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The best dive spots in Australia
Australia has some of the most widely acclaimed top diving spots on the planet. This is partly due to the stunning and diverse underwater habitats available in this country. Whether it is a coral reef, old shipwreck, or underwater cave, you will see amazing sea life and uncommon aquatic plants and animal species. Here are some of the best places to dive and explore life under the sea in Australia:
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island, located in South Australia, offers cool waters and is the home of the leafy sea dragon. Other creatures found here include a variety of sponges (white, orange and red), diverse kinds of fish such as boar fish, coral fish, harlequins, and blue devils. This is also one of the very few places where you can find a combination of fur seals from New Zealand and the Australian sea lion. The sea lions are extremely playful, friendly and entertaining underwater creatures. Bear in mind that the leafy sea dragon is quite shy, so you should not move too close to it if you want to enjoy its colourful displays.
Byron Bay
At Byron Bay, the cooler waters of the south meet with warm tropical water from the northern part of the country. There are two small islands encompassed by a marine park called Julian Rocks. At Julian Rocks, new divers can learn the basics of diving while the more experienced divers practice their diving skills. Beneath the water, you will see wobbegong sharks, humpbacks, grey nurses and leopard sharks. You will also see may colourful sponges and corals as well as manta rays, sea stars and turtles. To see the leopard sharks, you should come here in mid-summer and you can also see whales during their annual migration from May to September.
Ningaloo Reef
Australia’s largest fringing reef – Ningaloo Reef – is located on the West Coast of the country. This beautiful coral reef stretches for more than 250 kilometres along Northwest Cape. One of the most popular inhabitants of this reef is the whale shark – the world’s biggest fish, which can grow up to 18 metres in length. In addition, you may also see hawksbill and loggerhead turtles, manta rays and humpback whales. To see the whale sharks, you should endeavour to come here between March and June when they draw close to the reef in search of food.
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most popular dive sites in Australia and indeed the entire world. Renowned as the world’s largest reef system (even visible from outer space), this expansive system has several popular dive spots including Lizard Island in the northern part and Heron Island and Osprey Reef in the south. If you dive at Cod Hole on Lizard Island, where beginners love to dive, you can see white tip reef sharks, giant clams, potato cods, feather stars and manta rays.
Off the coast of Heron Island in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef, you may take a brief ride from the jetty and gain access to about 30 popular dive spots including the Blue Pools, Heron Bommie and the Coral Cascades. Underneath the water, you will have a chance to see some stunning coral banks, tunnels and overhangs as well as turtles, octopus, moray eels, parrot fish and wobbegong sharks.
Yongala Shipwreck
The SS Yongala was caught up in a cyclone over a century ago in 1911. Over 120 people died on the shipwreck at that time. But today, this shipwreck has become one of the most popular diving spots on earth. Located about 90 kilometres south of Townsville, you can see how bustling marine life has transformed this shipwreck into a unique habitat for various species of aquatic plants and animals. For instance, you will see extremely bright coral species, many snakes, eels, clown fish, sharks, turtles, and potato cod. In the winter months, you can spot humpback whales and manta rays while in summer you will see a large school of bait fish. Virtually every diver who comes here wants to return to explore this amazing dive site again.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the unique dive spots in Australia. All around the continent from the north to the east to the south to the west and then up north again, you can never run out of amazing diving spots.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 1
For a week at the end of February I was invited to sample the diving with Orca Dive Club based at the Breakers Diving and Surfing Lodge by courtesy of SOMABAY.
Somabay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds. Somabay caters for scuba diving as well as many other sports, including windsurfing, golf, sailing, go-carting, horse riding and many other activities.
All the activities are of a world-class standard and any or all of these can be booked directly from The Breakers.
I took Easyjet from Bristol (UK) to Hurghada. Easyjet are not by any means my favourite airline but the flight was cheap and direct (except for the surprise extra £48 I was charged at the gate for my carry-on bag).
I was met at Hurghada airport by a driver and car and taken to the Breakers 28 miles (45Kilomaters) south along the coast. Once at the hotel I was too late for an evening meal and so a basic meal was delivered to my room. That and a beer from the fridge and I was fast asleep.
Early the next morning after breakfast I arrived for my rep meeting at the Orca Dive Center for 8.00am. I was immediately made to feel welcome, and after brief introductions I got some dive gear from the store, had a chat with my dive guide Mohamed and got ready to try the house reef situated at the end of a very long wooded pier where all diving gear and divers are taken out by buggies.
Once at the end of the pier, a helping hand from staff makes sure your gear is set and then it’s a short walk to the very end where you can either climb down a ladder of simply jump in the water next to the reef. The house reef extends both north and south giving a very easy and safe dive with plenty to see. At this time of the year the water temperature was a constant 22 degrees Centigrade and there was little or no current, so there were no issues in swimming back to the pier.
Quite a few divers were in dry or semi-dry suits, but being from the UK and used to the cold I found a 3mm wetsuit with a 3mm neoprene vest quite comfortable. Even after 50 years of diving I still find that first dive of a trip slightly nerving until I am actually underwater and then all becomes relaxed and I ease into auto diving mode. There was plenty to see with many of the Red Sea favourites along the way.
After the dive and a buggy ride back to the hotel for a very good buffet lunch I was back in the water, once again on the house reef for an afternoon dive.
Check in for part 2 tomorrow when Jeff gets on a day boat and dives a few of the off-shore reefs.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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