Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in
Australia/Far North

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Spirit of Freedom: "The Great Barrier Reef Aboard the Spirit of Freedom", Nov, 2016, by Pierre Hurter, CA, US ( Contributor 14 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 9851.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Quantas allows you to check in two bags at 50 pounds each, plus carryon (is United listening?) The issue we had is that our puddle jumper to Lockhart River had a 70 pound total limit. Still not bad, but challenging if you are a photographer. A note on wetsuits, I always wear a 5mm and typically hang on to them until they are threadbare. The water temperature was almost always around 81 degrees, so a thinner suit would work for most folks. I wear a full suit, both to provide sun protection as well as itchy and stinging sea critters. The crew was great, the meals hearty and there were plenty of opportunities to dive, typically five per day. A typical day started at 6:30 with a pre-brekkie, yogurt, cereal and fruit then a dive. Afterwards a second brekkie, bacon, beans, stewed tomatoes, bangers, toast and of course Vegemite (try twitch toast and a slice of avocado). A sort break and another dive, followed up with lunch, another dive, some munchies to keep us going, another dive and then dinner. For those who still had the energy and weren't too stuffed a night dive. You don't ask, "would you go back?" I enjoyed my time in Australia and will probably go back, but not necessarily to dive.
Websites	Spirit of Freedom
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Alaska, Maui, Cozumel, La Paz, Tulum, Socorro , Honduras, Philippines, Galapagos, Truk (Chuuck), Solomon Islands, Belize, Fij, Channel Islands, Indonesia (Komodo, Raja Ampat), Maldives, Monterey and California's North Coast.
Closest Airport	Cairns	Getting There	We flew from SFO to Sydney, followed by a four hour layover and then on to Cairns. The following day we flew to Lockhart River aboard a Skytrans De Haviland Dash 8.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	I don't recall any hard and fast restrictions on our diving times or depths. The briefings were detailed and then we were on our own.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a photographer, my wife is. My overall impression is that there is never enough room for photographers, but I think they did a good job of providing a good sized area protected from the elements and plenty of charging possibilities and clean compressed air.

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Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in Australia/Far North

Spirit of Freedom: "The Great Barrier Reef Aboard the Spirit of Freedom", Nov, 2016,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Spirit of Freedom in
Australia/Far North