Ribbon Reefs – Minke Whale Season (June/July 2025)

During the months of June and July, divers and snorkellers may have the opportunity to interact with dwarf minke whales in the warm waters of the Great Barrier Reef.  This is a unique and remarkable encounter takes place on the Great Barrier Reef’s Ribbon Reefs

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Dive Level: This Cairns Minke Whale trip is suitable for snorkellers. No dive experience or certification is required.

Departs: Cairns 11.30 am Thursday

Returns: Cairns 12:00 noon Sunday Trip back to Cairns is a one-hour low flying flight

Certified Divers: Up to 11 dives, with focus on in-water swim time with Minke Whales when located.

Highlights

• Liveaboard adventure combining both Minke Whale experience and diving at the Ribbon Reefs
• In water interaction with Minke Whales
• Deep dives up to 30 metres
• Amazing visibility, coral formations & marine life
• Amazing dive crew and dive service

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Diving Details

There are few opportunities in a lifetime where you can experience the thrill of sharing the water with a creature as magnificent as a whale.  Spirit of Freedom will impress with its dive crew, service and dive locations.

Thursday

The Spirit of Freedom courtesy bus will pick you up from your Cairns hotel around 10:30am to transfer you to Trinity Wharf. There you will be greeted by the Spirit of Freedom crew, who will give you an orientation of the vessel before departing at 11.30 am.

Enjoy lunch on board while we cruise to the Outer Great Barrier Reef for an afternoon check-out dive and a twilight or night dive.

After dinner, we cruise north to the Ribbon Reefs and begin our Cairns Minke Whale trip adventure!

Friday & Saturday

These two days are spent diving at the most northern of the Ribbon Reefs, Number 9 & 10 Ribbon Reefs.

Dive sites and sequence may vary depending on the weather conditions, but will always include at least one dive at the Cod Hole, where you encounter a family of massive and very friendly Potato Cod. Other sites may include Wonder-wall, Pixie Pinnacle, Challenger Bay, Two Towers, Lighthouse Bommie, and the Snake Pit, just to name a few.

If the current is right, you may also take a drift dive at Dynamite Pass, well know as a channel for sharks to pass through. Visit our Ribbon Reefs page to learn more about our dive sites on the Ribbon Reefs. 4 to 5 dives will be available each day, including a night dive on the Friday. On Saturday evening we overnight at Watson’s Bay, Lizard Island, and enjoy a sunset BBQ dinner on the top deck.

Sunday

This morning after breakfast you will disembark and say farewell to Spirit of Freedom. On shore, at Lizard Island, you can take the guided walk from Watson’s Beach to Mary Watson’s cottage over Chinaman’s Ridge and back to the air-strip. Here you will board a light aircraft for your flight back to Cairns. The one-hour flight arrives at Hinterland Aviation, Cairns General Aviation Airport around 11.15 to 11:45 am, where the Spirit of Freedom courtesy coach will meet you for your transfer back to your Cairns city hotel.

Special Expedition: These tours are strictly seasonal, to coincide with the whales’ migration. Swimming with Minke Whales is a strictly controlled activity. Guests must follow crew instructions at all times.