ProDive Cairns Review
PRODIVE CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA REVIEW
We recently went on a 3 day liveaboard with ProDive Cairns, Australia, out on the great Barrier Reef. We unfortunately couldn't afford one of the big operators at the Great Barrier Reef and ProDive Cairns offered us an affordable option.
For $730 AUD we were provided with a double bed cabin, all dive gear, insurance and meals for the 3 days, 2 nights and 11 dives.
The boat held lots and lots of divers, and for how many people were on the boat, the whole thing ran relatively smoothly. The staff were friendly and very informative when it came to our dive briefings. They made sure we all knew how to work our gear and compasses, gave us detailed instructions for the dive as to where to go to see different things and got us geared up and in the water without messing around.
The food we were provided was reasonably good considering how cheap the whole trip was. Breakfast cereals, bacon eggs, porridge, fruit, toasts etc for breakfast, while lunches and dinners were soups, cold meats, salads and roast dinners etc.
Our dives consisted of 3 day dives and 1 night dive our first day, the next morning we were woken up early and straight into the water for our next 3 day dives and 1 night dive and then on our last day, 3 day dives. There was lots to see, including all kinds of beautiful reef fish, morays, sea cucumbers, turtles and reef sharks during the day, while at night we saw large Loggerhead turtles come to sleep in the reefs, lionfish stalking their prey and thousands of little crustaceans everywhere (and the odd, not so little lobster). The best part of the night dive was when we returning to the boat and doing our safety stop underneath it, while all around us, in the pitch black, we were being circled by grey reef sharks, that every now and then, swam into our torch beams and their eyes lit up.
The only thing disappointing about the trip was that the reef itself was pretty dull and dead. There were a few pockets where it was nice and colourful, but not like you would think when you think of the Great Barrier Reef. Apparently the other dive operators go to the nicer spots, but you have to pay $3k + to go there, whereas this trip was a lot cheaper.
It was still great value for money and something that can easily be done by individuals (there's plenty of people on the boat to make friends with), couples, groups or families. Also, snorkelling is an option for those who can't, or dont want to dive.
