go visit my family in Canada.

---------- Post added February 4th, 2013 at 11:15 PM ----------

The USA has a population of 313 million in 9.8 million square km.
Australia has a population of of 22 million in 7.6 million square km.
Competition in Australia and competition in the US are two very different animals. It's not a question of blind payment (whether for diving, fuel, groceries or land) but a question of reality. If you think you can set up a viable dive operation in Australia at US prices then seriously, we'll all be there! I just don't think you can, any more than you could maintain a grocery chain that charged US prices against Coles/Woolies.

We know prices are high. We live here and we pay them every day, not just when we travel. However, no-one's been able to beat them down all that much and stay afloat financially.

You got it in one! You make money either by selling a large number with a low mark up or a higher price for a lower number. We just don't have the numbers here! If we all take our business elsewhere nobody will be employed and the trickle down will take us out as well!

 

[ocdiver1]

Ok, not going to beat the point to death..but I personally am not comparing Australia to the US, I'm comparing Australia to anywhere else in the world. Other areas of the globe have their own unique challenges that can influence pricing, including I'm sure the same as what you've mentioned for Australia, yet don't charge the prices charged there. I just can't believe there's not a way to have "safety" and "pay a fair wage" and still have diving affordable to the masses. It's diving, not polo!

 

[Kozzie]

someone please tell me how the bloody hell I can dive yeppoon I have been living in rockhampton for nearly 6 months now and because I have no friends I cant even find anyone to take me diving I cant even find a dive operator or dive shop that does dives. I need to do something this weekend and its raining all weekend so I have to go diving as my other hobbys cant be done in the rain. thanks

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Sorry you are having trouble finding buddies. I am not in that area but hopefully one of the Queenslanders will notice this and help out.. maybe this bump will help

 

[Maples]

Kozzie we are in Gladstone and have the same issue. The closest we can get is shore diving in Bundy (haven't been yet) or charters from Bundy to artificial reef or Lady Musgrave. The other option is Heron Is. All of these are $$ and require a large time commitment. The only diving I have done since I moved here is in Brisbane when I was there or work. It's a sad state of affairs.

 

[ozzydamo]

someone please tell me how the bloody hell I can dive yeppoon I have been living in rockhampton for nearly 6 months now and because I have no friends I cant even find anyone to take me diving I cant even find a dive operator or dive shop that does dives. I need to do something this weekend and its raining all weekend so I have to go diving as my other hobbys cant be done in the rain. thanks

Yes, Queenslanders are quite squirrelly about their diving. Apart from making regular friends and asking if they have other friends that dive, your gunna find it a case of your the "Billy no mates".
Keppel Island is your only hope! Capricorn Reef Diving - Snorkeling & Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef

Go to the local marinas and boat ramps, loiter there; look for people that have dive gear onboard and don't be shy to approach them, most divers like other divers- even if they are noobs!

 

[Wobbegong wannabe]

Unfortunately the state legislation is not dive friendly. IME, even in Brisbane the interesting dives have become Too Hard for the commercial operators. This is not the operators' fault; by the time they try to comply with the State WH&S Codes of Practice it's easier not to go. When I first certified there were several operators regularly going to the Ahhrus, the Saint Paul, the Cherubs and other good sites in Moreton Bay; these days it's all under the rug, if it happens at all.

Diving and snorkelling - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
This is the same state government that complains about tourism dollars going elsewhere and locals travelling overseas for their holidays...I don't mind paying the Australia Premium. I accept that stuff is more expensive here but I get very sick of being regulated like a small child every time I step out of the house (whether it's diving, bushwalking, horseriding or surf swimming)... and then get subjected to taxpayer funded ads about the growing obesity problem because Queenslanders are spending too much time sitting on their butts watching telly.
Political rant over.

 

[AussiePro]

Yes diving in Australia can be ridiculously expensive and generally you are treated like a baby. If you can get access to a private boat you are in a much better position, dive when you want, for as long as you want and as deep as you want. Diving with a charter crew is like being processed as cattle at the abattoir.

At Christmas time I went for a day trip out of Cairns. First you have to sign all of your waiver forms and get them to accept your qualifications. As a commercial diver they tried to refuse to accept my commercial qualifications. When I assured the young lady that I was a much more capable diver than her and had done many more dives than her, she tried to tell me that she sometimes has to teach Navy clearance divers how to dive on the reef because they are only used to diving in high stress situations. Then I informed her that in order to even start a commercial course you need to be an open water diver minimum so obviously I was qualified. She had no idea what I was talking about but eventually accepted what I was saying.

The next adventure is the dive brief where they droll on for half the boat ride rehearsing their one liners. Clearly they realise that they will never amount to anything in the diving industry so they must figure that they can fall back on becoming comedians, or is the other way around?

Next is the **** fight trying to get geared up on the cramped deck while you are surrounded by what could be mistaken for a whole boat load of epileptic tourists, most of whom have never dived before or haven't dived in years, trying to figure out how to set their gear up. Cue regulators purging uncontrollably, gear getting stood on, gear getting dropped on your toes, people swinging around to chat to their mates and smashing you with their tanks, etc.

If you survive all this you get to make your way to the dive platform where you are not permitted to put your own fins on, heaven forbid you haven't completely gotten over your epileptic fit trying to get your dive gear on.

In the water you can finally relax and enjoy the reef, although usually they take you places where a million tourists have been before you, kicking corals and destroying the reef. But of course you can't completely relax because they only give you a pony bottle to breath off to limit your dive time. Just in case you aren't an overweight tourist who chews through his tank in 10 minutes, they also give you very short time limit.

Now you head back to the boat, finning hard because you went a couple of minutes over the dive time trying to get that one last shot. Back on the boat you get a lecture for being such a naughty boy and either going over your dive time or going under 50bar in your tank or both. Then you have to sit in the naughty corner and be the last diver in on the next dive.

On the third dive, you get halfway through your tank and they send out the tender boat to buzz over you and signal you to come back to the main boat because the crew want to get back to the pub before happy hour finishes.

Welcome to diving on the Great Barrier Reef.