Liveaboard Diving in Outer Great Barrier Reef
What To Expect On an Outer Great Barrier Reef Liveaboard
Liveaboards to the Outer Great Barrier Reef will enable you to cruise through much of the 900 islands and 2900 reefs on board a boat offering top-class diving, relaxing, and sailing facilities. When anyone says they are diving in Australia, they'll likely talk about the world heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef. The best diving for the world's largest living organism is undoubtedly found in the outer sections, and it's advisable to spend a good few days there to experience the full range of marine life. Liveaboard Dive trips here last for anything between 3 and 8 days, meaning that there is an itinerary to suit every timescale.
Day trips to the Great Barrier Reef from mainland Queensland are extremely popular, but they can only reach the inner sections, making for a sometimes crowded and rushed experience. A liveaboard dive cruise takes guests to parts of the Outer Reef far from shore, which are visited much less and, as a result, support an incredibly diverse ecosystem packed with all tropical inhabitants, all thriving in their natural environment.
The Outer Great Barrier Reef Underwater
The marine life here is unparalleled, and the warm water temperatures allow year-round diving. Visibility is fantastic, giving unspoiled views of the dazzling hard and soft corals surrounded by every imaginable tropical fish species. Clownfish, Angelfish, Parrotfish - you name it, and it'll be here. On board a liveaboard boat, you'll have the advantage of diving in various dive sites on the outer reef, where divers often come across the big fish, with Sharks, Mantas, and giant Groper being permanent residents in many places. Liveaboard diving on the Outer Great Barrier Reef will ensure guests cover a wide range of remote and pristine reefs rarely visited. There are many different boats on Liveaboard.com, with different schedules.
Dive Sites of The Outer Great Barrier Reef
Osprey Reef is extremely remote and so is only accessible via liveaboard cruise. Perhaps its most famous site is North Horn - renowned for its resident shark population, where divers can swim in huge numbers with various infamous predators. Humpback whales are regularly spotted here for half of the year (June to November).
The Ribbon Reef is located north of the GBR, a chain of ten spectacular turquoise reefs in one of the most isolated regions you are ever likely to dive at. You'll want to spend at least some days exploring what is on offer - the giant Potato Cod at Cod Hole and dwarf Minke Whales are particular highlights of a liveaboard trip here.
Some of the best examples of the Outer Barrier Reef's diversity of coral can be found at Milln Reef and Flynn Reef. Diving here will open your eyes to the stunning range of colors, shapes, and coral types found in this underwater paradise. Liveaboard operators often arrange night dives at these sites to get an even more striking perspective.
If you are diving in the Outer Great Barrier Reef as part of a liveaboard cruise, you'll be one of the few people with the opportunity to dive at the rarely-visited Bougainville Reef. Conditions only occasionally permit boats to reach here, but if you are lucky, you'll see some of the world's most undisturbed coral reefs and marine life.
Top Tips For Divers
- Diving in the Outer Great Barrier Reef ranges from gentle, easy lagoon dives to adrenalin-pumping drifts. Often, the crew will not require a minimum number of dives, but bringing your certification and log book is still a good idea.
- You can bring your equipment if you like, although diving gear is almost always available to rent on board.
- All communications will be in English, the native tongue of Australia, although some of the crew may be able to speak other languages as well. ATMs are everywhere, and credit cards are widely accepted - the Australian dollar is the local currency.
Getting to The Outer Great Barrier Reef
The only way to access the best scuba diving sites in the Outer Barrier Reef is to join an Australian liveaboard dive cruise. Cairns, a city in north Queensland, is the most common port for departing trips. You can fly directly into Cairns from many overseas places, or it's just as easy to catch one of the many domestic flights from other areas of Australia (such as Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne).
