Cairns: Liveaboard Trips (Overnight)
Nimrod Explorer, Nimrod Itinerary 11

8 days/7 nights departs Saturdays

2006 dates

Saturday 28th October 2006 - 4th November 2006
Saturday 4th November 2006 - 11th November 2006

2007 dates

Saturday 20th October 2007 - 27th October 2007
Saturday 27th October 2007 - 3rd November 2007
Saturday 3rd November 2007 - 10th November 2007

2008 dates

Saturday 25th October 2008 - 1st November 2008
Saturday 1st November 2008 - 8th November 2008
Saturday 8th November 2008 - 15th November 2008

7 Nights / 8 Days (5 ½ days diving) – Approximately 27 dives, conditions permitting

This expedition to the section of the Great Barrier Reef north of Lockhart River, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula, offers an unparalleled opportunity to explore one of the most remote and pristine diving areas in the world!

This special itinerary offers the best of the sites that we have found on previous expeditions, as well as the chance to experience reefs never before visited by divers. Big animal fans won’t be disappointed! Reef environment lovers will be astounded at the diversity and colour of the easily accessible, pristine coral reefs in shallow water. Though we are normally able to do four to fives dives daily (including night dives), the remoteness of the area means that weather and tidal considerations sometimes unexpectedly and adversely affect certain sites.

The following itinerary is an example only, and can and will change during the course of the trip.

Click here for Schedule (departure dates)

Click here for itinerary

see also:

• 8Days/7Nights - itinerary 6 -
  Northbound Far Northern Exploratory Tour
  Cooktown to Lockhart River, 8 days/7 nights - up to 27 dives
  

Prices

Gear Rental (payable on board)

The vessel provides tanks, weights and weight belts for your use. If you prefer to rent the rest of your equipment from us, we have all of the equipment you will need. Otherwise, the following items are the diver's responsibility:

• Certification Card (required to avoid a A$100 checkout fee for certified divers)
• Diving Log Book
• Mask *
• Snorkel *
• Fins *
• Booties (if you wear them)
• Buoyancy Control Device (required) *
• Regulator w / alternate air source (required)*
• Submersible pressure and depth gauges (required) *
• Underwater time piece (required)
• Dive Light *
• Dive Computer ( recommended ) *
• Wetsuit *
• Repair kit w/ spare parts

* Available for rent on board

Room types

Click on the image to enlarge (opens in new window):

Quad Share	Master Stateroom	Midship Twin/Double	Twin Stateroom

• 1 master stateroom
• 1 twin stateroom
• 1 twin/double midship cabin
• 3 quad-share cabins

All cabins are air conditioned and have ensuite bathrooms

Itinerary 11

Itinerary #11: Ocean Outback Adventure
Lockhart River to Lockhart River
7 Nights / 8 Days – Up to 27 dives offered, conditions permitting

DAY 1 CAIRNS TO LOCKHART RIVER

• Guests meet at Explorer Ventures’ Cairns office at 7 am
• Bus transfer to General Aviation airport for charter flight to Lockhart River, departing at 8:30 am
• Arrive at Lockhart River by approximately 10:30 am
• 4WD transfer from airstrip to M/V Nimrod Explorer at Portland Roads – brunch provided enroute
• Depart Portland Roads by 2:00 pm
• Lunch served on way to the first dive site
• 2 dives are offered today, including the orientation dive, at Lagoon Reef
• After dinner, the boat will steam overnight, heading to Raine Island

DAY 2 RAINE ISLAND

• 4 to 5 dives offered today, including a night or dusk dive
• We spend all day diving around Raine Island. Raine Island is the world’s largest green turtle rookery and is also an important nesting place for thousands of gannets, terns and frigate birds. You can expect to see green turtles, sharks and a huge variety of reef Life.

DAY 3 GREAT DETACHED REEF

• 4 to 5 dives offered today, including a night or dusk dive
  Today we explore the Great Detached Reef, diving the walls and pinnacles of this unique reef system.The Great Detached Reef offers an ecosystem which is unlike the Great Barrier Reef and yet unlike the Coral Sea Atolls. It is an interesting blend of the two reef systems, and very exciting diving is found here.

DAY 4 GREAT DETACHED REEF

• 4 to 5 dives offered today, including night or dusk dives
  Today we will shift to the southern sector of the Great Detached Reef and then, weather permitting, on to the outer walls of Wishbone Reef. Here you can find caves and walls covered in soft corals and gorgonian fans, sharks, turtles and colourful reef life.

DAY 5

• 4 to 5 dives offered today, including night or dusk dives
  Dive around the deep walls of black rocks with the resident silvertip sharks and turtles, then over to Lloyds Reef for dives within its superb untouched coral gardens and more sharks.
• After the night dive, we move south to anchorage close to the next day’s diving at Southern Small Detached Reef

DAY 6 SOUTHERN SMALL DETACHED REEF

• Southern Small Detached Reef is actually remnants of an undersea mountain. Rising from depths of over 1,200 meters, it is crowned by a beautiful coral atoll. Look for silvertip sharks and dogtooth tuna; in the shallow waters you will find the giant clams and puffer fishes
• 3 dives at Southern Small Detached Reef, then we must make our way back into the Barrier Reef for safe anchorage and a night dive at Log Reef.

DAY 7

• 3 day dives offered today, at sites such as The Swimming Pool and Picasso’s at the beautiful Hibernia Reef complex. Rich coral growth with abundant and diverse fish life are found in this area.
• The last dive will be completed by 2:30 pm, and lunch is served on the way to Portland Roads, where we spend the night on board.

DAY 8 LOCKHART RIVER TO CAIRNS

• Guests disembark the M/V Nimrod Explorer by 8:30 am at Portland Roads - 4WD transfer to the Lockhart River airstrip for charter flight to Cairns, departing at 11:00 am
• Arrive at Cairns General Aviation airport at approximately 1:00 pm

Click here for Schedule (departure dates)

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Meals

Aboard the Nimrod Explorer, evening meals usually consist of lots of fresh vegetables, rice, pasta, chicken, beef, pork and fish. Breakfast is the usual fare of eggs, bacon, cereal, toast. Lunches vary from soup and sandwiches to burgers, pasta, assorted salads and quiche. All meals are served in the main saloon. If you have any dietary restrictions or requests, please indicate so on your application form so that we may provision the vessel accordingly.

• Completion of standard liability release, as well as medical history form
• Minimum Advanced Diver rating
• Minimum 21 years of age
• Minimum 100 logged dives (proof must be presented to the instructor).
• Ability to complete a 200-meter surface swim in full scuba gear, without stopping.
• In addition, the diver must be mentally and physically fit to complete the course.
• Instructors have discretion in determining whether a candidate qualifies on these points.