top diving in QLD

hi everyone,
what would be your top-5 not-to-be-missed diving sites in QLD?
I'm not an experienced diver (2nd season, OWD, 40-some dives) but I've
seen quite some reef already
can you advise on what's really extraoridinary and perhaps not
overcrowded on the GBR? I'm also not much into those 3-day/5-day diving
trips - I'd much rather start in marina in the morning and come back to
it same day afternoon, but from what I see on the net, a 1-day trip is
quite a rarity in Oz

also - what about nitrox diving in OZ? is it popular? is it expensive?
is it worthwhile to get nitrox license before coming to OZ?

cheers,
artur

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 13:17:56 -0800, artur wrote:

can you advise on what's really extraoridinary and perhaps not overcrowded
on the GBR? I'm also not much into those 3-day/5-day diving trips - I'd
much rather start in marina in the morning and come back to it same day
afternoon, but from what I see on the net, a 1-day trip is quite a rarity
in Oz

Whereabouts are you going in Queensland? It's a big place. The GBR is
nearer to shore the further north you go, so day trips are more common out
of Cape Tribulation. The viz is better than around Cairns too.

The wreck of the Yongala out of Townsville is a good dive that you can do
in a day. Loads of life on it. Far more than you'll see on the reef. It's
30m but they'll probably let you do it guided given the number of dives
you have.

Plus there's some nice stuff around Brisbane. At the right time of year,
there are nurse sharks, mantas and leopard sharks off Stradbroke island.
And you only have to go up to Mooloolaba to dive on pretty decent coral or
the HMAS Brisbane, though there's not a lot of life on that yet.

also - what about nitrox diving in OZ? is it popular? is it expensive? is
it worthwhile to get nitrox license before coming to OZ?

Nitrox is less common in Aus than a lot of places. Some shops do it, but
not many, especially in the tourist area like Cairns and the chances are
you won't find a nitrox qualified buddy even if the shop does do it.

Jason

--
See http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for UK diving reports and the UK
Underwater Visibility Database. View the database or add your own report

In my opinion if you are looking for great dives the northern section
of the Great Barrier Reef, situated off the eastern coast of
Queensland, offers one of the most exciting dive experiences in the
world.
The Nimrod Explorer spends much of time between Cairns and Lizard
Island, exploring the sites along the Ribbon Reefs and introducing
guests to the world famous Cod Hole. This site, often described as one
of the best dive spots on the Great Barrier Reef, is known for its
resident family of huge potato cod which enjoy protected status in the
area, and have made this small section of the reef their home. Dynamite
Pass is a narrow channel one mile north of the Cod Hole. The lee side
of the Ribbon Reefs offers a variety of diving. The best sites often
are found around the small coral bommies off from the main sections of
the reef. The closer the bommie is to the pass in the reef, the richer
the marine life will be. Pixie Pinnacle is one such place, and has
been described as the ultimate underwater fairy garden. Pixie is a
coral pinnacle 30 feet in diameter that rises from 100 feet (30 meters)
to within six feet (2 meters) of the surface. Nestled in a pass
between two large reefs, this spot is a favourite.
Osprey Reef, arguably the most famous dive site in the Coral Sea, lies
120 nautical miles east of Mainland Australia, and 188 miles/302
kilometres north east of Cairns. Dive sites include places such as
North Horn, Jacks Crack, Castles, Raging Horn, & False Entrance.

A Company called TUSA dive specializes in Nitrox diving on the Great
Barrier Reef their website is http://www.tusadive.com/nitrox.htm

On Tue, 14 Mar 2006 13:37:36 +1100, Peter Webb wrote:

Nitrox diving would be largely a waste of time in QLD, as coral is
generally not much deeper then 10 - 15 metres. For the few sites where
Nitrox would be of benefit (eg the Yongala), you would probably also need

This is so not true. There's plenty of coral below 15m. There's also loads
of different fish life below there and if the viz is above 15m, there's
absolutely no reason why coral can't grow. It just needs sunlight.

Diving below 15m in places like the Maldives happens on every single dive.
Despite the remoteness of the place, some dive centres are providing 32%
nitrox for free there. At 30m, you get 50% extra bottom time.

The marketplace in north Queensland is different. The vast majority of
divers are OW qualified. They've done the minimum of dives and the
backpacker market dictates that the lowest price wins, no matter how
crappy the experience. Let's face it, they've got nothing to compare it
to. And to beginners, any coral reef will be fantastic. And they're not
going to last 20 mins on their air at 30m anyway, let alone 30 mins.

There are boats which in my opinion should offer nitrox. Boats like Taka
which I've been on and where my dive time was restricted by bottom time.
But I can't see it happening which is why the only place you'll find
nitrox regularly used is by local divers who go out every weekend, so
typically more around Brisbane.

Jason

--
See http://www.scuba-addict.co.uk/ for UK diving reports and the UK
Underwater Visibility Database. View the database or add your own report

As I knew most time of the year they have school diving , I saw student
doing by leading teachers, may they have visitor too. Now good news I
have one way air ticket from LAX to Aus.(QLD) I will sell low as $250.
dated 26th of April.
artur wrote:
hi everyone,
what would be your top-5 not-to-be-missed diving sites in QLD?
I'm not an experienced diver (2nd season, OWD, 40-some dives) but I've
seen quite some reef already
can you advise on what's really extraoridinary and perhaps not
overcrowded on the GBR? I'm also not much into those 3-day/5-day diving
trips - I'd much rather start in marina in the morning and come back to
it same day afternoon, but from what I see on the net, a 1-day trip is
quite a rarity in Oz

also - what about nitrox diving in OZ? is it popular? is it expensive?
is it worthwhile to get nitrox license before coming to OZ?

cheers,
artur

yeah, great news pat! it's a pity I fly in from Poland )))

great thank to all of you, guys, it's a great help in planning the
trip.

thanks a lot

artur

"artur" wrote in message
oups.com...
hi everyone,
what would be your top-5 not-to-be-missed diving sites in QLD?
I'm not an experienced diver (2nd season, OWD, 40-some dives) but I've
seen quite some reef already
can you advise on what's really extraoridinary and perhaps not
overcrowded on the GBR? I'm also not much into those 3-day/5-day diving
trips - I'd much rather start in marina in the morning and come back to
it same day afternoon, but from what I see on the net, a 1-day trip is
quite a rarity in Oz

also - what about nitrox diving in OZ? is it popular? is it expensive?
is it worthwhile to get nitrox license before coming to OZ?

cheers,
artur


I was in Cairns in 1998 and used Tusa Dive for two single day trips to the
Great
Barrier Reef. I really enjoyed my dives with TUSA, and I highly recommend
them:

Tusa Dive: http://www.tusadive.com/

I really love the Sunshine Coast area. My friend lives there, in Caloundra.
It's about an hour north of Brisbane, and it is choc-full of things to do!
There
are a lot of interesting dive spots there, as well!

Sunshine Coast Queensland: http://www.tourismsunshinecoast.com.au/

You can visit Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin's Australia Zoo.

Australia Zoo: http://www.crocodilehunter.com/

You can dive with Grey Nurse Sharks at Underwater World.

Underwater World: http://www.underwaterworld.com.au

Shark Dive at Underwater World: http://www.scubaworld.com.au/sharkdv.htm

You can dive the newly sunk HMAS Brisbane:

HMAS Brisbane:
http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/about_the_..._the_brisbane/

The following three dive shops have dives on the Brisbane:

Scuba World, Mooloolaba: http://www.scubaworld.com.au/
(Scuba World also does the shark dive at Underwater World. It is
AWESOME!!!!)

Sunreef, Mooloolaba: http://www.sunreef.com.au/

:Noosa Blue Water Dive, Noosa: http://www.fishingnoosa.com.au/DiveNoosa.htm

I understand the dives off North Stradbroke Island are great as well.

North Stradbroke: http://www.stradbrokeislandscuba.com.au/

I'm going back in August, and plan to dive the HMAS Brisbane, do
the shark dive again, and hope to get to either Lady Elliot or Lady Musgrave
Island for a day or two. If I recall correctly, you fly in/out of Lady
Elliott, so
that would limit some diving time...

Lady Elliot Island: http://www.ladyelliot.com.au/

Lady Musgrave Island: http://www.lmcruises.com.au/en/enhome.htm

I heard Heron Island is fabulous for diving, too:

Heron Island: http://www.heronisland.com/

The Yongala is a dive I would really love to do someday:
SS Yongala: http://www.yongaladive.com.au/

Enjoy your trip, and please give us a trip report when you return! :-)
Email me at New_Dayna at yahoo dot com if you have other
questions.

Dayna

In article , "Dayna"
wrote:
I was in Cairns in 1998 and used Tusa Dive for two single day trips to the
Great Barrier Reef. I really enjoyed my dives with TUSA, and I highly
recommend them:

Tusa Dive:

I recall seeing a story about some dodgy practices at this company. There
are many other reputabel dive companies in and around Cairns.