Diving Paradise (10+ dives) Including flights

8 days

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Diving Paradise (10+ dives) Including flights
  • About
  • Best Time to visit
  • Itinerary
  • Location

$AUD 546 per day

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Lord Howe Island is one of the worlds most epic and most diverse dive destinations. The diversity is breathtaking. There are algal reefs, coral reefs, blue water, schooling sharks, endemic fish and both cool and tropical-water species congregate.

This package is designed for divers who want to enjoy some of the comforts of Lord Howe Island at a very competitive price. To the best extent possible, diving will be tailored to suit your level of experience (for groups of 8, there is the option to create a tailored dive itinerary).  

Lord Howe Island sits approximately 380 NM east of Australia. This breath-taking island was chosen as a World Heritage Area in 1982 and the waters surrounding the island were recoganised in 1999 when the Marine Park was established.

Lord Howe Island boasts the worlds most southerly barrier reef, which is fed by temperate and tropical currents, which allows both tropical and temperate species to co-exist.  These currents consist include two temperate currents from the Tasman Sea in the south and one main tropical current that is fed from the East Australian Current. By December one should expect the blue tropical water to be the dominant water current feeding the island. When this happens, visibility massively improves and water temperatures start to reach 24 - 25 degrees.

On this warmer tropical current we get many visitors from the Coral Sea to the north as well as huge schools of pelagic fish such as Yellow Tail Tuna and Barracuda. For the macro-lover the sea floor is covered with a plethora of soft corals, hard corals, nudibranch, wrasse, crustaceans, crayfish and cowry shells. On any one of our dives you are likely to see Galapagos Whaler Sharks, Bull Stingrays, Half Banded Angel Fish, Three striped Butterfly Fish, The endemic Double Header Wrasse and McCulloch Anemone Fish as well as Kingfish, Amberjack, Trevally, Huge schools of Pacific Drummer and Yellow Tail Snapper.

Snorkelling

Contact us for a specific snorkelling tour. We can also accommodate anything from twin-share to groups of eight. If you have a group, we can develop a custom snorkelling itinerary. 

Dive sites

Admiralty Islands The Admiralties is a cluster of islands to the north. These islands are made up of some of the oldest rock on Lord Howe Island and as a result have had water encircling them for many thousands of years. The underwater structures found out here are some of the most spectacular in the world. Big pinnacles, deep basaltic dykes and cracks as well as huge boulders, walls spectacular reefs. This is all taking place in water that is generally 20-25m visibility minimum. We have records of 70m visibility in the past. With no major rivers within 380nm the bottom composition is all coral and as such settles very quickly. 

Malabar Directly north of Lord Howe Island is a shallow plain that hosts some of the best diving. The Malabar cliffs drop into the ocean and display evidence of erosion reclaiming Lord Howe since volcanic activity ceased. This erosion has left some reef structures which are surrounded by pristine white coral sand. This composition of kaleidoscopic reefs and sand is beautiful enough, but then one can also enjoy swim through structures, healthy coral and abundant marine life. All this takes place in gin clear water. 

Front Reef The barrier reef that creates the lagoon on the western side of Lord Howe is the worlds most southerly fringing coral reef. This structure boasts a variety of sites that comprise of coral archways, crevices and overhangs. The reef is predominantly made up of hard corals and weeds with highlight it unique make up. 

Lagoon Inside the barrier reef structure is a pristine lagoon that hosts a number of quality dive sites. The main sides are Comets Hole and Erscotts Hole. Comets Hole is a fresh water upwelling caused by a spring. This fresh water has created a nutrient spike and the coral wall that runs along the hole is home to a diverse array of marine life. Black Bullray and Galapagos sharks are common at this site along with schools of Butterfly Fish, Painted Mowongs, Dotted Sweetlips and Double Headder Wrasse to name a few. This site is where we would do the majority of introductory dives, refreshers and training. Erscotts Hole is another depression in the lagoon, however this site is quite different to Comets. It has a thick seagrass floor butting up to a beautiful coral wall. The site is larger than Comets Hole and Turtles are often seen swimming past or feeding on the seagrass. 

Relict Reef Lord Howe boasts an ancient sunken relict reef. This structure once encircled the island and created a massive fringe reef and lagoon. When sea levels rose the structure petrified and sank beneath the waves. It was not until 2008 when Geoscience Australia and University of Wollongong conducted a scan of the bathenic plain of the Lord Howe Island seamount, that it was discovered that this was indeed an ancient fringing reef. The paper was released in 2010 and since the middle of 2013 Pro Dive Lord Howe Island has been exploring the 149.9 square kilometres of reef structure on what we have dubbed exploratory diving. On such dives we choose a feature form the geomorphology map, drive to the location and execute a drift dive to assess the dive site. Customers are then able to name the dive site. On these dives it is not uncommon to have anywhere up to 50+ Galapagos Whaler Sharks. These inquisitive reef sharks are beautiful to behold when they are in large schooling numbers, and Lord Howe Island (along with Elizabeth and Middleton Reefs) are the only place in Australia where you can dive and snorkel with them.  

Balls Pyramid Balls Pyramid is the worlds tallest sea stack. This impressive monolith rises 561M above the ocean captivating the eye for miles around. Many describe it as looking like something out of a fantasy novel. The Pyramid is a separate volcano from Lord Howe Island and an oceanic trench of around 600 metres deep separates the two. Diving Balls Pyramid is a must for dive enthusiasts. The isolation of the seamount has allowed for a unique and varied experience. Balls Pyramid is the only place known in the world where one can witness the Ballina Angelfish at recreational SCUBA depths. This deep water fish is generally found in 100+ metres of water, can be seen diving around Balls Pyramid in depths as shallow as 8m. Couple this with the fact that there are huge coral trees, steep drop offs, a plethora of fish from a myriad of families, huge boulders, caves, swim-throughs and more crayfish than you could poke a stick at, and it makes for a good days diving.


About
  • Return flights from the mainland to Lord Howe Island 
  • Airport transfers
  • Introduction walk and lecture on marine life of Lord Howe Island at the museum (includes special LHI phasmid viewing and story).
  • Seven nights of accommodation
  • Seven breakfasts.
  • Two lunches.
  • One evening meal delivered to your accommodation for you to BBQ.
  • Ten dives (five double dives).
  • Bicycle hire.


  • Any items of a personal nature.
  • Any meals or drinks not specified in inclusions.
  • Anything not included in the list of inclusions (above).
  • Domestic flights, unless specified in inclusions.
  • Laundry.
  • Travel insurance.
Best Time to Visit
Jan
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Itinerary
Day 1

- You will be picked up and transferred to your accommodation to settle in before lunch. In the afternoon, local naturalist Ian Hutton will meet you for a short introductory walk around settlement and shops; close up look at White terns, Black Noddies and other bird life. At 5:30PM, there will be an introductory lecture to Lord Howe Island at the museum including special Lord Howe Island Phasmid viewing and story. Evening will be at a local restaurant. /p>

Day 2 -7

- A double dive each morning followed by an afternoon at your leisure on the island.

Day 8

- Following an early breakfast, transfer to the airport to check in for your flight home. 

Location

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