Bargara?

[JugglingMonkeys]

Hey all

i'll be in bargara (near bundaberg, queensland) for a week in jan.

which operators are good to go with and which sites?

anything else i need to know...?

thanks very much!

[picxie]

I've not dived there but I have dived along the Sunshine Coast, which I believe is about 3 hrs south of Bargara. If you feel like doing the trip, I'd recommend going down to Mooloolaba and diving the HMAS Brisbane with Sunreef Dive (http://www.sunreef.com.au/). I thoroughly enjoyed my dives with them - great crew and great dives. I walked around with a huge smile on my face for days.

If you go south further still, Byron Bay was another good dive, but that is probably a bit far to go and if you are going to travel that sort of distance you might be better off going north towards the GBR.

[Aussie]

Originally Posted by JugglingMonkeys

Hey all

i'll be in bargara (near bundaberg, queensland) for a week in jan.

which operators are good to go with and which sites?

anything else i need to know...?

thanks very much!

I believe that there is a dive shop located at Bargara. I havnt been there myself to tell you what they are like. Been told that the reef off the shore is really good.

Another spot a little north from there is the Town of 1770. I have some friends that work up there and have been told the diving is pretty good.

I also heard of a really go liveaboard that departs from Bundaberg and does the southern GBR and they are really good. I have to find out the name of the company.

Do forget to go to the Bundaberg rum distillery when your there.

Cheers Aussie

[chinacat46]

Back in 2002 I dove with Salty's Dive Center in Bundaberg. Did a 3 day liveaboard to the southern GBR was very nice. Seems to be less dived and in better condition then the reefs off Cairns.

I'd also 2nd the recommendation to go the rum distillery. Hmmmm!

[JugglingMonkeys]

great stuff! Thanks all.

actually i'm spending most of the time in brisbane, so i might check out the mooloolaba one (i've heard of it before) and also byron bay.

also hoping to catch some diving in cairns on the same trip.
in oz for a month.

hey, anything good in the sydney area? i'll be there for a day or two...

[Aussie]

Originally Posted by JugglingMonkeys

great stuff! Thanks all.

actually i'm spending most of the time in brisbane, so i might check out the mooloolaba one (i've heard of it before) and also byron bay.

also hoping to catch some diving in cairns on the same trip.
in oz for a month.

hey, anything good in the sydney area? i'll be there for a day or two...

I recently dived with Ian from scubaworld which is another dive shop that dives ex-HMAS Brisbane (DDG) which is off Mooloolaba. The underwater world is right next door which is also a great place to visit and look at some of Australia underwater critters. I think underwater world is better than the Syndey Aquarium.

I dive Byron Bay on a regular basis and I still think its one of the best sites in Australia.

As for diving off Cairns, spend the money on a good liveaboard and you will see the true beauty of the GBR. The Day boats are very sub-standard.

Aussie

[picxie]

I'll second the recommendation for SunDive. They were another great crew and Julian Rock was fantastic.

In between Brisbane & Byron Bay is the Gold Coast. Did a couple off the Gold Coast at Cook Island. There might be better spots there but I thought this one was good. However I wouldn't go with the people I went with - too laid back and given my inexperience back then I wasn't too comfortable with that. There are plenty of dive shops around there so you'll have no problems picking another.

[OTGav]

Bagara has it's own artificial reef right on the door step - and possibley the best shore dive in QLD outside the GBR islands.

Artificial reef is old planes and couple of trains/trams and small boats - all humming with life.

HMAS Bris is great, especially if you get a good clear day - is vulnerable to swell and weather though as there isn't much around it for protection. Was on it a weekend or two ago - stuffed full of little fish, you have to get them to move to see where the exits are. It's not competely covered with corals yet, but tonnes of life all over it and around exterior.

If your in Brisbane you could do a lot worse than taking a trip out to Stradbrooke and taking in the sites round there.

Just off Morton Island is Flinders reef, Hendersons Rock and a bunch of others all round there - all excellent day trips out of Brisneyland.

If your up to Cairns, maybe aim a bit North and try Port Douglas - a bit more chilled out and has acess to the same sites - a live aboard to Osprey and Cod hole is probably top of the list if you have the time.

Byron is bloody great too.

I've lived in Bris for the last 18 months and the diving is amazing all round.

[JugglingMonkeys]

Cool!

Which operator would you recommend for visiting Flinders and the others around Brisbane - for day trips?

[OTGav]

I've tried a few of the locals in Brisbane - but mainly I dive with a club here.

Depends on your budget a bit. They all tend to go to the same sites at one time or another - when I have a free weekend I like to call a few of them up and pick the one with the most interesting set of dives they have planned.

For livaboards they all tend to book spots on the same big boats (Big Cat Reality etc.) so your bed is as comfy as the boat your on rather than the company you booked with.

Will you have your own gear or hiring? Not that it matters a huge ammount - and if you need a buddy when you get here

There are 3 in the city, another one or two on the outskirts and more near each bit of coast that is close to a particular site.

Pro dive are very shiny, maybe a bit more money, but they do all the bells and whistles well - you're very well looked after.

Nuatilus good solid diving - personally I find that they put together really nice one day trips, a bit of wreck, a less often visited rock, a night dive. Less inclusive for the new diver, but more interesting for those with a bit of experience.

Deep - Huge shop. Dives are good - although I might be being unfair to the others I think they work out a little cheaper.

To be honest I haven't had a bad experience with an LDS in Brisbane itself, I was going to note down the agencies they were affiliated to, but as they seem to be grown up about it, I don't see the need.

You won't go far wrong round here I don't think.