Tag: Bucket list dive trip

Dive with Fur Seals at Narooma this Easter!

THE TRIP

Located in Narooma on the South Coast of New South Wales, Montague Island provides a home for over 1000 Fur Seals; the playful puppies of the ocean.

Australian and New Zealand Fur Seals are at home on Montague Island. After being hunted for their furs during the 18th and 19th centuries, thankfully these charismatic and lovely sea mammals are now protected in Australia and their numbers are increasing. Fur Seals have large eyes, a pointed face with whiskers and sharp teeth. Both Australian and New Zealand fur seals have two layers of fur.

Seals are on the island all year round, so you will be guaranteed of seeing them. As your boat approaches the island, look out for the seals at the northern end of the island as they haul out and cool down in the water and frolic and fish. It may look as if they are waving a friendly flipper in the air as they cool down by rolling on their side on the surface of the water.

On your dive trip you will board Dallas, a PADI authorised dive vessel, where you can explore dive spots that will see you dive with these Seals, you also have the prospect of viewing Stringrays and Grey Nurse Sharks (November to April). There is also the prospect of diving on the SS Lady Darling wreck. You will be amazed at how clear the water is at Montague Island with 20- 30 metre visibility most of the time. Whilst diving you will have the opportunity to view the playful Fur Seals romp with millions of fish. You may also see graceful gliding Stingrays and Bullrays as well as Blue Gropers, Wobbegongs and Port Jacksons just to name a few. Great diving for all!

DIVE INFORMATION

Suitable for Open Water Divers (certified to 18 metres)
Depth ranges from 6 – 28 metres
Diving by yourself? We will buddy you up with another diver with similar experience

TRIP DATES

Thursday, 29 March – Monday, 2 April 2018 (Easter Monday)

PRICE

With Flights ex Brisbane- $1650

Without Flights- $1175

To book online please click HERE

WHAT’S INCLUDED

6 dives
4 Nights accommodation
Van transport from Sydney airport to Narooma
Van transfers around Narooma
Tanks and Weights
Flights (if you choose this option)

WHAT’S EXCLUDED

All Dive Gear
Travel Insurance
Personal spending money
All meals are at your leisure
Flights to Sydney + allowance for 2 checked in bags (if you have chosen the without flights package)

GEAR HIRE

PDS is able to with a wetsuit, BCD, regulator, computer, tanks and weights for the trip, however you will need to arrange to collect the gear from us and make allowances in your luggage for this gear. There is also the option of hiring gear directly from the operator, which is advised.

ITINERARY

Thursday, 29 March
For those who have chosen the ‘with flights’ option, you will be flying QF517 from Brisbane to Sydney, departing Brisbane at 10:05am and arriving in Sydney at 12:40 pm. For those who are booking their own flights, we will meet you at Sydney airport at 12:45 pm. From here we will travel together as a group down to Narooma on the South Coast of NSW. No diving today, but we will get ourselves settled into our accomoodation; get a good nights rest and then ready for a morning of diving with fur seals!

Friday, 30 March- Sunday, 1 April
2 dives per day and all meals at leisure.

Monday, 2 April
We will check-out of our accommodation and travel in our van back to Sydney airport. For those who have chosen the ‘with flights’ package, we will be travelling on QF536 to Brisbane departing at 16:00 (4pm) and arriving in Brisbane at 17:30 (5:30pm). For those booking their own flights, please do not book your flights any earlier than 4pm.

SPECIALITIES SUITABLE FOR THIS TRIP

Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater Photographer
Underwater Videographer
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Dry Suit Diver
Shark Awareness
Underwater Naturalist

HOW TO BOOK

Download the booking form attached to the page. Complete the required fields, scan and email to [email protected].

OR

To book online please click HERE

January 24, 2018
Tonga- Vava’u- Snorkel with the Humpback Whales

THE ADVENTURE

Tonga is one of the only places in the world where you can snorkel with whales up close.

Every year from July to November the whales complete their migration from the cold feeding waters south of New Zealand and Australia, to the warmer tropical waters of Tonga where they give birth to calves and perform courtship readying themselves for the next season.

This adventure will allow you to experince a once in a lifetime whale watch tour and witness these enormous and majextic creatures in their natural environment.

All tours will be accompanied by experinced local skippers and qualified whale watch guides.

Did you know that a Humpback Whale averages 15 metres in length and can weighup to 45 tonnes. The females give birth to a single calf, usually every third year. Tonga is an ideal nursery, as it provides sheltered areaswith shallow warm water. Here the carves suckle the fat-rich milk, which helps them to quickly grow and lay down a layer of blubber in preparation for the journey south to the chilly Antarctic waters.

DATES

September 2019 – Dates yet to be confirmed. Email us on [email protected] to register your interest.

9 days/ 8 nights ex Brisbane

PRICE

Based on current pricing budget $5,000 for this bucket list experience.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

Air and Taxes
Return flights ex Brisbane to Vava’u via Nadi- Fiji Airways
Australian departure taxes and applicable airline taxes (subject to change)

Accommodation and Transfers
1 night twin share accommodation at The Tanoa International – Nadi
7 nights twin share fare accommodation at Mala Island- Vava’u
Return aitport transfers in Tonga and Fiji

Meals
Half board meal package at Mala Island: breakfast and dinner daily

Snorkeler Package
3 x full day whale watching tours with Tongan Expeditions- includes: qualified whale guide, light lunch, hot drink and snorkelling equipment

Diver Package 3 x full day whale watching tours with Tongan Expeditions- includes: qualified whale guide, light lunch, hot drink and snorkelling equipment. 2 x Double Boat Dives with Tongan Expeditions – tanks, weights, dive guide services and a light lunch.

WHAT’S NOT INCLUDED
Travel insurance
Personal spending money
Any excess luggage surcharges

BOOKING CONDITIONS APPLY
Space is limited. Price is subject to change due to airline fluctuations and availability. Please use this package price as an indicative price guide. See other terms and conditions as per the Dive Adventures website – www.diveadventures.com.au

BOOKING REQUIREMENTS
To secure your place on this trip, you will need to complete an online booking form and return it together with a non-refundable deposit amount of $1200 per person.

Please find the booking link below to book onto the trip :

November 29, 2016
Explore the tranquil waters of Lady Elliot Island aboard the MV Adori

LADY ELLIOT ISLAND ONLY LIVE ABOARD ON YOUR OWN PRIVATE LIVEABOARD THE MV ADORI!!

The Trip
Come and join us on your own private liveaboard diving some of the best waters on the planet. The MV Adori and her crew will be taking us to one of the pinnacles of Australian diving, Lady Elliot Island! This trip is a must for every diver with diverse coral cays, reefs, islands and abundant marine life. There is NO cheaper way to see Lady Elliot Island. You can take all of your own gear and there are NO weight restrictions. ALL of your food and diving is included and the best part is it is BYO!

Dive Information

Suitable for Open Water Divers (certified to 18 metres)

Wreck certification is not a requirement to dive this site

Depth ranges from 6 – 28 metres

Diving by yourself? We will buddy you up with another diver with similar experience

Trip Dates & Price

Thursday, 14- Monday, 18 December 2017 $1,550 per person – 1 spot left

To book online for either of these dive trips CLICK HERE

What’s Included

Up to 16 dives including up to four night dives
4 nights accommodation in air conditioned bunks
Reef tax
All air fills
Couples booking on will be given priority for the twin share cabins with ensuite
Complimentary transport to Bundaberg from Brisbane

What’s Excluded
All Dive Gear
Transport to Bundaberg if you are making your own way
Alcohol – The MV Adori is BYO
Soft drinks

Gear Hire
PDS is able to assist with a wetsuit, BCD, regulator, computer, tanks and weights for the weekend and please communicate your requirements on the booking form. Each diver must provide their own mask, snorkel, fins and boots (not available for hire). Underwater camera and torches are also available and are subject to availability.

Itinerary

DAY 1
For those availing of the free transport from Brisbane we will meet at Woolloongabba at 6am to head North to Burnett Heads. Arriving in Burnett Heads at midday everyone stows their gear and settles in on-board. We will then receive a boat and safety brief before departing port for Lady Elliot Island. It will take approximately 5 hours to Lady Elliot Island where we will enjoy a night dive on the wreck of the Severance before retiring for the evening.

DAY 2
You wake up to the magnificent sight of Lady Elliot before you. With so many dive sites to choose from, it will be hard to decide where to dive next! Lighthouse Bommie will feature heavily of course as the mantas are one of the main draw cards! The humpback whales will be in the area too on their migration so you NEVER know what we will see!!

DAY 3 and 4
Days three and four will see us continue to explore the sites at Lady Elliot. Having dived here extensively over the last four years between John’s knowledge of the sites and Captain John’s knowledge of the ocean we will get you to the best diving available. Popular sites include Spider’s Ledge, Lighthouse Bommie, The Blow Hole, the wreck of the Severance, Three Pyramids, Grouper’s Grotto, Shark pools, Hiro’s Cave, Coral Gardens and so many more!

DAY 5
Day five will be an early start but it is worth it! We will start with Spider’s Ledge with the hope of seeing the manta rays coming in to clean after their night feeding. We will then head to Lighthouse Bommie to interact with as many mantas as possible. July and August are peak season at Lady Elliot Island as the mantas return to mate. There is NO place in Australia and few in the world that compare to Lady Elliot for manta interaction which is why it was recognised as one of the top 5 Manta Ray dives in the world! We will depart LEI at midday to head back to Bundaberg where we will arrive circa 5pm on Sunday night to disembark.

Specialities Suitable for this trip
Advanced Open Water (perfect for this trip)
Nitrox
Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater Photographer
Underwater Videographer
Self Reliant Diver
Search and Recovery
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Underwater Navigation
Dry Suit Diver
Shark Awareness
Underwater Naturalist

HOW TO BOOK
Download the booking form attached to the page. Complete the required fields, scan and email to [email protected]

or

Book online by CLICKING HERE

July 15, 2016
PHILIPPINES- Malapascua, Cabilao & Oslob
DIVE INFORMATION

Malapascua is a small island only 2.5km long and 1km wide. Also known locally as Logon, the island is located about 8km off the north eastern tip of Cebu island and 25km west of Leyte. You can walk around the island in 1-2 hours. It has a population of around 4,000 people, most of whom live off tourism, fishing, boat building or coconuts. White sandy beaches, the probability of seeing thresher sharks, manta rays and to dive some wrecks has made this a diver’s hotspot in the Philippines.

Epic thresher shark diving is our goal on the first half of the trip. 5 days of diving at Malapascua will present us with multiple opportunities to dive with these incredible creatures. Nothing will prepare you for the first time you see a thresher shark in the flesh. They almost don’t look real… A torpedo like body with a tail which dwarfs the rest of it and manga cartoonish eyes will have you wondering whether you have in fact seen it or if you have a touch of narcosis?! The thresher sharks of Malapascua will truly have you enthralled! Whilst it is the ocean and nothing can ever be guaranteed this is THE thresher shark hotspot on the planet so it would be incredibly unlikely for us not to see them.

Check out this footage to see what you could be seeing for yourself if you join us!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=s06c5DZxm84

The second half of our Philippines extravaganza is at the off the beaten path destination of Cabilao. The perfect place to slow things down combined with world class diving. Pygmy seahorses, critters as well as hard and soft corals of various species have made the island a must-see, especially for scuba divers. At present, there are two marine protected areas (no-take zones) around the island. The only motorized transport you can find are a few tricycles and a couple of motorcycles, who also serve as so-called ‘habal-habal’, they will bring you around for a small fee. However, most of the distances on Cabilao island are quite short, you can easily walk them. The lack of roads also means that everything on the island has to be brought in by banka (local outrigger boat): building materials, wood, food (except fish caught locally), and, during periods of drought, fresh water for drinking and bathing.

The other major draw card on our itinerary is two days of diving with the whale sharks at Oslob. There are few places in the world where you can guarantee the presence of whale sharks and be able to SCUBA dive with them! The whale sharks appear at Oslob every day to suck the fish out of the fishermens’ catch nets as they haul them aboard so there are plenty of opportunities to capture that new profile pic with the largest fish in the ocean! Aside from the whale sharks Cabilao also offers some fantastic reef and wall diving so we won’t be struggling for choice!

TRIP DATES

Dates TBA

PRICE

From Diver AU$4,251 per person

From Non Diver AU$3,068 per person

From Diver Ex-Cebu AU$3319 per person

WHAT’S INCLUDED
- Airfares Ex Brisbane / Singapore/ Cebu – Tagbilaran / Manila / Singapore /Brisbane flying with Singapore Airlines and Philippine Airlines
- Meet and greet in Cebu + road and boat transfers from Cebu to Malapascua
- 5 nights twin share standard accommodation at Buena Vida – Malapascua, Includes: Breakfast daily
- Transfer from Malapascua to Cabilao via Cebu – Road and boat transfers
- 5 nights twin share deluxe accommodation at Pura Vida – Cabilao
- Includes: All meals whilst at Pura Vida ( Breakfast, 2 course lunch & 3 course dinner )
- Transfer from Cabilao to Tagbilaran Airport
- 22 boat or shore dives with Sea Explorers in Malapascua and Cabilao
- Includes: 2 dives with the Whale sharks at Oslob, tanks, weights and dive guide services, Sanctuary fees
- Australian departure taxes
- Professional Dive Services Tour Leader
WHAT’S EXCLUDED
Travel Insurance
Personal spending monies
Excess Luggage surcharges

CONDITIONS APPLY

Prices are subject to change without notice due to fluctuations in PHP exchange rates and 2016 operator, hotelier and airline rates.

AIRFARES

Please be aware that this package has been based on indicative airfare prices. Prices are subject to change, your package price will be reconfirmed at the time of booking. Please use the package price as an indicative guide.

BOOKING REQUIREMENTS

To secure your place on this trip, you need to complete a booking form and return it together with a non refundable deposit of $700 per person + the cost of the international airfares and taxes.

Please find the Dive Adventures online booking form HERE

PADI SPECIALITIES SUITABLE FOR THIS TRIP

Advanced Open Water (perfect for this trip)
Under water Navigation
Nitrox
Deep Diver
Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater Photographer
Underwater Videographer
Search and Recovery
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Underwater Navigation
Dry Suit Diver
Shark Awareness
Underwater Naturalist

This is the perfect way to complete a specialty course as you have already paid for the dives!!
January 27, 2016
Lord Howe Island – Diving a World Heritage Site!

The Trip

Lord Howe Island off the east coast of Australia; just a 2 hour flight from Sydney or Brisbane, is one of the worlds most beautiful World Heritage listed islands surrounded by a stunning NSW Marine Park. Warm tropical waters and cooler temperate currents have created a diverse range of marine life, a unique mix of both tropical and temperate water fish. In short, a diving and photography paradise!

Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, 600 kilometres (370 mi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about 900 kilometres (560 mi) from Norfolk Island. It is about 10 km long and between 2.0 km and 0.3 km wide with an area of 14.55 km², of which only approximately 398 hectares is in the lowland settled area. Along the west coast there is a sandy semi-enclosed sheltered coral reef lagoon. Most of the population lives in the north, while the south is dominated by forested hills rising to the highest point on the island, Mount Gower (875 m or 2,871 ft). The Lord Howe Island Group comprises 28 islands, islets and rocks. Apart from Lord Howe Island itself the most notable of these is the volcanic and uninhabited Ball’s Pyramid about 23 kilometres (14 mi) to the south-east of Howe. To the north there is the Admiralty Group, a cluster of seven small uninhabited islands.

The Lord Howe Island Group is recorded by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site of global natural significance. Most of the island is virtually untouched forest with many of the plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Other natural attractions include the diversity of its landscapes, the variety of upper mantle and oceanic basalts, the world’s southernmost barrier coral reef, nesting seabirds, and its rich historical and cultural heritage. The Lord Howe Island Act of 1981 established a “Permanent Park Preserve” (covering about 70 per cent of the island). The surrounding waters are a protected region designated the Lord Howe Island Marine Park

Dive Information

Ideally suited for Advanced Open Water divers but also suitable for Open Water Divers (certified to 18 metres)
Wreck certification is not a requirement to dive this trip
Depth ranges from 6 – 40 metres
Diving by yourself? We will buddy you up with another diver with similar experience

Trip Date

12 to 18 February 2017 TWO SPOTS LEFT

Price

From $3,695 per person- price on application due to flight schedule

What’s Included

15 dives- Balls Pyramid, Admiralty Islands, night’s dives and so much more!
6 nights twin share accommodation at the Leanda Lei Apartments
Return flights from Brisbane to Lord Howe Island
Tanks and weights
Professional Dive Services guide
14 kg checked baggage & 7 kg carry on
Dive gear rental
What’s Excluded

Travel Insurance
Personal spending monies
Excess luggage surcharges
All meals

Baggage Allocation & Gear Hire

Due to the light aircraft that the group will be travelling on to and from Lord Howe Island, each passenger is very restricted to the 14 kg checked baggage and 7 kg carry on restrictions. We have investigated extensively a way around this and unfortunately, we have not been able to get a larger allocation of luggage. Additional luggage may be added, IF there is room on the plane. At this stage, the plane is looking to be full and additional luggage is unlikely. Therefore we have included gear hire for the week on this trip.

Itinerary

We have tailored our dive itinerary towards Advanced Open Water divers so we can aim to dive the deeper dives at Balls Pyramid, as well as particular Admiralty Island dives (North Rock, 10th June deep, Gowers Pinnacle) etc. In saying that, if there are any OW certified divers, you will be able to attend the majority of the dive sites which are between 12M – 20M. There is of course the opportunity to maximise your dive holiday and complete your Advanced Open Water qualification so you are not restricted.

Our dive package includes a bonus 2 dives for free if time and weather permits. We also have 2 night dives as part of our package as well as trips to dive the world famous Ball’s Pyramid and Admiralty Islands. Ball’s Pyramid is located 20km to the south of Lord Howe Island and provides world class diving and species endemic to the region. Travel time is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. When diving Ball’s Pyramid and its neighbouring sites you can expect to see massive schools of Violet Sweep, Amberjack, Kingfish, Silver Drummer, Ballina Angelfish, Rainbow Runners, Trevally and occasionally Marlin, Dolphins and Wahoo.The dive sites average 25 metres in depth and range from drift dives, cave dives or simply following a coral wall. The Pyramid itself is located in a marine sanctuary zone which maintains the pristine aquatic environment. You can often expect to see walls of fish from the surface down to 25 metres. One of the highlights of diving Balls Pyramid is to see the Ballina Angelfish, a deep water Angel that is generally only found in water in excess of 100 metres. Ball’s Pyramid is believed to be the only destination where you can see them on recreational scuba in 25 metres. A truly amazing dive.

For our accommodation we will be staying at the comfortable Leanda Lei Apartments.

Specialities Suitable for this trip
Advanced Open Water (perfect for this trip)
Deep Diver
Digital Underwater Photographer
Underwater Photographer
Underwater Videographer
Peak Performance Buoyancy
Underwater Navigation
Project AWARE Fish ID
Shark Awareness
Underwater Naturalist

HOW TO BOOK
Please contact John or Lisa Gransbury directly on 07 3204 5857 or 0457 007 040 to book. Prices and availabity are now subject to availabilty of flights, accomodation and the dive operator.

September 30, 2015