There are few opportunities in a lifetime where you can experience the thrill of sharing the ocean with a creature as magnificent as a whale. During the months of June and July, divers and snorkellers will 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 that takes place only on the Ribbon Reefs located in Far North Queensland and accessible only by limited operators.
Dive Level: The Minke Whale trip are very suitable for snorkellers. No dive experience or certification is required. All interaction with the minke whales is on the surface not scuba diving making it a perfect experience for all looking to be part of this memorable marine encounters with these whales.
Trips Departs: Cairns 11.30 am Thursday
Returns: Cairns 12:00 noon Sunday Trip back to Cairns via a one-hour low flying flight from Lizard Island.
Certified Divers: Up to 11 dives, with focus on in-water swim time with Minke Whales when located.
Highlights
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.
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!
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.
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.
At approximately 7 am, the Spirit of Freedom courtesy coach will transfer you from your Cairns hotel to Hinterland Aviation at Cairns General Aviation Airport. Here you will board a light aircraft for your scenic flight up the coast to Lizard Island and the start of your 4-night liveaboard dive trip.
The Spirit of Freedom crew will greet you on arrival and escort you via tender to the vessel. After an orientation of the vessel, we depart for Ribbon Reef Number 9 & 10. This afternoon we will have the opportunity for two dives at a choice of sites including Challenger Bay, Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Gardens, and Pixie Pinnacle.
Its Minke Monday! The number of dives is dependent on how much in-water swim time the whales allow. Dive sites and sequences may vary depending on the weather conditions, but we will maximise opportunities to have in-water time with whales.
One day will be spent diving Osprey Reef (weather permitting). Australia’s Coral Sea reefs are renowned for crystal clear water with visibility ranging from 30 to 100 metres. The landscape is amazing with sheer walls laced with gorgonians, sea whips, and bright yellow soft corals, rising from the ocean floor thousands of feet below. ‘North Horn’ is a dive site at the tip of Osprey is a site where grey reef sharks, silvertips, and the occasional oceanic congregate, and you can experience a close encounter with the Spirit of Freedom shark attraction dive. Four to five dives will be available. On Tuesday night we will depart Osprey Reef for overnight travel to the Ribbon Reefs.
At Ribbon Reef Number 3 we will dive such sites as the sensational Steve’s Bommie, Temple of Doom, and Flare Point. A second option for this day, in special weather conditions, is to head south from Osprey to Bougainville Reef, known for its unusual underwater landscape or caverns, and its partially submerged wreck. On Wednesday evening we will cruise overnight back to Cairns.
We arrive back in Cairns at 6:30 am. Enjoy a light breakfast onboard and a group photo opportunity, before being dropped back at your Cairns hotel around 8:00 am.
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