Mike Ball Dive: 7 day/7 night Coral Sea Safari

7 nights / 6 dive days Unlimited diving (approx. 26 dives or 28 dives whole vessel charter)

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.

Experience: Novice to advanced divers. It is best suited to the adventurous diver. We can accommodate one or two less experienced divers. This may mean sitting out the odd dive if conditions are beyond your ability.

Location: Coral Sea and Great Barrier Reef. 

Thursday: Check-in and Departure

• Prior to 4:00pm. Check-in luggage at 3 Abbott St, Cairns.
• If unable to check-in prior to 4:00pm phone us on 4031 5484 for departure details.
• 6:00pm our crew meet you at Mondos Resturant and escort you to Spoilsport Trinity Wharf, Cairns.
• Cruise overnight to the magnificent Ribbon Reefs, the first stop on your 700km dive odyssey.

Friday: Ribbon Reef #9 - PixieGardens, Cod Hole

• Buddy up with diver size fish that dive with you at the Cod Hole!
• Swim with giant potato cod, napoleon wrasse and moray eels.
• Enjoy close encounters with huge Maori wrasse.
• Anticipate spectacular coral gardens, spotted rays, reef sharks and green turtle sightings.
• Night dive where decorator crabs, egg cowry shells, moray eels and crayfish are just a few of the creatures you can find.

Saturday & Sunday: Coral Sea - Osprey Reef

• Cruise 100 miles overnight to Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
• Enjoy 40 meter (132ft) visibility with spectacular walls disappearing to 1000metres.
• At North Horn swim with giant potato cod, napoleon wrasse, moray eels, tuna and barracuda.
• Witness the resident shark population including grey whalers, whitetip reef sharks, silvertips and hammerheads.
• Search for the commonly seen green and loggerhead turtles.
• Find the caves, overhangs and spectacular walls adorned with huge soft coral trees and gorgonian fans.
• Night dive.

Monday: LizardIsland & Ribbon Reef #10 & #9 Cod Wall, Cod Hole, ChallengerBay

• Climb Cooks Look at LizardIsland where Captain Cook searched for safe passage through the reef.
• Explore the rarely dived Cod Wall at the outer reef edge that disappears into 60 meters (200ft).
• Glide back towards the Cod Hole while enjoying the clear water and spectacular coral formations.
• Choose to dive the Cod Hole again if you agree with us that one day is not enough to enjoy its diverse marine life.
• Shallow but fantastic, ChallengerBay is extremely rich in biodiversity from spectacular coral gardens and unusual critters through to large schooling fish. Great night dive location watch out for Baza the Barra!

Tuesday: Ribbon Reef #9, #5, #4 - Lighthouse Bommie, Pixie Pinnacle, Andys Postcard, Clam Beds, VerticalGardens

• Circumnavigate Pixie Pinnacle and Lighthouse Bommie shrouded in fusilier baitfish. Fluorescent purple and orange anthias attract predatory fish to these photogenic sites. Majestic Minke whales are seen here in June and July.
• Rising from 80 meters the pinnacle of Andys Postcard is encrusted in had corals, lion fish, nudibranchs, octopus, schooling trevally and barracuda.
• See spectacular giant clams at Clam Beds as well as caves, canyons and coral encrusted bommies awaiting exploration.
• Sheer walls covered in whip corals and sea fans brim the natural amphitheatre of VerticalGardens. Marine life varies from the many colourful nudibranchs to large schooling bump head parrotfish.
• Night dive.

Wednesday: Ribbon Reef #3 - Flare Point, Joanis Joy, Steves Bommie

• Spiral majestic coral pinnacles teeming with diverse marine life.
• See huge schools of baitfish stalked by barracuda, mackerel and trevally.
• Anticipate spectacular coral gardens, spotted rays, reef sharks and green turtle sightings.

Thursday: Dock

• Early morning docking at Trinity Wharf - Cairns, breakfast, 8:00am courtesy transfers to Cairns city hotels.

Note: Itinerary subject to change.

Prime dives sites - GUARANTEED!

• This itinerary has been designed to include the prime Ribbon Reef sites that have restricted access.
• If weather forces an itinerary change our surety of access to the prime Ribbon Reef sites is your guarantee of the best diving.
• Spoilsports outstanding stability minimises disruption to your itinerary and your diving experience.

Reverse 7Night Coral Sea Safari. Start with the Monday 7am Fly Dive Cod Hole. Thursday is a free day to explore Cairns before heading north on the Fly Dive Coral Sea.

Exploratory 7 Night Coral Sea Safari itinerary does not visit Lizard Island and is more flexible to maximize diving opportunities depending on weather and marine life highlights.