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Dive Review of Bike Ball in
Australia/Carins

Bike Ball, Nov, 2007,

by Gary Krippendorf, CA, USA (Contributor Contributor 14 reports). Report 3962.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments Overall Comments: We boarded the Spoilsport in the evening in the Cairns harbor for the 6 night Coral Sea Expedition trip. The overnight trip out to thefirst dive sites was a bit rough.
Our first dive was at 10 am that next morning.

Craig was the Trip Director and made sure everyone understood the daily schedules, the systems used on the dive deck and in the water, and asked for feedback. He and the crew did an excellent job at ensuring we all had a safe and enjoyable trip.

The water was usually smooth at the sites and we either dove off the back of the boat or had 5-10 minute rides in the “rubber duck” boats to the dive site.
Before each dive we’d get a briefing for the site, which described the lay of the land, so to speak, and listed the types of sea life known to be in the area.
The first 2 days of diving were at the Great Barrier Reef. Visibility was usually about 50 feet and corals and fish were abundant. Once we reached the dive sites around Flinders Reef out in the Coral Sea the visibility was significantly better, with some sites at 100 feet or more.

Typical dive day allowed for 5 dives. First dive was before the hot breakfast, 2 more dives before lunch, 1 afternoon dive, and a dusk / night dive.

I have made 5 trips with Mike Ball, including trips on their now discontinued PNG and Townsville operations. It is a solid, professional operation.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Australia, Cayman Brac, Cozumel, Curacao, Dominica, Fiji, Hawaii, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Roatan, Sea of Cortez, Turks and Caicos
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 78-79°F / 26-26°C Wetsuit Thickness 4
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 110 foot max, dive computers required.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Dedicated camera table on dive deck
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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