Whitsundays and Airlie Beach
Whitsundays and Airlie Beach
Diving the Whitsunday Islands
Be warned. Stories abound in the Whitsundays of people who came for a day or two and are still there, months or years later. Take the scuba dive instructors. You will find many who have dived the choicest spots in the world - the Red Sea, Micronesia, Guam, the Caribbean and the Solomon Islands. The diver operations are staffed by divers of international standard and for that and many other natural reasons it is without question, one of the best places in the world to learn to dive! One reason is because the waters are shallow, warm (20-25 degrees) and clear.
The dive sitesin the Whitsundays range in scope and there are protected, calm, shallow spots around the islands, perfect for first-timers, and the deeper sites on the outer reefs for those with some experience. In between, there are gentle reef sites, rich in fish life and corals where the dive operators take those who want to leave the islands with their Open Water dive ticket. All sites are best reached by boat and these vary from luxury cruisers to spectacular sail boats. For those visitors who have never put their head under the water, but want to see if they can enjo snorkelling or diving, there are excellent one-day, first-time dive trips.
An international dive operation uses a motor-cruiser for its daily snorkel and dive trip to the inner reefs. Certified divers often join this one-day adventure tour but it is also perfect for those who want to experience the underwater world first time, hand-in-hand with a professional guide. It is not often you get the opportunity to go sailing with a billowing spinnaker and the wind in your hair. You can in the Whitsundays as one famous ocean-racing yacht (converted to cruising comfort), sails to the outer reef for three days and night dive expeditions.
Exploring the wonders of the reef at night is an experience everyone should have at least once in their lifetime. Students taking an open water course can also go out with their dive instructor on many of the trips to the outer reef. There are sail and dive adventures for three days and three nights duration. The trip schedule of the dive cruisers and yachts vary, but to cater for guests doing introductory through to basic, then advanced diver, rescue divers and divemaster courses, many run two and four day dive trips.
Whether you just want to put your head under the water to see waht everyone gets so excited about, or take it further and actually dive, it is all possible in the Whitsundays. There are days when divers return home having danced with dolphins and others where they have heard or even seen humpback whales.
Last, but certainly not least, it is possible for experienced divers to head out to the Coral Sea and the Outer Great Barrier Reef for seven days to dive spectacular virgin reefs. Reefs such as Lihou, Marion, Flinders, Abington and the Diamond Islets where diving highlights are vertical walls dropping to over 300m. Out here on the edge of the continental shelf, visibility is most often 45m. This is where the very bigh fish play. Divers expect to see patrolling sharks, schooling pelagics of all varieties along with spectacular coral formations.
Between dives the live-aboard dive boats pull into isolated sand cays where sea birds and sea turtles nest. The Great Barrier Reef and its outer reefs are acknowledged in the sport dive industry as the finest dive sites in the world. All Whitsunday dive adventures can be combined with full seven day open water courses with classes starting in a swimming pool ashore.
