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Explorer
OSPREY REEF SHARK ENCOUNTER
A Great Dive Adventure! 6 Diving Days - 20 Dives Maximum.
This is a sample itinerary only, actual itinerary might
vary due to weather and other considerations.
- Arrival day: Evening departure boarding from
5PM onwards at Princes Wharf (private) in Port Douglas.
This is the opportunity for your last meal ashore and
then the Skipper's Safety Brief and Marine Biologist's
introduction to your adventure commence at 8 PM. We then
steam overnight to Pixie Gardens.
- Day 1: 4 dives. We can now settle into the diving
routine along the fabulous Ribbon Reefs. We travel north
to beautiful Pixie Pinnacle then to the World Famous Cod
Hole to experience the resident family of Potato Cod,
Big Moray Eels, Giant Napoleon Wrasse, Coral Trout and
Red Bass. This is an opportunity for your introductory
night dive. At approximately 10 PM we depart for Osprey
Reef.
- Days 2 & 3: 4 dives each day. At the remote Osprey
Reef we have 2 days of Coral Sea diving - 130 ft visibility
plus and 2000ft vertical walls. North Horn, the most reliable
sharks in Australia: Grey Whalers, White tip reef sharks,
Silvertip Whalers, seasonal Hammerheads, "Charlie" the
6ft Barracuda, Dog Tooth Tuna and Cod. We will also experience
2 night dives and the rare Flashlight Fish. Overnight
steaming to the northern Ribbon Reefs.
- Day 4: 2 dives. We dive spectacular reef gardens
and your biologist will introduce you to some of our study
sites. To finish off the day we venture to Lizard Island
and if you are feeling energetic you may wish to climb
Captain Cooks Mountain which is a mere 1000' or explore
the island, beach, forest and research station with your
biologist or just relax. An evening Barbecue ashore will
be awaiting for all to relish.
- Day 5: 4 dives. We head south down The Ribbons
to enjoy dive sites selected by the experienced crew,
renowned for their variety of plate, branching and massive
corals, giant clams and fish life - also to be enjoyed
during a night dive.
- Day 6: 2 dives. For the final day of our dive
adventure we dive the Agincourt Reef area and then we
have approximately 4 hours of steaming to Port Douglas
- time to contemplate the experiences we have had above
and under the water of the Great Barrier Reef. At approx.
4.30 PM it is time to disembark!
This
expedition will include 3 days (weather depending) at remote
Osprey Reef which offers incredible visibility and 1000
metre deep coral walls. 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.
This is 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.
They 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. They take this experience to the next
level, by the on-deck research after the dive. They are
probably 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 them 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'!
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