Question Where to Dive in Australia in April 2025

[living4experiences]

I have the opportunity to spend some time in Australia with an open schedule in April 2025. I want to make this the "best of" type of dive trip and hit the premium dive locations around the country. I'm purely a recreational diver, AOW and Nitrox certified with about 600 dives. No tech or rebreather, and I don't have to go deep to have fun. My dive experience includes the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, Raja Ampat, French Polynesia, and Fiji, a single dive day in Sydney, and 8 liveaboards. I prefer boat diving, but I don't mind shore dives that don't involve sand or rocks; meaning launching from a pier or climbing down a ladder is fine. I have a bad knee, so sandy or rocky entries and exits are a no-go.

Ningaloo is on the list, along with the Navy Pier in WA. The Yongala wreck sounds like a good dive, but tell me more. Is it tide-dependent? Does the moon cycle have any effect on the accessibility to the site? Is April a good time to reach the wreck? Is it reachable by day boat or only liveaboard?

Some other locations I've heard about: Busselton Jetty, Lady Elliot Island, Heron Island, Rottnest Island.
I'd like to explore the unbleached areas of the GBR. Would that be the Ribbon Reef and Coral Sea? I don't know my geography very well for Australia.

So, where else should I go?

Is the month of April the peak time for school or national holidays? I want to avoid that, if possible.

TIA!

 

[Russjstewart]

Easter is a 4 day holiday over here, with Good Friday on the 18th of April, Most if not all states will have Easter as part of the first term school holidays. Friday April 25 is Anzac Day and a nationwide public holiday.

The Yongala is a very weather dependant site. I have dived it from a Mike Ball liveaboard and on a dive boat out of Alva Beach near Ayr.

From the Mike Ball website it looks like the only trip to the Yongala in 2025 leaves Townsville on the 6th of March 2025. Yongala Wreck & Coral Sea Expedition TSV-TSV

Yongala Dive Yongala Dive runs day trips out to the Yongala. When we did the trip a few years ago the boat was launched off the beach. The trip out and conditions on site can be uncomfortable on the surface so take your sea sickness meds. I have heard second and third hand stories about dives being aborted even after the trip out as the current was made the site not diveable. The Yongala is a protected site so it is a no penetration, look but don’t touch site.

Tropical cyclones have occurred on both the East and West coast of Australia in April, although it is uncommon.

Exmouth to Townsville is a long way, think LA to New York with no freeways and no direct flights.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Rapid Bay Jetty in South Australia

 

[clownfishsydney]

Have a look at my website. Lots of great diving in NSW. I also cover all the states to a little extent. Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Website

 

[Mike1967]

Adrenaline Dive has two day trips a week and a liveaboard to the Yongala.

Adrenalin Snorkel & Dive - Great Barrier Reef and Yongala

Full service snorkel and scuba dive center with trips to the Great Barrier Reef and the Yongala shipwreck from Townsville and Magnetic Island.

adrenalindive.com.au

 

[MB NZ]

Busselton Jetty is a nice dive. You can DIY it if you hire cylinders and weights from the local dive shop (that was possible in 2012). I think there are ladders down to the water from the jetty. Alternatively, you can book a dive boat to take you to the end of the Jetty. Key Biscayne out of Two Rocks is another nice dive site that comes to mind in WA. It's a boat dive. I don't think either are worth travelling out of your way to do, but do them if you are in the area.

There will be heaps of info on diving the GBR and the east coast in general, so I'll leave that to the Aussie divers, but in my opinion, get to the Coral Sea on a liveaboard.

Research water temperatures for the area you are visiting and time of year. Australia is a huge country with diverse climates and the water might be colder than you imagine.

 

[astr0b0y]

Fish rock at South West Rocks (5 hours north of Sydney by car) would be a good unique dive. It’s an ocean cave that the local dive shop has permission to take OW certified divers through. Probably about 23c in the water in April.

Dive Fish Rock Cave - South West Rocks Dive Centre - Grey Nurse Sharks

The family owned and operated South West Rocks Dive Centre has been running dives to the World Famous Fish Rock Cave daily for the past 40 years. Our expert dive guides cater to all levels of experience, with multiple dive boats and on-site accommodation we can accommodate individuals to large...

swrdive.com.au

And if you come to Melbourne we have lots of good wreck and wall dives in temperate water (maybe 19-20c in April). Like most of Aus that’s not GBR, weather and currents on the day can greatly affect the experience. We still seem to head out and dive in 2 - 3m swell and have great time anyway.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Fish rock at South West Rocks (5 hours north of Sydney by car) would be a good unique dive. It’s an ocean cave that the local dive shop has permission to take OW certified divers through.

Dive Fish Rock Cave - South West Rocks Dive Centre - Grey Nurse Sharks

The family owned and operated South West Rocks Dive Centre has been running dives to the World Famous Fish Rock Cave daily for the past 40 years. Our expert dive guides cater to all levels of experience, with multiple dive boats and on-site accommodation we can accommodate individuals to large...

swrdive.com.au

No need to get permission from anyone to do that. First dived it in 1989 and done Fish Rock more than 100 times since. Brilliant dive.

 

[Heat Miser]

Is the month of April the peak time for school or national holidays? I want to avoid that, if possible.

TIA!

School Holidays in Western Australia are between 11 April - 28 April 2025. So it will be hard to get accommodation in Exmouth (for Ningaloo and the Navy Pier) during those times. Holiday schedules are different in each state.

In addition to the Western Australian dives that you mentioned (Ningaloo and Bussleton Jetty) there are some nice wreck dives, in Albany (the HMAS Perth) I would recommend South Coast Dive Supplies and in Bussleton the HMAS Swan (speak to Swan Dive).

Another set of nice dives would be Abrolhos Islands (a set of coral reefs off the coast of Geraldton) Image Dive runs commercial livaboard tours there, but they are seasonal. And a place that I am yet to dive is Rowley Schoals (you would have to get on a livaboard out of Broome).

Diving at Rottnest Island (20k's west of Perth) you can see Grey Nurse Sharks at Opera House and/or Shark Cave. Image Dive go there regularly.

Western Australia is a big place, and I have just suggested dive locations that would require 8 days of solid driving ex Perth.