UE Itinerary

5 days diving - 20 to 22 dives

Boarding Saturday Evening 5.00pm Princes Wharf, Port Douglas
Enjoy dinner ashore in Port Douglas - be back onboard by 7.30pm for departure.

Day 1
Cod Hole and The Ribbon Reefs
The diving begins! Meet the locals! - Potato Cod, Moray Eels,
Napoleon Wrasse, Coral Trout, Nudibranchs and Giant Clams. Enjoy the biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Day 2
Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea
The ultimate Coral Sea diving at Osprey Reef. A diver's dream - 30m + visibility, 1000m vertical walls, Reef Sharks and Hammerheads, schooling Barracuda and Tuna.
Day 3
Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea
More of Osprey's incredible sites... Shark attraction/research at North Horn... Deep Sea Nautilus encounter.
Day 4
Osprey Reef or Lizard Island
Dive, Dive, Dive or laze on Lizard Island in the afternoon. The Skipper's choice for your best experience - Osprey, Great Barrier Reef or Lizard Island - What great options!
Day 5
Ribbon Reefs - Great Barrier Reef
Coral gardens and pinnacles, 1500 species of fish, 400 species of coral - what a superb finale!

About the Itinerary:

4 dives per day, weather and conditions permitting, except on the 6th day which includes 2 dives.

Dives are selected to suit the weather and seasonal marine highlights. The itinerary is flexible and may be adjusted. Travel insurance is recommended.

Minke Whale Expeditions are 6 days in duration. They do not visit Osprey Reef but concentrate solely on the Ribbon Reefs where Minke whales are sighted. Some dives will be replaced by snorkelling with whale experiences.

Far Northern Expeditions are 8 or 9 days in duration and visit reefs 400 nautical miles north of Port Douglas. They incorporate a one way scenic flight to or from Lockhart River to rendezvous with the Undersea Explorer. This is a sample 9 day itinerary with departure from Cairns. The alternative itinerary departs Port Douglas on the vessel, with the scenic flight at the end of the expedition……….

Departure: Scenic Flight from Cairns to Lockhart River departs Cairns 2.00pm arriving Lockhart River approximately 3.45pm

Day 1 Raine Island and Great Detached
Day 2 Raine Island and Great Detached
Day 3 Raine Island and Great Detached
Day 4 Wishbone and Wreck Bay
Day 5 Mantis Reef
Day 6 Southern Small Detached Reef
Day 7 Rhodda Reef
Day 8 Cod Hole and Pixie Pinnacle
Day 9 For the final day we dive the Agincourt Reef area.
Then we have approximately 4 hours of steaming to Port Douglas arriving approximately 1630hrs

Please note that the expeditions incorporate "live entry" or "drop dives" and drift dives where the vessel is not moored. Hence these expeditions are considered to be for the more adventurous diver.

We select our dives to suit the weather and the marine action of the season. Extreme weather conditions may cause cancellation or adjustment to advertised itinerary.

SPECIAL INFORMATION REGARDING FAR NORTHER EXPEDITIONS:

There is a luggage weight restriction for each passenger of 35 kg's, with no individual bag allowed to weigh more than 20 kg's.

Lockhart River is a "DRY ZONE", meaning no alcohol is allowed to be taken onto the plane or into this area at all. There is a limited supply of beer and wine onboard the vessel for purchase or your own alcohol can be prearranged to be onboard before the boat departs on the first Far Northern trip.

The departure point for flights to Lockhart River from Cairns is General Aviation Reef Watch located near the Cairns airport. Please note that the entrance to this section of the airport is NOT via the main airport entrance. The entrance to General Aviation is located 300m north of the main entrance and you are required to be there by 1:15pm on the day.

6 days diving & swimming with whales - 16-18 dives

During our Minke Whale Expeditions, anything is possible as we venture through the Great Barrier Reef to many dive/snorkel sites in search of Minke Whales

Below is a summary of what might be expected - every day will change as we do not have foresight into the activities of these creatures. However, over the past eight years of expeditions, six weeks per year, we have had a 100% success rate of finding and swimming with the whales.

During the course of each day we will be diving/snorkelling on the Ribbon Reefs, Coral Gardens and Pinnacles, and when the whales are encountered the dives will be replaced with snorkelling with Whales. During the trip you will most likely see from 20 to 70 Minke Whales, and we still are able to average 16-18 Dives at our Ribbon Reef dive sites.

The general itinerary for the week is as follows:

Boarding Saturday Evening 5.00pm Princes Wharf, Port Douglas
Enjoy dinner ashore in Port Douglas - be back onboard by 7.30pm for departure. Leave Port

Day 1
Arrive at No 3 or No 5 Ribbon Reef. Over the course of the day you might venture to Traceys, Steves Bommie, Temple of Doom, Clam Beds or Provona.

Day 2
Undersea Explorer will venture to the Lower No 10 Ribbon Reef area including Pixie Wall, Pixie Gardens, Pixie Pinnacle, Challenger Bay and Lighthouse.

Day 3
Due to the flexibility of this trip, we may stay in the same area as yesterday, depending on the previous days experiences, and going to some of the dive sites that were missed. Alternatively, venture North to Eagle Rock, Cod Hole or No Name reef.

Day 4
Diving and drifting in the northern waters with the whales between the Cod Hole and Day Reef, with a possible visit to Lizard Island.

Day 5
Go to areas that are producing the most whale sightings between the Cod Hole and No 3 Ribbon Reef

Day 6
Steam to Agincourt Reefs and dive/snorkel sites such as Nursery Bommie, Eureka, Castles or the G-Spot.

Dives are selected to suit the weather and seasonal marine highlights. The itinerary is flexible and may be adjusted. Travel insurance is recommended.

This is North Queensland's best diving for those that have limited time. Undersea Explorer offers adventure diving trips with a difference, and this expedition is a unique combination of great diving with marine scientists who are there to unlock the wonders of the Barrier Reef.

Cod Hole Temptation
3 nights/2 days (8 dives) expedition to Ribbon Reefs and Cod Hole
Mar-May 2008
AU$1000pp Mar 2008 AU$1015pp Apr & May 08 (including DAN)

Ribbon Reefs Discovery
3 nights/3 days (11 dives) expedition to Ribbon Reefs and Cod Hole - available March to May 2008
AU$1350pp until 31 March 2008 / AU$1365pp April & May 2008 (including DAN Remote Area Evacuation insurance)

Sample Itinerary
Boarding 5pm at Princes Wharf, Port Douglas.
Enjoy dinner ashore and be back onboard by 7.00pm for the Skippers Briefing.

Day 1
Pixies Garden, Cod Hole and Challenger Bay
The diving begins! Meet the locals: potato cod, moray eels, Napoleon wrasse, coral trout, nudibranchs and
giant clams.

Day 2
Tracey's Bommie, Steve's Bommie and Temple of Doom
Today we continuing our unique mix of diving with Marine Biologist talks. Tonight our biologist will be light
trapping for plankton during night dive.

Day 3
Return to Port Douglas
Enjoy a light breakfast onboard, prior to disembarking in Port Douglas at 8am.

Note: Enjoy 4 dives per day (conditions depending). The itinerary and activities are flexible and can be altered at the discretion of the Skipper.

Day 3 (Cod Hole Temptation)
Return to Port Douglas
Enjoy a light breakfast onboard, prior to disembarking in Port Douglas at 8am.

Day 3 (Ribbon Reef Discovery)
Agincourt Reef, Escape Reef
Enjoy three dives on the southernmost Ribbon Reefs on your way back to Port Douglas. Disembark in Port Douglas at 5pm.

Itinerary Note:
The itinerary and activities are flexible and can be altered at the discretion of the Skippe

Because we react to our observations in the weeks prior to this trip we will be setting the trip itinerary close to the date and during the actual trip. This gives us the best chance of finding the most active reef spawning areas and daytime action of feeding animals. There will be many night dives in shallow (5-8m deep) reef garden areas especially between 7-11pm which is the most active spawning time. These night dives will probably be conducted at the same site each night to provide the opportunity to best see the variation in spawning species over different nights.

A Sample Itinerary (which will definitely change to suit the situation) would be:

Sat
Board Undersea Explorer 5.00pm and depart Port Douglas early evening after skipper and biologist briefings.

Sun
Arrive at Pixie Pinnacle, a great dive with incredible diversity of invertebrate life - nudibranchs, mantis shrimp, anemones, gorgonian fans as well as fish life including lionfish, pipefish and schools of giant trevally. Dive Lighthouse bommie with resident sea-snakes, turtles and octopus. Off to No-Name Reef to select a site in the early afternoon to get familiar with the area and to map out the site for night spawning dives. Night dives occur between 7pm and 11pm - a team effort to get the most spawning observations possible.

No-Name Reef has an incredibly diverse assemblage of coral species, ideal for spawning studies. It is also a fabulous dive site and great venue to base spawning dives throughout the night.

There will be a series of presentations to introduce divers to corals and spawning and in particular what to look for and how to record observations. Special briefings will also be given on photographic techniques for useful spawning images.

Mon
Dive the world famous Cod Hole then on to Eagle Rock before heading back to No-Name Reef coral gardens for more night spawning searches.

Tues
Search for feeding action in the reef channels to the north - Yonge and Day Reefs. Dive the channels and steep reef walls where weather allows and search for current slicks with concentrated plankton where aggregations of feeding marine life occur. Back to No-Name Reef area for another night of spawning dives.

Wed
Dive around Hicks Reef and Jewel Reef area, again searching for manta rays and whale sharks occasionally sighted feeding in the current slicks. Back to No-Name Reef area for another night of spawning dives.

Thurs
Dive south Ribbon #5 and Ribbon #3 and Steve's Bommie. Search for feeding action in the water with top deck observers keeping watch throughout the day. Night dive to continue spawning observations.

Fri
Dive Agincourt Reef area for 2 dives in the morning then steam to Port Douglas - arriving approximately 5.00pm

info@undersea.com.au