- Ages 8+ Ages Ages 8+
- 2 days, Duration 2 days 3 - 8 hours Duration 3 - 8 hours
Get your own charter, and enjoy a relaxing day cruise. We are flexible and will individually tailor a trip to suit your needs and desires.
Quick Details
Join us for Great Barrier Reef Minke Trip 2023 Ex Cairns 4D/4N
Not to be missed, snorkelers, freedivers, divers and ocean lovers are invited to join us on this once in a lifetime experience.
This special expedition to the Great Barrier Reef allows us to snorkel with the Minke Whale. Right in the middle of the Minke Whale migration, we will spend 4 days and 4 Night on Ocean Quest, Divers Den’s renown liveaboard. The objectives of the trip is to spot and swim with the famous “small’ Minke Whale. Divers Den is one of the few tourism companies with the permit to swim with them.
That’s not all, during the trip will smash some of the best dive sites that the Great Barrier Reef has to offer among them: Steve’s Bommie. It is one of my all time favorite dive sites that display what is best on the GBR. Part of the trip will indeed take place between Ribbon Reef 2 (North of Port Douglas) and 10 (a bit north of Cooktown). That’s way deeper north than your usual Cairns Dive Trip.
We do not advertise a specific amount of dives, as some time Minke whale interaction can last as long as two hours because they are extremely curious and playful. In a none Minke Whale trip, we aim to dive 4 times a day.
Kate and Antoni worked for a couple of years for Divers Den and Antoni was supervisor on Ocean Quest. We loved our time there and got an amazing amount of experience. The boat is comfortable, spacious and well organized. They also always make a point of having one of the best chef in the industry that will cater for you dietary requirements.
You can contact us to book the trip and pay a deposit, book directly over here or choose the Registration of Interest to get us your information and be contacted. To save your spot, a 30% non refundable deposit is required. Total amount is due the 7th of April 2023.
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Minke Whales are a very protected species of whale. They are “small”, up to 8 metres, and visit the Great Barrier Reef every austral winter. The GBR has developed a way to interact with them in the water that guarantee they will keep coming in the future and that no harm happen to them.
In short, the boat will stop the engine, drift and deploy long ropes on the side of the vessel. The snorkeler will join the divemaster in the water hold to the rope and avoid splashing, kicking and swimming. It should not take long for the whale to approach you, sometimes they approach quite close and do several passage under you. Some interaction can last hours and you might even get bored before them. Not everybody is in the water at the same time, so they will be rotation but we will make sure we all get time with them.
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No, you will not be offered to don your scuba dive gear during an interaction. However, we have seen them swimming around Steve’s Bommie, so keep your eyes open during the dives!
For freedivers, while on the line, you can not swim under water and will have to stay still at the surface.
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Beside the chance to swim with whales, you will be offered a lot of opportunities to snorkel on the GBR. Most of the sites are on reefs that fits divers and snorkelers. The boat offered a beautiful sun deck to enjoy a tan. There may be some dive sites that are not suitable for snorkelers but you will still have plenty of time in the water and enjoy the trip.
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If you are a free diver, you will need a buddy and your specific equipment to dive down. There is not specific freediver guide on the boat, so you will also need a certified buddy to come with you and follow common rules a good practice.
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Like all wild animals, they can not guarantee to see whales during the tour. However we choose those this time of the year because, the chances are very high to spot them. The crew and skipper are experienced and will be on watch to find them.