Diving Around Australia & Our Top 5 Dive Sites

DIVING AROUND AUSTRALIA & OUR TOP 5 DIVE SITES INTRODUCTION

The Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, The Yongalla Wreck, Fish Rock Cave and Julian Rocks are some of the places you may have heard where you can enjoy a plunge. Australia’s diverse range of dive sites offers you everything you could ask for as a diver. It is the perfect place to learn to dive with lots of great dive operators, or get seriously adventurous among some of the world’s best sites. There are encounters with great white sharks, swimming with sealions and snorkeling with whale sharks.

You must make an effort to get into the ocean here.

Dive schools dot the country and up-skilling your diving here is easy. Spending some time in one of the many diving communities around the country will be the experience of a lifetime and will offer some incredible underwater adventures.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Diving is a great pass time. A lot of people are apprehensive about giving it a go but Australia is the perfect place to learn to dive. Diving is a licensed activity, however you can dive without a certification under the watchful eye of a scuba instructor. Ideally to get the most out of diving you should get a certification from one of the recognised diving certification providers such as PADI.

You can try it out before committing to getting your PADI certification which is called an introductory diving certificate. The ‘Discover Scuba Diving’ program is your perfect introduction to the underwater world. With pre-dive tuition teaching you all you have to know about the diving skills, equipment, communication under water and the marine wildlife before your first dive. Close underwater supervision is constant from trained and knowledgeable staff who keep you at ease. It is the closest thing you will get to being an astronaut. It truly is an alien world down there that needs to be seen to be believed!

Getting certified is something that you can use forever. It allows you to get much more involved in dive locations all over the world, meet new friends and have as a skill to use for job hunting. It is also cheaper over the long run.

BYRON BAY

One of Been & Seen’s favourite dive sites has to be in our home town of Byron Bay, so let’s start there. Julian rocks in Byron Bay plays host to one of the most amazing and diverse arrays of marine life anywhere.

The variety here is amazing! Manta rays, eagle rays and bull rays are often spotted here and you will see the local wobbygong sharks (a sort of cross between a ray and shark) lying about the ocean floor. On the topic of sharks, depending on the season, you can see the intimidating but harmless grey nurse shark in the wintertime (June-Oct) or the graceful and beautiful leopard shark during the summer months (Dec-April). There is also a bustling local turtle population, nemo’s (clown fish), lion fish and lots and lots more!

Most days the local dive shops will head out at least twice. If possible we recommend getting on the early dive if you only plan to do one. It’s always a better idea to get out there early before the wind gets up.

Ask us about diving here as with most of the dive sites in Australia you can get certified here and a short trip to the rocks will give you a great perspective of Byron Bay. You might even see dolphins on the way! THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

Well what can we say, The Great Barrier Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world and is the largest single structure made by living organisms ... you can see it from space! With over 344,400 square kilometers of reef it is safe to say you can explore the underwater world here. Google launched underwater street view of the Great Barrier Reef so you can take a bit of a look to get an idea of what it’s like … click here to see.

The Great Barrier Reef system starts just north of Fraser Island and stretches all the way to the top of Australia below Papua New Guinea. With over 1,500 species of fish, turtles, whales, dolphins and sharks, this is one of the most incredible and diverse ecosystems on the planet. Getting there for the whale migration is our pick as seeing minke and humpback whales on a dive is by far the most incredible thing to see underwater (Jun-Aug & Sept-Nov).

The Great Barrier Reef is huge, with certain spots that are better than others for diving. Port Douglas and Cairns up in northern Queensland are definite highlights for those looking at the inner reef. However, the best dive spots are undoubtedly on the outer reef. The outer reef is not somewhere you are going to go on a day trip, and is reserved only for those on live aboard boats - anywhere from 1-6 nights depending on your budget and time. There are a few different operators that do this and we are happy to speak with you about these options if you are interested - as we work with them all!

For most people however, Cairns is the epicenter of the Reef’s tourism due to its close proximity. Here the Reef comes closer to land than other spots like Airlie Beach, making access a lot easier. In Cairns, Been & Seen is proud to partner with Deep Sea Divers Den. These guys can help you with all manner of diving certifications and offer great day trips for both the certified and uncertified diver. Ningaloo Reef and Navy Pier THE YONGALLA

One of the most enjoyable dives Rowan, Been and Seen founder, has ever done is at Navy Pier. An old U.S wartime naval base, which hosts the most beautiful and diverse array of creatures ever seen in one place! You will also see the whale sharks on their annual migration along that coast too. WRECK Isolation and lack of heavy commercial diving make it so appealing. As a result, it is again a little of the beaten path here at Exmouth. Then again, most things on the West Coast are off the beaten path!

What is so unique and amazing about this place is Navy Pier dive is like one giant square, that essentially acts like a big playground for you to explore. While most dives are quite linear and follow a strict path, this is a shore dive, meaning you walk in from the shore with your gear so it is very difficult to get lost and you have a lot more freedom to see everything around you. Given the relatively shallow nature of the dive, it means you won’t be hard on your tank, and with so much light coming in from the top, it means you get more time and more visibility than most dives allow. In that sense, there are few dives around the globe that can compete with this one. Townsville is where you go in order to get to one of the world’s best scuba dive sites, the There are far too many species of marine life and coral to list all of them here, but highlights include Yongala Wreck! Our staff have done this dive and can see what all the fuss is about. wobbegong sharks, grey nurse sharks, white tip reef sharks, lion-fish, nudibranchs, scorpion fish, barracudas and trevallies. If you would like to find out more on best times to go and pricing, get in The Yongalla was a passenger ship which hit a cyclone back in 1911 off the coast of touch with Been & Seen Travel here. Townsville. The ship was sank and all 122 passengers on board unfortunately died. It would lie hidden until it was found in 1958, where it became a new home over the years to an Fish Rock Cave abundance of amazing sea life. At 110 meters long, she is one of the largest, most intact historic shipwrecks. Along the middle of the New South Wales coast, north of Sydney you will find South West Rocks. The quality of diving at South West Rocks is world class. A tiny coastal town which is home to one of the lesser known but more impressive dive sites in Australia. Fish Rock Cave is unique and has been The trip out from the shore to this dive site is around 30-40 minutes depending on weather recognised in recent years by a number of well known publications as one of Australia's best dive conditions, with your day including 2 dives and a light lunch in between. One very distinct sites. characteristic of this dive is the strong currents surrounding the ship, which make it a tough journey down the starboard side to swim against the current. However you are rewarded The area is well known to be the best location to find grey nurse sharks on the East Coast of Austra- with an awesome drift dive coming back down the port side, with an effortless float, giving lia. Fish Rock and Green Island were made critical habitat protection areas for the grey nurse sharks you great opportunities to soak up everything that is around you. which can be found at these locations during all months of the year.

The dive shops here also offer accommodation so stopping off for a few nights is easy - just book a The high visibility of these clear waters and variety of marine life is what sets this dive package and you are set. Double dives are conducted daily and sites are selected to suit the experi- above all who compete with her. Chevron barracudas, banded and olive green sea snakes, ence of the divers and the conditions on the day. giant gropers, sea turtles, loggerhead turtles, bull sharks, eagle rays and moray eels are all present here. You may even see a humpback whale! Fish Rock itself is home to a completely unique ecosystem, the only true ocean cave dive in Austra- lia runs 125 metres right through Fish Rock! The temperature inside the cave is always at least one We would only recommend this for keen divers as you must have an advanced cert. and it degree warmer than the surrounding ocean and the water is always clear. is a little off the beaten path if diving is not your priority. If diving is your thing, it would be The dive through the cave is the main attraction and you can expect to see black cod, wobbegong criminal to miss this spot on your East Coast trip! sharks, black rays and giant cuttlefish before ascending up one of the two chimneys into the main section of the cave.

Depending on conditions you can dive other sites in the area and you can expect to see heaps of fish, turtles, moray eels and friendly blue groper. Around the island the depth varies on average between 15 and 30 metres with deep gutters forming perfect aggregation areas for the sharks and other marine creatures who reside here. This area is an incredible spot to dive and if you are a keen diver add it to your bucket list!

Get Wet! NINGALOO REEF AND NAVY PIER

Isolation and lack of heavy commercial diving make it so appealing. As a result, it is again a little of the beaten path here at Exmouth. Then again, most things on the West Coast are off the beaten path!

What is so unique and amazing about this place is Navy Pier dive is like one giant square, that essentially acts like a big playground for you to explore. While most dives are quite linear and follow a strict path, this is a shore dive, meaning you walk in from the shore with your gear so it is very difficult to get lost and you have a lot more freedom to see everything around you. Given the relatively shallow nature of the dive, it means you won’t be hard on your tank, and with so much light coming in from the top, it means you get more time and more visibility than most dives allow. In that sense, there are few dives around the globe that can compete with this one.

There are far too many species of marine life and coral to list all of them here, but highlights include wobbegong sharks, grey nurse sharks, white tip reef sharks, lion-fish, nudibranchs, scorpion fish, barracudas and trevallies. If you would like to find out more on best times to go and pricing, get in touch with Been & Seen Travel here. FISH ROCK CAVE

Along the middle of the New South Wales coast, north of Sydney you will find South West Rocks. The quality of diving at South West Rocks is world class. A tiny coastal town which is home to one of the lesser known but more impressive dive sites in Australia. Fish Rock Cave is unique and has been recognised in recent years by a number of well known publications as one of Australia’s best dive sites.

The area is well known to be the best location to find grey nurse sharks on the East Coast of Australia. Fish Rock and Green Island were made critical habitat protection areas for the grey nurse sharks which can be found at these locations during all months of the year.

The dive shops here also offer accommodation so stopping off for a few nights is easy - just book a package and you are set. Double dives are conducted daily and sites are selected to suit the experience of the divers and the conditions on the day.

Fish Rock itself is home to a completely unique ecosystem, the only true ocean cave dive in Australia runs 125 metres right through Fish Rock! The temperature inside the cave is always at least one degree warmer than the surrounding ocean and the water is always clear.

The dive through the cave is the main attraction and you can expect to see black cod, wobbegong sharks, black rays and giant cuttlefish before ascending up one of the two chimneys into the main section of the cave.

Depending on conditions you can dive other sites in the area and you can expect to see heaps of fish, turtles, moray eels and friendly blue groper. Around the island the depth varies on average between 15 and 30 metres with deep gutters forming perfect aggregation areas for the sharks and other marine creatures who reside here. This area is an incredible spot to dive and if you are a keen diver add it to your bucket list! GET WET!

Visiting The Great Barrier Reef, in our opinion, is most important place to visit in Australia. It is without doubt the most impressive piece of Australia’s tourism and unfortunately could disappear in the next 50 years due to global warming!

If diving is not your thing, you can see the Reef in a variety of different ways. You can do some great snorkelling, and if you do not want to get wet, glass bottom boat tours are available too. We can’t get enough of this place and want as many people as possible to see it, so get in touch and we can talk you through the best options that suit your time, budget, expectations and sense of adventure!!! ***Been & Seen Disclaimer!

***This information is compiled without bias or without any business relationship to the afore mentioned companies. This list is compiled through years of experience, both personal and professional and a ton of research and listening to our customers. If you feel there is a company that deserves mentioning on our list, please feel free to let us know at [email protected] and will we check it out, we love to hear what our customers and readers have to say!