pewang

Hi,

Am visiting the GBR, for first time, in late May, for just a day.

I was looking at Magic Reef Tours (Cairns) & they offer a intro. scuba dive, which looks interesting.
I was wondering what conditions are this time of the year & if this is a good idea.

Thanks.

Pete

Bushranger

The weather should be settling some though later year rain/storms can occur.
. http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...lth-whammy.cfm is an indication that there could be reef damage in a number of areas.

But local operators will know as much about that possibly sooner than MPA and should take day trippers to good sites where they have authority flexibility to move about to avoid damaged areas.

I'd email them and ask specifically whether they have changed location because of damge or whether damage is minimal where they go to.

But the GBR is a series of refs/atolls from the tip of Australia's Cape York all the way down to about 500 km. north of Brisbane and the very nature of its natural random patterning likely means that whereas one section may have sustained damage, it may have been protecting nearby sections.
Coral bleaching as associted with warmer weather/water and mainland run-off pollution is another matter.

Saltuarius

Can have moderate south-east trade winds blowing at that time of year. The wave action is on the top and will affect divers when sailing out and returning to port. Allow your self some flexibility if you can.

The southern third of the reef suffered some damage from recent storms but well south of Cairns. The seas got warm this year but bleaching was not great. North Queensland has had floods in January. Since then it has been below average rainfall in most places. Evenings and mornings are cool on the Tablelands where we have been the coldest area in the state on most recent nights.

pat_woolford

I've been on Reef Magic twice in the last couple of months, once after Cyclone Hamish passed by and could see no obvious reef damage from the cyclone.

May can be windy, as Saltuarius has mentioned, its the trip out and back from the reef where you may suffer a bit if prone to seasickness. But a good boat to take if seas are a bit rough, its new, fast and well stabilised. Reef Magic's pontoon is at Moore Reef, on a particularly varied snorkelling and diving site, snorkelling off side of pontoon and there's an optional guided snorkel trip to the reef's outer edge, where the divers are taken. Also has a semi-submersible and underwater observatory on pontoon.

Hope this helps.

pewang

Thanks everyone.

Pat--I wonder if you've had any experience with a scuba tank--or would
snorkeling be enough of a thrill?

Pete

Bushranger

I've dived and snorkelled pewang and whereas snorkelling in good places is great, you're usually in shallower water and so there's plenty to see that way.

But a dive in deeper water just gives you a complete new perspective of being in a different world, an introductory one of limmited value as you're seeing how your body adjusts, some people having more severe pressure accommodation than others and you're likely going to also be much more conscious of breathing as strange as it may seems, so a couple of things to get on top of and if you've done that and start to feel relaxed with the underwater environment it is certainly a great experience, more being part of the underwater worls than just looking in.

pat_woolford

For medical reasons, no scuba diving for me these days, pewang.

There are some medical conditions which would preclude diving, and you will be asked on-board to fill in a medical questionnaire for an introductory dive (sometimes known as a "resort" dive). See www.divemedicals.com.au/introdive.pdf