Stingers, more stingers and no whale sharks...help

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Hisayo added 2004-11-26

Hi Justin,
diving in Byron in feb is great - leopard sharks, mantas, dolphins turtles, eagle rays, and it's lovely and warm & the viz is best of the year jan - march ish... and all over the southern end of australia it should be summer season & warmest / calmest time of the year.

Unfortunately it's cyclone season up north - cairns/ ningaloo but you still get plenty of good days out there The whale sharks on ningaloo tend to be april - july but the rest of the year you get mantas, turtles, reef sharks dolphins etc etc. It should be turtle hatching season on the beaches along the ningaloo coast in feb.

Other good places further south in WA: Abrolhos Islands - liveaboard out of Geraldton - meant to be spectacular reef,
Rottnest Island(off Perth)more rocky seascapes, caves etc, Busselton jetty/ Swan wreck - Dunsborough/ Busselton right near the Margaret River wine region - loads of caves, wineries & great surf, and there's plenty of good diving all round the southern end of aus too-eg Albany, Esperance, South AUs, VIctoria, Sydney, Solitary Islands. If you're from UK you'll be no stranger to the colder waters !!(maybe down to 15deg or so? approx)

As for box jellyfish - it's a growing problem with global warming and nutrient rich run off from the land and generally it's safer the further off shore you go. I think most of the popular swimming beaches inshore of the barrier reef where there's a risk of getting stung have nets up during the summer season. I've never heard of any on the west coast - (maybe they're further north from the popular diving areas )but you do hear about less dangerous stingers. -..you're generally ok in a wetsuit.

Hope that helps a bit

Have a great trip wherever you go!

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