- Home
- Prices
- Contact Us
- Reef Reports
- Expeditions
- Specials
- Diving Information
- About Us
- Destination Guide
- News & Gallery
- News
- 2011 AIMA Shipwreck Photography Competition
- 2011 Minke Season Approaching
- And The Winner Is... Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Announces 2008/2009 Onboard Photo Competition Winner
- Annual Scheduled Maintenance 3 -31 March 2011
- April on the Great Barrier Reef
- April on the Great Barrier Reef
- August on the Great Barrier Reef
- Australian Geographic 7 Night Minke Whale Expedition
- Australian Geographic Expedition Round-up
- Australian Geographic Society - Minke Whale Expedition
- Berths now available on the Coral Sea / Yongala Wreck Northbound Expedition
- Cairns 2010 Underwater Film Festival Results
- Cairns Underwater Film Festival 2011
- Cairns Underwater Film Festival 2011 Call for Entries
- Cairns Underwater Photography Competition
- Coming of Age – Trevor Jackson - Rebreather Diving on Mike Ball Dive Expeditions
- Conneticut to the Coral Sea
- Coral Sea Expedition with Mike Ball, Ty Sawyer and Dr Alistair Birtles
- Critter Feature
- David Ireland onboard Spoilsport
- DECEMBER ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
- Dive Safety Awards 2011
- Encountering Mutual Respect– Viarne Mischon
- Environmental Policy in Action
- Extraordinary Expedition - Shark Shooter May 2012
- February on the Great Barrier Reef
- Festival Cairns - Showcasing Jewels of the Coral Sea
- First Minke Whale of the Year Sighted
- Frog Dive Group Trip Report
- International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame
- January on the Great Barrier Reef
- Japan's Largest Dive School Visits Great Barrier Reef
- July on the Great Barrier Reef
- June on the Great Barrier Reef
- Layang Layang Underwater Photoshoot - Win a 7 Night Coral Sea Safari Expedition
- March on the Great Barrier Reef
- March on the Great Barrier Reef (2012)
- May on the Great Barrier Reef 2011
- MBDE Upgrades Rebreather Service
- Merry Christmas from the Team at Mike Ball Dive Expeditions
- Mike's Travels
- Mike Ball Dive Expeditions announced as a "Fodor's Choice" Travel Experience
- Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Gains Advanced Ecotourism Certification
- Mike Ball Dive Expeditions Introduces Personal GPS Locators
- Mike Visits Adelaide Stores
- Minke Whale Competition Finalists
- Nautilus Lifeline personal GPS Locator Device
- New Extraordinary Expedition announced
- New Extraordinary Expedition announced - Photo Workshop 17th February 2011
- November on the Great Barrier Reef
- November Shark Expedition
- Ocean Art 2011
- October On The Great Barrier Reef
- Photo of the Year (2011 - 2012) Winner Announced
- Photo of the Year Winner 2010-2011
- Photo of the Year Winner Announced
- Post TC Yasi update
- Review by DiveBuzz
- September on the Great Barrier Reef
- Shark Revolution Dives the Coral Sea
- Spoilsport Hosts JCU School of Tourism Class
- Sport Diving 'Mike Ball Minke Magic' Article
- Swimming with Dwarf Minke Whales on the Great Barrier Reef
- To Feed or Not To Feed
- Tropical Cyclone Yasi Update
- Underwater Australasia Video Competition
- Underwater Australasia Video Competition
- Underwater Channel features Mike Ball at Dive 2009
- Win A Minke Whale Expedition with Barry Andrewartha and Mike Ball
- Winner - Australia's Best Dive Experience Award!
- New Website Goes Live!!
- TDI / SDI and Mike Ball Dive Expeditions
- 35th World Festival of Underwater Films
- Video
- Highlight Reels
- Promotional Expedition Videos
- 7 Night - Sep 03. Coral Sea Safari 09 - Manta Mating Chain
- 3 Night - Aug 22. Fly Dive Cod Hole 01 - Best of the Ribbon Reefs
- 4 Night - Aug 18. Fly Dive Coral Sea 01 - amazing shark feed
- 3 Night - Aug 15. Fly Dive Cod Hole 01 - Family Fun
- 3 Night - Aug 01. Fly Dive Cod Hole 01 - Awesome marine life
- 4 Night - Jul 28. Fly Dive Coral Sea 01 - Minke Whales
- 7 Night - Jul 17. Minke Special 08 - Rebreathers, Hammerheads, pygmys
- 7 night - Jul 14. Mike's Minke Special 01 - Sportdiving feature
- 7 Night - Feb 12. Coral Sea Exploratory 09
- Short Films
- Passenger Videos
- Swimming with Minke Whales on the Great Barrier Reef - October 2010
- Photo Gallery
- Brandon Cole Photo Gallery
- Extraordinary Yongala Expeditions 11 & 18 November 2010
- Featured Underwater Photographer - Gary Brennand
- Featured Underwater Photographer - Troy Mayne
- Minke Whale Season 2010
- NEW - Ty Sawyer Photo Gallery
- Photo of the Year Competition 2009-2010
- Photo of the Year Competition 2010 - 2011
- Photo of the Year Competition 2011-2012
- Post TC Yasi Great Barrier Reef images from Spoilsport
- Rogues gallery
- Shark Expedition 2009 - WWF and Eye to Eye Encounters
- Shark Revolution
- The Minkes are here!
- Vessel Images
- Damien Siviero Photo Gallery
- MinkeWhale Season 2009
- 2008-2009 Onboard Photo Competition Finalists
- Newsletters
- News
- Vessel
- Employment
- Agent Inquiries
- Links
- Site Map
Liveaboard Scuba Diving on the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea
January 2012 Expeditions.
3 night Fly Dive Cod Hole 2 - 5 January 2012
4 night Fly Dive Coral Sea 5 - 9 January 2012
Conditions
50m / 164ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Yuliya Khubaeva - Russia Maura Geertsma - Netherlands Rosemary Hill - Australia The team was a real team. They work together as one organism - excellent! The spirit onboard is fantastic! I was only snorkelling but it was fantastic. I liked both the variety of dive sites wand having the freedom to dive with an open dive deck. Amazing trip - great to meet like-minded people! Diving with the sharks at North Horn & the Manta Ray at Snake Pit were highlights. Thanks to the wonderful staff, I enjoyed the professional service, the positive energy & had lots of fun. I loved all of the dive sites - it's great to go exploring on your own and still be safe. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
3 night Fly Dive Cod Hole 9 - 12 January 2012
Conditions
40m / 131ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Ty Apgar - USA Adrian Volstad - Norway Karla Mulqueeny - Philippines The mints on the pillow are a great idea! The staff was amazing and catered to everyone's needs, I couldn't ask for anything else! You have an amazing crew who created a very good atmosphere between the guests. Osprey Reef and Steve's Bommie were amazing dive sites. The staff were excellent and appeared to love what they do. Lighthouse Bommie was a highlight and Julia's reef ecology program was excellent. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
4 night Fly Dive Coral Sea 12 - 16 January 2012
Conditions
60m / 197ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Sascha Tietz - USA Julian Wellershaus - Germany Jo Giddings - Australia This was the best liveaboard boat experience I've ever been on. A great vessel, absolutely extraordinary crew and world class diving. You guys are amazing! The dives at Cod Hole, Snake Pit and North Horn shark feed were great. I saw sea snakes, lacy scorpion fish and lots of sharks. the crew are friendly, knowledgeable & very helpful. The weather was fantastic - but the boat, set-up, crew and attitude to diving were awesome. Seeing the hammerhead and the shark feed were highlights. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
3 night Fly Dive Cod Hole 16 - 19 January 2012
Conditions
30m / 98ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Anne Finnie - Canada Jill Kuehnert - Singapore Shannon Jacques - Australia The staff dealt with my health issue with the upmost care & concern. They made sure I was looked after and offered me as much access to the water as possible. Great people - thank you. It was great to have the option to upgrade to a better room (should have booked it originally!) and to see some of the same crew from our trip 7 years ago. There was room to spread out, the dive deck wasn't crowded and I loved the convenience of dropping in right on top of the world's best dive sites. Crew are awesome, Richard and Shea were phenomenal guides - very helpful and informative. the food was great but the highlight was at the end of the last dive. I had a big sea turtle swim down next to me and sit on the sand so we could take photos. It was so calm and friendly - loved it! 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
4 night Fly Dive Coral Sea 19 -23 January 2012
Conditions
50m / 164ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Stella Freund - Australia Jake Perry - USA Rachel Rahman - UK Great company with staff & guests. the shark attract is always an awesome activity. Acropolis dive site!!! Awesome, fantastic corals! Komodo coral reefs as our best coral dive has now been debunked! The food, professionalism and education from the staff was great - you guys are top notch. This was my first liveaboard trip and you have set the bar tremendously high. I've been ruined already. The Cod Hole and Shark feed - Oh my god, amazing!. Best thing I've ever seen. I would come back for the shark feed alone. unbelievable. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
3 night Fly Dive Cod Hole 23 - 26 January 2012
Conditions
30m / 98ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Karla Smolen - USA Russ Robideau - Canada Anand Raghunathan - USA The staff made the trip! They were fun, made the diving safe and I learned quite a bit about the environment that I was diving in. Acropolis dive site has the best hard corals ever!. Lighthouse Bommie - a wonderful variety of underwater life: porcupine fish, nudibranchs, sharks & large turtles. The diving was the best (4 to 5 dives per day available) closely followed by the extremely friendly and knowledgeable staff. Steve's Bommie was amazing. The care and attention that was provided not only to me but to others made my first trip to the Great Barrier Reef amazing and something that will make me come back in the future. The sharks, clownfish and interactions with the staff, both on the dive deck and in their downtime were highlights. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
4 night Fly Dive Coral Sea 26 - 30 January 2012
Conditions
20m / 66ftvisibility28°C / 82.4°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Daniel Olsen - Norway Crystal Kean - Australia Anthony Sofocleous - Australia The whole trip was good. I'm glad I stayed on & did the 3 night trip as well. I got to see a hammerhead shark at Challenger Bay and a Manta Ray and that was amazing. An amazing experience - my first liveaboard and the staff were exceptional. I liked the ability to dive as little or as long as I liked. I saw my first turtle!
The personal welcome by Mike at dinner and the crew was unique and very appreciated. Dive deck service was unmatched - warm towels - wow! Open deck and freedom for personal plans was an awesome touch. 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
3 night Fly Dive Cod Hole 30 January - 2 February 2012
Conditions
20m / 66ftvisibility24°C / 75.2°Fwater temperatureGuest Comments
Michelle Gleason - Canada Nancy Gleason - Canada Anna Jacob - USA I received lots of assistance and felt very safe the entire time. We saw a variety of sea creatures - turtles, jelly fish and manta rays. The food choice and quality were A+. The initial email correspondence was quick and informative - very important when thinking about what trip to do. The dive safety, guide accessibility, assistance and timing was great. Highlights from this trip were the captain singing at the BBQ on the last night, the lacy scorpionfish and seeing pygmy seahorses! 
Guest Photo Competition - (Click on images to enlarge)
Conditions
Guest Comments