TAKA: 5 Day 4 Night - Cod Hole + Coral Sea

Operates: Friday
Departs: Friday: 5.00pm
Returns: Tuesday: 2:30pm
Transfers available: Yes

Departs every Friday afternoon reaching the Cod Hole by the next morning. The first dive day is at the world famous Cod Hole where you will feed the Giant Potato Cod. This is a must for all photographers.

Cod Feeding with Taka

Over night you travel to Osprey reef in the Coral Sea, around 120 kilometers to the east. This is where you will generally encounter a minimum of 30 meters (100 feet) visibility and BIG FISH.

Shark Feeding with Taka

On your second dive at Osprey Reef at a place called North Horn you will have the opportunity to be under water during a shark feeding and come face to face with oceanic silver tips, gray whalers and white tip reef sharks. After the shark feeding we move to a different location on Osprey Reef and do two more dives. Tonight we depart the Coral Sea towards the Great Barrier Reef.

You will spend Monday and Tuesday diving down the ribbon reefs back towards Cairns. All up you have 4 days of the best diving Australia has to offer while doing up to 14 dives.

Itinerary

Friday:

• Complimentary pick-ups from Cairns City accommodation commence between 3:00pm & 3:30pm. 
• Check in is then done at our office by one of our experienced & friendly crew members.
• Passengers arrive to our vessel ‘TAKA’ at approx 4:30pm.
• The first evening we travel overnight 150Km to the Cod Hole. During this time passengers organize their dive gear or hire gear. We also have a brief period of introduction followed by paperwork and a briefing on the schedule for the next day. Dinner is served at approx 7:30pm with the rest of the evening for relaxation.

Saturday:

• 7:30am Breakfast
• 8:30am Arrive at the Cod Hole
• Dive Briefing
• Dive 1 Familiarization with the Cod Hole/ Check out dive for those who have done less than 50 dives or have not dived in the past year.
  Likely Sightings include Giant Potato Cod, Moray Eel, Reef Sharks & Maori Wrasse.
• Dive 2 Cod Feed at the Cod Hole- Close encounters with the Famous Potato Cod.
• Lunch
• Dive 3 Pixie’s Pinacle/Reef/Wall or Challenger Bay
  Likely Sightings include Lion Fish, Nudibranchs, Garden Eels & Barracuda.
• Afternoon rest & Snack.
• Dive 4 6:30pm Night Dive at Challenger Bay
  Likely Sightings include Cuttle Fish, Sea Turtles, Reef Sharks & Manta Rays.
• 8:00pm Evening Meal

Sunday:

• 7:00am Breakfast
• 7:30am Arrive at Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea.
• Dive 5 8:30am North Horn. Wall Dive with drop-offs to 100m. There is a fantastic variety of sharks swimming off the wall- such as Gray Whalers, White Tip & Black Tips, Hammerheads, A Giant Potato Cod and the occasional Bull Shark.
• Dive 6 10:30am North Horn SHARK FEED. Divers observe this amazing spectacle from 15m sitting on dead coral palettes. The SHARK FEED can last anywhere from 5min to 30min depending on how many and how hungry the sharks are. Once the feed is completed, once the instructors gives the ‘all clear’, the divers can leave the wall and continue the dive.
• Lunch
• Dive 7 1:30pm Half Way Wall. Sightings include interesting coral formations, Feather Stars and Green Sea Turtles.
• Dive 8 4:00pm The Entrance. Sightings include Puffer Fish & Clown Fish.
• Evening Meal
• 8:00pm Depart Osprey Reef and head back to the Great Barrier Reef.

Monday:

• 7:00am Breakfast
• Dive Briefing
• Dive 9 7:30am Clam Gardens. Likely Sightings include Giant Clams (150-200 y/o)
• Dive 10 10:00am Steve’s Bommie.
  Likely Sightings include Red flame File Shell, Stone Fish, Wobbegong Sharks, Turtles & Thousands of schooling Anthias.
• Snack
• Dive 11 12:00/1:00pm Temple Of Doom. Sightings include Flatworms & Clownfish.
• Lunch followed by Afternoon Rest.
• Dive 12 6:30pm Beer Gardens. Sightings include Sleepy Turtles & Parrot Fish.
• 8:00pm Evening Meal

Tuesday:

• Dive Briefing
• Dive 13 6:30am Split Bommie. Sightings include Angelfish & Clown Fish.
• 7:30am Breakfast
• Dive 14 8:30am Split Bommie. Sightings include Octopus & various Butterfly Fish.
• As we sail back to Cairns, passengers have plenty of time to rest and relax in between snacks and lunch.
• Taka then arrives back to Trinity Wharf in Cairns at 2:30pm. Complimentary transfers to local accommodation.

MEALS

On both trips all meals from dinner on the day of departure to lunch on the last day are included. Snacks are prepared after each dive. Fresh fruit, biscuits, tea, coffee, milo, water & cordial available at all times free of charge.

Beer, wine, soft drinks and chocolate bars are available from the Bar.

PADI Advanced Course

The advanced course is a PADI course that requires divers to go that one step further in understanding what Scuba Diving is all about. The tasks that are set out to be performed while diving do not detract from the enjoyment of the tour, but add a whole new range of possibilities to be enjoyed underwater.

During the advanced course, you will get an introduction to five specialities in the PADI system: Underwater Naturalist, Boat Diving, Underwater Navigation, Night Diving and Deep Diving. A fairly relaxed course, this focuses on the practical aspects of diving rather than theoretical classroom work.

The cost of the Advanced Course is AUD $225 in addition to the trip cost.

Highlights & Inclusions

• All linen including towels.
• Pick up and return to Cairns accommodation.
• Tanks and weights.
• All meals from dinner on the day of departure to lunch on the last day are included. Beer, wine and soft drinks are available from the bar.
• Depending on weather, travelling can be rough ocassionally.
  We recommend bringing motion sickness pills with you.

Optional Extras

• Gear Hire
• PADI Advanced Course
• Underwater Photography Course
• Camera hire

5 Day Coral Sea - Departs every Friday

Optional Extras

15% Discount OFF Booking