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UNDERSEA EXPLORER |
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 Remote
Dive Destinations
Undersea Explorer's guests visit Australia's best dive sites
on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea. Departing Port Douglas,
the expeditions are 6 to 9 days duration. We visit remote
Osprey Reef which offers 1000 mtr drop-offs, shark dive and
pelagic action, the coral gardens of the Ribbon Reefs and
the World Famous Cod Hole. In Oct and Nov we visit the far
northern reefs including the magnificent Raine Island for
turtle and Tiger shark action.
Adventure Diving
Undersea Explorer is a liveaboard scuba diving operation,
which combines adventure diving with authentic marine research
and education. Your diving experience is our priority. Diver's
abilities are respected and include no time-limit dives and
exhilarating drift dives. We do not generally dive as a "group",
and this increases the chance of seeing marine animals. Our
crew are there to assist those with less experience, and the
adventure divers are not held back.
Research & Interpretation
We undertake research projects which contribute to
our knowledge and conservation of marine ecosystems, as well
as creating new experiences for divers. Our research projects
explore many areas of interest including minke whales, sharks,
octopus, nautilus, fluorescent corals, water quality and coral
spawning. We employ a scientist as a crew member and our research
activities fit around the diving program, adding a stimulating
atmosphere of discovery to all expeditions.
OSPREY REEF SHARK ENCOUNTERS
6 day expeditions to Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole and Osprey Reef
- available year round.
 This
expedition will include 3 days (weather depending) at remote
Osprey Reef which offers incredible visibility and 1000 metre
deep coral walls. Undersea Explorer has the most experience
of visiting Osprey Reef, compared to other North Queensland
liveaboard operators. At North Horn, Osprey Reef, where the
currents meet, we'll see large schools of tuna, barracuda
and plenty of sharks - white tips, grey and silver tip whalers,
leopard sharks, thresher sharks and schooling hammerheads.
You'll dive with one to seven Manta Rays, the gentle giants
of the deep. This is an exhilarating diving with the shark
experts.
You'll also enjoy the contrast of 3 days diving the Ribbon
Reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. There's many varied dive
sites featuring the diversity of coral gardens, the overwhelming
fish life of the pinnacles, and diving the world famous Cod
Hole.
Undersea Explorer has been studying sharks at Osprey Reef
since 1995. We have taken shark diving to new, unusual and
exciting levels through our researchers capturing the sharks
underwater during a shark attraction dive (with guests observing),
and bringing them to the surface for measurement and tagging.
Guests love this experience as it creates a non-frenzied "grey
ballet", with great close-up photo opportunities, and
they can observe up to 25 sharks whilst diving, without being
inside a cage. We take this experience to the next level,
by the on-deck research after the dive. We believe we are
the only tourism boat in the world doing this, not to mention
the long term conservation objectives of this project.
Undersea Explorer's frequent access to an easily monitored
population of Reef sharks at Osprey Reef, gives us a unique
opportunity for long term comprehensive study which investigates
growth rates, breeding times and locations as well as behavioural
patterns and movements. A key element is the identification
of individual animals, consistent monitoring of the population
at monthly intervals, and recording of growth characteristics
on an annual basis.
During this expedition there will be much more than just
sharks. You'll experience the excitement of 3-4 superb dives
per day in remote areas, drift dives and deep dives. Onboard
activities range from informative presentations in the biologist
room, mid-week barbecues under the stars, Nautilus capture
and 'creature feature' talks on the top deck, and our 'fancy
dress quiz night'!
DWARF MINKE WHALES
6 day expeditions to Ribbon Reefs, Cod Hole Available Mid
June to July
 The
Undersea Explorer Dwarf Minke Whale Project is now in its
tenth year. This expedition spending 6 days on the Great Barrier
Ribbon Reefs, has developed into an amazing experience of
in-water whale encounters unparalleled around the world. We
now know a lot more about these whales than other dive boats,
and we encounter over 220 whales during our 6 week season,
with up to 60 whales in some weeks! On these expeditions you
will swim with magnificent Dwarf Minke Whales, and have the
added bonus of diving the northern Great Barrier Reef.
Most of our whale interactions are conducted while snorkelling
and being totally predictable while holding on to lines attached
to the vessel as it drifts. This ensures that the encounter
happens under the whales terms. The dwarf minke whales within
the northern Great Barrier Reef are probably the most curious
and interactive of all the baleen whales. Encounters usually
last for over 1 hour and often many hours with multiple whales.
Usually Undersea Explorer breaks off the encounter before
the whales, after hours of close whale passes and sufficient
scientific data gathering!
Seeing a whale from above the water is amazing, seeing a
whale whilst in the water with it is incredible, close and
prolonged eye contact with a whale is a lifetime experience
and eyeballing a whale while its vocalisations reverberate
through your chest is as good as it gets! We now know a lot
more about these whales since their identification as a probable
sub-species of the northern hemisphere minke whale in 1985.
The project has been responsible for developing a world-renowned
set of guidelines and code of practice for minke whale encounters.
This has enabled in-water encounters to be heralded by the
International Whaling Commission, Marine Park Authority, &
Environment Australia as world's best practice examples of
in-water whale encounters.
The minke project is working to ensure that the dwarf minke
whale tourism is ecologically sustainable at a time when currently
most in-water marine mammal interactions are being banned
around the world due to potentially unsustainable practices.
Every guest on board is helping fund the project and is part
of the exciting research. Snorkellers and divers will help
identify individual whales, be involved in behavioural observations
and be absorbed by the atmosphere of minke research.
FAR NORTHERN EXPEDITIONS
9 day Expeditions to Great Detached Reef, Raine Island, Mantis
Reef and Wreck Bay. Available October to November.
Undersea Explorer offers four expeditions to the remote far
Northern Great Barrier Reef each year in Oct and Nov. Australia's
spring is the best time to dive the outer walls, offering
a great chance of encounters with megafauna - Brydes Whales,
Manta Rays and Whale Sharks are all regular visitors to this
region.Tiger Sharks are also encountered, and Undersea Explorer
has supported a project in conjunction with documentary producers
Digital Dimensions and CSIRO, which involves tagging Tiger
Sharks at Raine Island Reef.
Raine island is the largest and most important green sea
turtle nesting area in the world, with up to 14,000 turtles
nesting on the small coral sand cay in one night. The waters
surrounding Raine Island are so active that seeing over 250
turtles during an hour in the water is common. Due to it being
such an important environmental icon, the island is totally
protected from access, but diving in the deep oceanic waters
surrounding the island is superb. Undersea Explorer has a
special permit for tourism here, and guests from around the
world join Undersea Explorer for the amazing experience of
tagging large tiger sharks and diving with turtles at this
incredible location.
A highlight of this expedition is the turtle watching. Our
small group will watch as the ancient female turtles move
up the beach and laboriously dig their nests and lay a clutch
of eggs. This is a rare opportunity to observe a timeless
event in a quiet and unobtrusive way. Seabird watching is
also excellent with many species nesting in this region.
On these trips, almost every dive is a drop/drift dive. We
pride ourselves in offering the best diving considering the
weather, which means we regularly offer drift dives through
the channels and outer walls of the Great Barrier Reef. These
sites may never have been dived before, and allow enjoyment
of a larger area than would normally be possible with a stationary
dive. Our dives allow enjoyment of a range of habitats, and
finding the 'hotspots' of marine life such as schooling Hammerheads,
barracuda, big-eye Trevally, and fish mating aggregations.
These nine day expeditions involve a one way flight to or
from Lockhart river near the top of Australia to rendezvous
with our vessel, adding another dimension, and providing the
perfect introduction or finale!
CORAL SPAWNING EXPEDITION
6 day Expedition - November expedition visits Ribbon Reefs
only. December expedition visits Osprey Reef and Ribbon Reefs.
The end of the year, during late November and December, brings
some amazing aggregations of reef animals together. If you're
into sex on the reef then this is the time! Coral spawning
is by now a famous attraction and interest for divers and
to experience the coral spawning is a unique diving event.
This is not as predictable or reliable a mass event as is
generally thought - however at the times predicted for the
Undersea Explorer trips you will have the best chance to experience
the spawning of many of the different reef fish and invertebrates
as well as the corals.
This will be a trip with lots of night diving and enjoying
the action in the shallows of the reef as many of the animals
move here to spawn. We will be basing ourselves along the
Ribbon Reefs coral garden areas and getting to know some of
our sites very well for a number of dives to record the events.
During coral spawning we also see many marine worms massing
to breed and beautiful blue bioluminescent flashes from small
reef prawn-like crustaceans spawning near the surface.
As well as possible coral spawning we may see hundreds of
large trigger fish massing to build nests, mate and lay and
protect their eggs. There are aggregations of thousands of
surgeonfish, parrotfish, damsels, wrasse and other species
coming together in the reef shallows to spawn. These fish
perform amazing dance rituals as they attract the females
to then spiral towards the surface and release their eggs
and sperm together. The last 20 minutes of a dive is often
spent in the shallows amidst huge numbers of spawning fish.
In the late afternoon many of the invertebrate animals get
into the act, with starfish and sea cucumbers climbing to
high points of the reef and spawning to the surface. Giant
clams set off a chain reaction to the other giant clams on
the reef in a domino-like clam spawning event. Cuttlefish
are also mating and laying eggs at this time which is quite
an enthralling behaviour to observe.
One of the highlights of spawning season is the food it creates
and the feeding action which results. Drift dives along reef
walls, channels and around points aim to find these action
sites where large schools of pelagic fish including mackerel
and tuna aggregate to feed on the smaller planktiverous fusiliers
and 'bait' fish. It will certainly be an interesting time
diving and searching for the interesting sites of action.
If you were just diving on the reef you may well miss many
off these amazing spectacles, but with Undersea Explorer marine
biologists' past knowledge and a number of trained eyes searching
for signs, we are assured of some spectacular experiences.
For personalised help with organising your 'Undersea
Explorer Experience' please contact us on:
info@great-barrier-reef-dive.com.au
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