Cairns Dive Adventures

Tour Length: 4 nights & 4 days | Operates: Year round
Destination: Cod Hole & Ribbon Reefs & Coral Sea
Departs: Thursday 6pm | Returns: Monday 11am
Transfers available: Yes, free from all Cairns City Hotels

An excellent four day, four night liveaboard dive tour from Cairns to the Great Barrier Reef’s Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole and open waters of the Coral Sea, and back again.  Scuba diving highlights include exploring the Great Barrier Reef, starting with the pristine coral gardens at Challenger Bay, which is home to schools of silver trevally, bream and surgeon fish, followed by the world famous Cod Hole.  Dive with giant Potato Cod, who are nearly as big as the people, or venture to the front of the reef where Queensland groupers swim in the currents.  The waters here are crystal clear and warm year round.  They are home to an amazing diversity of flora and fauna, including massive soft coral trees, plate corals and staghorn corals, sharks, sea horses and everything in between.

Enjoy up to 14 dives, including two night dives, transfers, twin share accommodation and meals on the custom-built Spoilsport, which has won 11 awards for its comfort and style, including the Rodale’s Reader Choice Award for ‘Best Liveaboard’ and ‘Most Environmentally Friendly’.  This Mike Ball Cairns Dive Adventure concludes with a scenic 250km flight over the Great Barrier Reef back to Cairns.

Highlights & Inclusions

• 4 nights and 4 days, liveaboard dive trip
• Up to 14 dives, including 2 night dives
• Daily cabin service
• Chef prepared gourmet meals
• Complimentary soft drinks and Australian wines (with dinner)
• Scenic flight from Lizard Island to Cairns
• 11 person crew

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions have been making divers smile since 1969 and are highly regarded in the tourism and dive industry.  The focus of these tours is to tailor the trip to the diver and their experience levels.  Choices available include planning and diving independently with a dive buddy, solo diving in accordance with the Mike Ball Safe Solo System, complimentary orientation dives and guided morning and afternoon dives.  There is also a complimentary reef ecology program, which help you to identify some of the amazing marine creatures you will see on your diving adventures.

Committed to providing divers with the very best experience, Mike Ball is the only liveaboard on the Great Barrier Reef with qualified rebreather supervisors.  There are no restrictions on bottom time, so you can maximise your trip to suit your experience and comfort levels.  The Mike Ball vessel, Spoilsport has been custom-designed to optimise passenger comfort in all conditions: this was essential as Mike Ball himself suffers from sea sickness.  Its twin hull design maximises stability and comfort and most of the comfortable cabins have ocean views.  There is a large sundeck with shade cover, a fully air-conditioned interior, and huge dive deck with entry / exit platforms.   This package includes ‘Club Accommodation’ which is twin share, bunks with private bathroom.

Dive Notes

• Recommended dive experience level: PADI Advanced or equivalent, or above
• Adventure level: mid to high, pending weather conditions, winds, swells and currents
• You will need to bring your dive certification with you
• Standard is three (3) dive sites per day
• Photographer ‘friendly’ with three (3) large camera tables
• Low key photo comp on every expedition
• Underwater photographer and video services available
• Nitrox fills are available, at an extra cost
• PADI and SDI dive courses are available on board, including Nitrox, at an extra cost
• Solo diving as per Mike Ball Safe Solo System
• Two (2) large inflatables for personalised dive services
• Night dives included

Mike Ball: Sample Fly / Dive Coral Sea Liveaboard Itinerary
Thursday: Your Cairns liveaboard Great Barrier Reef dive trip commences with luggage check-in at 143 Lake Street, Cairns, prior to 4pm.  Explore Cairns city, its Esplanade, Lagoon pool, art galleries and restaurants before meeting the Spoilsport crew at 6pm at Cairns Corporate Tower and transferring to Trinity Wharf to your vessel.  The friendly crew of 11 will welcome you aboard the 30m Spoilsport and provide an orientation as the vessel departs Cairns and commences its 700km journey north, to the pristine Ribbon Reefs.  Dinner is served and you settle in to your comfortable surrounds, getting to know your fellow passengers (maximum of 28 per trip) and learning more about the Great Barrier Reef.

Friday: Start the day with a hot beverage delivered to your cabin, followed by a delicious breakfast including bacon, scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes and roasted mushrooms.  Overnight you moved from Cairns to Cooktown, the historic port where Captain James Cook brought the Endeavour for repairs, after hitting the Great Barrier Reef.  Surrounded by the calm waters of the Coral Sea and spectacular beauty of the Ribbon Reefs, you have an amazing day of diving ahead of you.  A highlight will definitely be the world famous Cod Hole!  Crystal clear waters support shallow, sunlight coral gardens and are home to giant Potato Cod, who are used to divers visiting and happy to ‘pose’ for photographs.  Your first day ends with a night dive, where you will get a completely different perspective of the reef, seeing night critters exploring the waters including crayfish, moray eels, egg cowry shells and decorator crabs.  As you go to sleep, Spoilsport continues your journey making its way 75 miles north-east, beyond the sheltered waters of the Great Barrier Reef into the Coral Sea.

Saturday & Sunday: An early morning dive is the perfect way to start your adventure on Osprey Reef, in the Coral Sea.  Sheer walls, descending 1,000m are home to an amazing variety of life including man-sized soft coral trees and gorgeous gorgonian fans.  Crystal clear waters generally have visibility up to 40m, allowing you clearly see the many residents of the reef, including green sea turtles, grey whaler sharks, silvertip sharks and hammerhead sharks, to name just a few.  Recharge your batteries with a seafood extravaganza for Saturday lunch, featuring salt and pepper squid, thyme baked barramundi, smoked Atlantic salmon, fresh cooked prawns and hearty leek and potato soup.  Dinner that night is a carvery with roast pork, lamb and seasonal vegetables; option is to end the day with a night dive.  The next day can be spent exploring up to three different Coral Sea Dive sites and ends with an Aussie BBQ night, where you should wear (and remember to pack) your ‘loudest’ tropical shirt.  Overnight, Spoilsport returns to the Ribbon Reefs for your transfer back to Cairns in the morning.

Monday: Breakfast on board Spoilsport with hot ham and cheese croissants before transferring to Lizard Island on tender.  You return Cairns on a spectacular, low-level flight over the Great Barrier Reef.  Flight plans have been designed to showcase the scale of this amazing natural marvel with highlights including Endeavour Reef, where Captain Cook ran aground, and reefs you dived over the past couple of days.  Arriving into Cairns at 11am, complimentary coach transfers will return you to your inner-city hotel.

Passenger Notes

• Scuba diving is not suitable for children under 8 years of age.
• Non-diving children, 8-15 years, receive a 25% discount on tour price.
• What is not included in the ticket price? Marine Park Levy ($18), Gear Hire, Nitrox Fills, any dive courses taken on board, drinks outside of evening meal time.