ss yongala dive site

The Yongala is an excellent dive sport. All kinds of large fish and turtles around. Giant groopers hanging around and even swimming sea-snakes. It's different than the dive sports on the reef. As it is a solitary wreck, the larger fish stay at the wreck, as there is nothing else for them around. So you will meet very large fish! It's less than an hour from shore (when you take off from Alva Beach). Visibility was avarage, but enough to see the snakes, sharks, rays and groopers.

This has been by far the best dive side I have been to in Australia. So much better than all the diving around Cairns at the Great Barrier Reef. We saw massive turtles and a huge cow tail ray with a baby ray on top.

I really enjoy wreck diving and have been diving the wrecks around Florida for years but this Yongala dive takes the cake. It was awesome! This wreck is a real wreck and not an artificial reef wreck like I am use to diving. The wreck is over 100 years old, is amazingly intact and totally covered in coral. There were huge grouper (Groper to the Aussies) and tons of other varieties of fish. I saw the largest lion fish I have ever seen. The weather was perfect the dive crew was great and I had a great time.

With this dive you can either go from townsville or Ayr. I chose Ayr cause it was closer. I didn't know it is actually outside of Ayr in a place called Alva Beach. A small town without any shops, nothing to do. My dive got cancelend due to weather conditions, ok that's not their fault. But the way the staff runs that accommodation is terrible. Breakfast, which is included in the price, was really bad. The staff doesn't bring you to every greyhound bus, but only to the ones in the morning and afternoon. I tried to stay another day try to dive again, but they were so unflexible with bringing me to town after dinner time, it was terrible. The Wi-Fi is really bad, and overall just very unfriendly and grumpy staff. I suggest to do this trip from Towsnville and do it in dry season (so avoid the months January-March).

By far the best dive I have done so far in Australia...including Cairns and the GBR. The fish are beautiful and really bigger than anywhere else! We saw turtles, eagle rays and very luckily..a whale shark!! Whale sharks are not normally in the area so it is not normal to see them but the crew were fab and we got to stay longer so we could get into the water with it! Just incredible!!All the staff are super professional and friendly. They kitted us up and we headed out to the boat. The boat is a bit bumpy so if you suffer with seasickness then take something before you go. It's only about 30 mins to the site. Inbetween dives there tea and coffee, some nibbles and some story telling! We also stayed at the dive lodge which was quiet, cosy and comfortable. A great place to have a few beers and chat about everything you saw! The sunset there is just incredible too!! I will definitely go back to the dive site if I get the chance!

Forget the day trips from Cairns, do this dive. If you are like me and get sea sick then drive down to Alva beach as the boat ride is only a half hour from shore. These dives were simply amazing with the huge sea life and the staff are totally professional and helpful. We also stayed in the accommodation in the queen private room. It was comfy, clean and we got to sleep in a bit by being right there. My only very minor qualm was breakfast was a bit lacklustre (a jar of ants in peanut butter and an empty jar of jam). I need to take sea sick tablets so it was slightly important to me given they noted it's provided. However it didn't matter much given the low cost of accommodation and after those amazing dives and the lunch after was great!

We went to Ayr from Cairns....we rented a car and drove 450 kms to reach AYR Alva Beach a 5 Hour drive...The staff were really nice....we stayed at their Guest House which had 1 Common room for TV, kitchen with all necessary appliance..similiar to backpackers hostel...The location is in remote area......Subway, Dominos and other food chain are located in 10 minutes drive...The dive site is approx an hour from the guest house...It was really Nice dive site ....Saw many kinds of fish...first encounter of a huge Turtle and Sea Snake....We recommend to dive SS Yongala

The staff are great. They have great knowledge about the SS Yongala ship and also have great diving experience. My partner and I decided to stay in the Yongala Dive Lodge which I would definately recommend for backpackers. Its clean, conveniant and cosy. Our breakfast was included in our stay at a very reasonable price. We also received lunch on the day of our dive, and then nibbles onboard between our two dives. There are plenty of fish to be seen...whiptail rays, barracudas, saw olive snakes, tiera batfish, flowery cod and pilot whales and im sure there are many many more. If I come back to the East coast, the SS Yongala will be on the to do list yet again.

My Dive at Yongala wasn't safe at all. My air bottle was loosing air, I mentioned it to the Crew but they didn't fix it. I ran out of air quite quick and gave a sign to our dive guide a couple of times but he continued the dive. At the beginning of our safety stop on our ascent at 10m depth I was already at 0.5 bar. There was en extra regulator, but this one let water through and not usable. As I was really low on air the dive guide gave me his extra regulator but his was CRASHED AS WELL!! I was down there with six other rather unexperienced diver and the regulator of our guide was broken! The behaviour of the crew was absolutely negligent. Finally I reached the surface with 0.2 bar.. I am glad that nothing serious happend I would recommend everyone not to go there.

One of the best wreck dives EVER! Makes the 6-hour road trip from Cairns absolutely worth it!Reached the dive site after a 30 minute boat ride from Yongala Dive. At first sight one may not believe that the tiny boat could fit everyone, but it did quite comfortably (although I’m not sure that would be the case if we had the couple of divers we were short; they said the boat fits 12 divers, but I would say 10 is the perfect number). Water is really cold in July, so I would advise you to bring your own 5mm (preferably 7mm) wetsuit, because the rented ones may not have a perfect fit.The dive itself is absolutely breathtaking. Ship is in great condition for her age (she sank in 1911!), and authorities try to keep that by refraining everyone from entering the ship. That would be the only (minor) negative aspect of the dive, but really, you have so much to see on the outside that you forget that. Sharks, sea snakes, green eels, turtles, manta rays, giant Queensland groupers. You name it, they are there. And so many pelagic fishes that even the deep and safety stops are incredible.

Absolute one of the best diving site in the Great Barrier Reef!You need to have at least six dives before diving here. Sea life is incredible rich. Ship wreck is full of corals and different kind of fishes. You can also see few turtles chilling out there.The staff and the dive master were friendly and very knowledgeable. This trip take a whole day, including two dives to the Yongala. BBQ meal is ready when you come back to the diving center.

Boat in an absolutely terrible state! Broken down several times according to employees! Our trip started with motor not getting any petrol! Instructors had to fidle around with boat mechanics. Got it working. Skipper decided to just go for it! 3/4 of time out we were airborn due to speed. (Whole trip very uncomfortable and felt really unsafe) The boat crashed back into the water causing one of the air"ballons" to pop/rupture! The guys still kept going until we reached the dive site. There they said the boat was not "seaworthy" and we had to go back. It would take 1/2 hour back! And the boat was deflating! There was another boat at the site but clearly the employees didn't even consider going to that boat to get assistance! Instead they offered us cheese and crackers! I will never attempt a second dive w this guys! Called the owner. Spoke to a Sarah and told her I was one of the divers on the boat which was driven to break and she said. "OK, what do you want!" Not a single sorry!!! She said she was going to call me back because she was to busy to speak. So far nothing!

Even if Alva beach is not the closest door, the road to teach this city is quickly forget when you jump in the water of this amazing submarine réserve. A Must do if you re a serious diver.

Not just the best dive in my life, one of the best experiences I lived: An incredibly scenic shipwreck form the age of the Titanic, and full of sea life: bull sharks, manta rays, sea snakes, giant Queensland groupers and thousands of pelagic fish. All fish interacts with you. Just amazing!

Although the sea was a bit rough and the visibility a bit low due to the after effects if the cyclone, the dive was great. So many fish, sting rays and interesting points on the wreck. The staff were awesome too - nothing was too much trouble.