Mike Ball – 7 Night Coral Sea Safari

Here you will receive the best of both the Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole and Coral Sea dive locations. To bring you this 7 Night liveaboard trip Mike Ball have combined both their 3 Night Ribbon Reefs trip and 4 Night Coral Sea trip itineraries.

You have the option for this trip to start and finish in Cairns with a Thursday departure or depart on a Monday with a flight to Lizard Island.  With your Monday departure you will then have the same flight back from Lizard Island to Cairns on the following Thursday.

The 7 night, 450 mile Coral Sea Safari includes some of the best dive sites on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea featuring:

Trip Highlights

• Spectacular first dive at Challenger Bay
• Diver size fish at the Cod Hole
• Plummeting Coral Sea wall dives in gin clear water
• Exciting shark action in the Coral Sea
• Schooling trevally and barracuda in the Coral Sea
• Exploration of Lizard Island
• The prime Ribbon Reef sites
• All dives north of Cooktown, dive site guarantee
• Superior vessel stability in adverse weather conditions

Dive Details

Unlimited diving (up to 26 dives)

Best Adventure and Biodiversity

Experience – Advanced, or 15 logged ocean dives including 5 in last 12 months

You begin by swimming with diver size fish at the world famous Cod Hole. Overnight you venture out to the crystal clear waters and plummeting walls in the Coral Sea. Witness the exciting shark feed, you can photograph these sleek high order predators at close-range or not so close! Halfway, at Lizard Island some guests may join or depart the expedition. The second half of this expedition explores the best Ribbon Reef sites between the Cod Hole and Cooktown including the Acropolis, Steve’s Bommie, Lighthouse Bommie, the Cod Wall and Flare Point. Here, you see the best concentrations of pristine corals, colourful tropical fish and rare critters. Macro fauna includes the lacy scorpionfish, leaf scorpionfish, pygmy seahorses, nudibranchs and ghost pipefish. While larger marine life includes schools of trevally, barracudas, sea snakes, sharks and resident turtles.

Sample itinerary, subject to change based on conditions.

Thursday:  

• Check in at our office (3 Abbott St, Cairns) between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm.
• From 4:30 pm:  Make your own way to Hemingway’s Brewery Cairns Wharf (200m from MBDE office) to meet your fellow passengers.  Please note that dinner is not provided on the first evening so you may wish to eat before boarding.
• 5:50 pm: Our crew will lead you from Hemingway’s Brewery Cairns Wharf to board Spoilsport.  Enjoy a glass of champagne and light snacks while your Trip Director provides a full briefing.
• 6:00 pm:  Spoilsport departs Cairns.
• Time to organise any rental equipment and put your dive gear together on the dive deck.

Friday:  (4 dives + night dive) This is a sample of a ‘typical day’, however exact times may vary to optimise the prevailing weather conditions on the day.

• 6:30 am: Wake up call, light breakfast available in dining room
• 7:00 am: Dive brief & diving commences
• 9:00 am: Full cooked Breakfast
• 10:30 am: Dive brief & diving. “Open decks” accommodate 1-2 dives either am or pm
• 2:00 pm: Lunch
• 3:30 pm: Dive brief & diving
• 4:30 pm: Afternoon Tea
• 6:30 pm: Night dive brief & dive
• 8:00 pm: Dinner

Saturday:  (4 dives + night dive)

• As per above.

Sunday: (4 dives)

• As per above, however all diving is finished by 5pm. Spoilsport moors off Lizard Island for the evening.
• As the sun sets we pour the champagne, lay out the nibbles and get ready for an Aussie BBQ party night. Don’t forget to wear your loudest tropical shirt or dress and sing along to music played by our talented crew.

Monday:  (2 dives + night dive)

• 7:00 am:  Light breakfast
• 8:00 am:  Bid farewell to passengers doing the 4 night Fly Dive Coral Sea Expedition who will disembark here.
• 8:00 am:  Stay onboard or take a tender over to Lizard Island to stretch your legs and explore a little of this beautiful island.
• 11:00 am:  New passengers join us here.  Drinks and light snacks provided.
• 12:45 pm:  Dive brief and dive
• 2:00 pm:  Lunch
• 3:45 pm:  Dive brief and dive
• 4:45 pm:  Afternoon tea
• 6:00 pm:  Dive brief and night dive
• 8:00 pm:  Dinner

Tuesday: (4 dives + night dive)

• As per Friday, above.

Wednesday: (4 dives)

• As per above. Exit last dive 5pm.
• As the sun sets we pour the champagne, lay out the nibbles and get ready for a final farewell party!
• Overnight cruise to Cairns

Thursday:

• 7:00 am:  Light breakfast
• 8:00 am:  Disembark and courtesy transfer to Cairns inner city hotels, the airport or our office where we can store your luggage until 5pm if you have a later flight.

Important:

• We recommend that you allow 24 hours between your last dive and your onward flight (all diving is finished by 5pm Wednesday).