From Mike's Desk
Hello Divers
We’ve got some unique dive expeditions coming up soon, so read on to find out more about shooting sharks, the amazing turtles and corals of Raine Island, plus see who surprised our videographer on a night dive recently!
Capture your ultimate shark shot
Every week we head out to the Coral Sea for some exciting shark action but just once a year we do something extra special. Damien Siviero is an award winning underwater photographer and renowned shark shooter, and in April he will be joining us on board Spoilsport. If you’ve always longed to get right amongst the action and capture that perfect shot then this is the expedition for you. Damien will provide presentations, tutorials and workshops on shark and general underwater photography techniques, and he will coach you to help you achieve your dream images.
Expect to get very up close and personal with grey reef sharks and white tips, and often the awesome silvertip. It’s also hammerhead season too so you never know your luck!
This special Shark Shooter expedition is operating from 6-13 April.
*Note: The seven night expedition combines 3 days diving in the Coral Sea with a focus on sharks plus 3 days diving the Ribbon Reefs focussing on macro photography. If you’re pushed for time, just join Damien for either the first half or last half.
*Special rates now apply! $500 discount on the 7 night itinerary, or $200 discount on the 3 or 4 night options.
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Turtle Spectacular
If you’re looking for a new area to dive that will blow your mind then look no further than our annual Turtle Spectacular expedition. This week long journey cruises north from Lizard Island all the way to Raine Island, almost level with the top of Cape York. Raine Island is a small coral cay and the world’s biggest green turtle nesting area in the world, with up to 60,000 females laying their eggs here each season. Dive here and you will see tonnes of turtles and they’re BIG, with male shells measuring up to 1.5m long.
It’s not just the turtle action that makes this expedition so spectacular though but the coral. Vast banks of it roll on and on, in dazzling shades of blue, pink, purple, yellow, green and more. It’s the most abundant, diverse and healthy coral we’ve visited yet on the Great Barrier Reef.
In waters this far north we commonly see mega marine fauna such as silvertip sharks, manta rays and giant Queensland Groper. For history buffs, another highlight of this expedition is visiting the site of the wreck of the Pandora. This ship sunk in 1791 with 14 mutineers from the Bounty onboard and you can visit the still intact anchor and stove.
We just ran our last Turtle Spectacular in November will a full boat of happy divers. If you want to take part in this very special opportunity our next expedition will run 20-27 November. Be sure to book early as this will sell out.
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Tiger in the night
Our videographer, Jake Parker, had an exciting moment recently when a tiger shark cruised by on a night dive. “I was filming divers dropping into the water and one of them pointed behind me," he said. "I turned around and was like whoa! He was about two and half metres long. Awesome to see though."
In fact a group of guests on a separate expedition recently spent twenty minutes with a tiger shark (also at night!)
You never know what you’re going to find when you jump into the ocean, but that’s exactly what I love so much about diving here.
Until next time…
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Reef Reports
See reviews from previous guests to help your planning.
Read more...
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