Overseas Dive Trips

Akiko and the committee have been working hard to put together more trips for our growing club! Owing to the current COVID-19 situation, however, planned trips are now either likely to be postponed or on hold until the situation improves.

Tubbataha – April/May 2020 – postponed til May 2022

Maldives – September 2021

 

Club Oscellaris Anilao, Philippines

CLOSING SOON – 3 Spaces left!

Fri 17th – Sat 25th May 2019

Anilao is consistently ranked in the top Muck Dive destinations of the world, with its abundance of macro life, including rare creatures such as hairy frogfish, mimic octopus, blue-ringed octopus, rhinopias, to name a few, and a huge variety of vibrant and colourful nudibranchs. Anilao also has some pristine hard and soft corals to add colour to the underwater muck diving environment! It’s a must go destination for keen photographers, but would also be an interesting (and easy) dive destination for novice divers and non-photographers alike.

We are staying at Club Oscellaris (7 nights/4 dives per day = 24 dives package), which boasts resident photographers/knowledgeable DMs who will be able to show you all the weird and wonderful critters that Anilao has to offer! Or you can enjoy solo dives to your heart’s content, taking your own leisurely time.

We have provisionally reserved 14 spaces:                                                

5 x Twin/Double rooms = 10 pax

2 x Single rooms (toilet & shower facilities shared among 3 rooms) = 2 pax

 

SUPREME DIVE PACKAGE 4 dives per day

Inclusions:

  • Room Accommodations (twin share arrangement or single room) – fans only; air cons are additional extra
  • All meals (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner)
  • Maximum Four dives per day (4 day dives or 3 day + 1 night dive)
  • Boat and Dive Guide services
  • Aluminum 80 cft Air tanks, Weights + belt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to sign up or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Akiko, Overseas Trip Coordinator via email overseastrips@nautilus-scuba.net

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Photo by Terry Cummins

 

Photo by Colin Tonazzi

Walindi Plantation Resort, one of our fabulous sponsors, is an intimate dive resort situated on the shores of Kimbe Bay on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Kimbe Bay is a huge marine protected area with an extremely bio-diverse ecosystem, home to prolific and diverse marine life and pristine reefs.   A range of shark species are regularly sighted, including hammerheads and silvertips, with some resident pod of dolphins, schools of barracuda, tuna and jacks, and the occasional sighting of a whale if you are lucky!

Dates of travel will be Sun 15th – Sun 22nd September 2019: 7 nights, 15 boat dives (+shore dives), flying with Air Niugini. 

Photo by Terry Cummins

Spots are available for Max 16 pax (14+2 FOC discount;  4 spots left), September is a popular season for diving in Walindi, so we recommend you sign up sooner than later!

Included in the price:  

  • 7 nights accommodation @ Walindi Resort (see room options below)
  • 15 Boat Dives (includes tanks, weights and guides)
  • All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • Airport transfers to and from the Resort

Excludes:   Dive gear hire, Night dives (subject to availability), Environment & Safety fee (AUD 10 per

                    diver per day), Other optional Activities & Tours at the resort, Bar spending, Personal

                     spending, Flights, Dive & Travel insurances (compulsory for Club trip participation)

Photo by Colin Tonazzi

ACCOMMODATION:

2 x Bungalows (Premium rooms) – 4 pax – TAKEN

  • Free-standing ‘bure’ style accommodation, all with en suite bathroom, ceiling fans (no air-conditioning), tea & coffee making facilities, a small fridge, closet, working desk and a private veranda.
  • These are all located along the beachfront and have water views.
  • The Bungalows have one Queen size bed and one Single bed

1 x Bungalows (Premium room) – 1 pax – TAKEN

4 x TWIN Plantation House Rooms (Standard rooms) – 8 pax –4 SPOTS AVAILABLE

  • Slightly smaller, but still with all the same features as the Bungalows.
  • Built in a block of 4 rooms so they all share a veranda and located a bit further back from the beach with garden views.

1 x DOUBLE Plantation House Room (Standard room) – 2 pax – TAKEN

1 x SINGLE Plantation House Room (Standard room) – 1 pax – TAKEN

Photo by Colin Tonazzi

 

Photo by Colin Tonazzi

FLIGHTS:

All flights are with Air Niugini and the full cost of the return air fare is approx. AUD 800-900 (subject to change).

OUTBOUND

Sun 15/09/19           PX 093     Dep   CNS 11:45     Arr POM 13:10

                                     PX 244      Dep   POM 15:05   Arr HKN   16:10

INBOUND:      

Sun 22/09/19            PX 241    Dep   HKN 07:00     Arr POM 08:05      

                                      PX 090     Dep POM 09:30     Arr CNS 10:55

 

If you’d like to sign up or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Akiko, Overseas Trip Coordinator via email: overseastrips@nautilus-scuba.net

For more info on Walindi Resort and diving in Walindi, please visit:

http://www.walindifebrina.com/Walindi-Resort

Photo by Colin Tonazzi

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Diversion Dive Travel has put together exclusively for our club a fabulous combination trip of 5 nights in Manado + 5 nights in Lembeh in North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Manado is among the highlights of diving in Indonesia.  When you’re scuba diving in Bunaken National Marine Park, you’ll witness some of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, with outstanding fish variety and world-class steep walls that descend down to as deep as 1600m.  The clear, warm waters contain astonishingly high numbers of species, whether corals, sponges or fish.   There is also an opportunity to dive further north in Bangka Archiapelago (beautiful coral meadows, variety of marine life) and south in Popooh (muck diving).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO31D3MJ6Jc
Thalassa 5 Star Padi Resort Manado

Lembeh probably requires no introduction at all, being regarded as the top muck dive site in the world with a huge variety of weird and wonderful marine creatures such as the flamboyant cuttlefish, wonderpus and mimic octopus, to name a few.   It is a must for keen photographers, but also for anyone simply interested in seeing rare critters.

The trip dates are  Thurs 14 – Tues 26 November 2019:  10 nights/18 boat dives + unlimited shore dive package, flying with Virgin/Singapore Airlines/Silk Air.  As this will require overnights on both legs of the journey, the whole trip will be 12 nights/13 days departing Cairns. 

We have reserved 5 nights each in Manado and Lembeh with a maximum capacity for 18 pax:

Thalassa Manado Resort   
9 x Seaview Hilltop Rooms (twin/double)

Thalassa Lembeh Resort
8 x Seaview Bungalows with private terrace (5 x doubles + 3 x twins)
3 x Split bungalows  (single rooms)

All with air-conditioning and private bathroom. Single supplements apply for sole occupancy with the exception of the single Split bungalows.

For more info on the resorts, have a look at their website:
https://thalassamanado.com/
Inclusions:

  • 10 nights accommodation
  • Full board meal plan (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
  • 18 boat dives
  • Unlimited house reef dives
  • All airport and resort transfers
  • Free wifi

 Additional extras:

  • Return flights from Cairns to Manado (see below)
  • National marine park fees
  • Nitrox and gear hire
  • Drinks
  • Other land-based excursions

To book please check your emails from Overseas Trip Co-ordinator, Akiko for more information regarding Flights and Deposit/Payment. Approximate price above for financial members only!  If you have any further questions please see contact details below

Simon Mallender International Travel Consultant
Diveplanit Travel incorporating Diversion Dive Travel Free phone Aus: 1800 607 913   direct:+61 7 4039 0200  mobile: 0423 603 753

 Akiko Murakami Overseas Trip Coordinator, Nautilus Scuba Club – Cairns overseastrips@nautilus-scuba.net

 

 

ALREADY SOLD OUT – Let us know if you’d like to be on the wait list

We have chartered the whole boat: All Star MV Stella Maris liveaboard (21 pax), diving the spectacular marine nature reserve and UNESCO World Heritage site that is the Tubbataha Reef, Philippines in the middle of the Sulu Sea.   

Since Tubbataha was discovered in the late 1970s, it has become recognised as one of the most remarkable coral reefs on the planet and is ranked among the top ten dive sites in the world.  Because of its isolated location, Tubbataha can only be visited on a liveaboard boat.  Divers can experience the reefs’ dramatic underwater terrain, great biodiversity and regularly encounter large marine life such as sharks (hammerheads, whalesharks, grey reefs & white tips, and at times even tiger sharks!), dolphins, turtles and various rays, including mantas.

Dates of travel will be WED 29 APRIL – THURS 7 MAY 2020 (8 nights in total:   overnight in Manila on 29 April 2020, 6 night liveaboard, 19 dives from Thurs 30 April – Wed 6 May 2020,  overnight flight from Manila to Cairns on 6 May 2020).

This trip has been specially designed by Diversion Dive Travel/DivePlanit for the Nautilus Scuba Club.

For details re: the trip, please read the attached brochure developed by Diversion Dive Travel.

Contact Akiko on overseastrips@nautilus-scuba.net for more info or to join the wait list.