Ocean Freedom with Upolu Cay in the distance

It has been nearly 12 months since I first had the pleasure of doing a reef trip with Ocean Freedom and I can sincerely say it’s just a fantastic day out! We boarded the boat at 7:30 am and were greeted by one of the happiest crew on the Marlin Jetty. Straight away you know your in for one hell of a fun day, especially when the Captain of the boat is our local celebrity Gordo! The camaraderie between the entire crew was evident the whole day.

So hello’s out of the way the next stop was straight to a lovely plate of Danishes & coffee awaiting us. This is a nice change from the regular muffins, a bit more upmarket than the norm. Unlike some of the bigger boats where people don’t tend to intermingle very much, the atmosphere on Ocean Freedom is so relaxed & friendly it’s easy to strike up new conversation.

Next was a thorough safety briefing to all and then it was time to relax as we sped out to the Outer Edge of Upolu Reef to experience “Wonder Wall’. Here we were lucky to do 2 dives with Leigh who was to be our personal dive guide for the day. We were very impressed by the variety of corals at this site. Leigh went out of his way to point out the unusual, it was the first time I had seen a Mantis Shrimp up close. It was good to have an enthusiastic dive guide.

Introductory divers were spoilt having only 2 divers to the 1 instructor making their first dive experience relaxed and unhurried. All who tried that day came back thanking the crew immensely delighted with their under water experience. Whether you choose to snorkel or dive on Ocean Freedom you have plenty of time to enjoy the reef.

After lunch we headed off to Upolu Cay where guests can choose to do a glass bottom boat tour or snorkel for rest of the afternoon to their hearts content. Or if you don’t feel like doing either just grab a book and relax on board, the choice is yours.

One thing that stood out big time on the day was the crew’s interaction with the guests on board, a professional approach going out of their way to make sure everyone was happy & involved. You can choose a great reef site, but without good staff to compliment this you still don’t have a great trip. Ocean Freedom has both! Its obvious to all that the crew enjoy what they do and this carries through to all on board having a top day. Just great people to spend a day out on the reef with. Cruising home we enjoyed a glass of wine, fresh fruit, cheese & crackers.

I think it’s an exceptional reef trip for those a little apprehensive in the water. Anyone thinking of doing an intro dive can’t go wrong here with 1 instructor to every 2 divers. Everyone is well catered for.

Silverswift

We made our own way down to the reef terminal for check-in at 8am.

Silverswift is a very comfortable boat with lots of different seating arrangements and big sundecks. There are several toilets, hot showers and changing rooms. What I liked about the seating was that it did not look like a ferry like some of the other big vessels do.

The weather on the day was perfect and the ride out to the reef was fast and smooth. We got a really good dive brief from our Dive master Scott, all dives on Silverswift are guided which I prefer as then you don’t have to worry too much and just enjoy the dives.

We visited three different sites during the day, one on Pellowe Reef and two on Flynn reef. The sites were great, so much marine life and the coral was beautiful and plentiful. The highlight for me was to hand feed a turtle and to dive through some caves which I had never done before. There were lots of turtles, white tip sharks and also a very friendly Maori Wrasse.

We had plenty of snorkellers on that day and they got a separate brief at each site and also a guided snorkelling tour on the last site. Wetsuits and stinger suits are only complimentary for divers.

Upon boarding we were served tea and coffee as well as foccacia and muffins. Lunch was a hot and cold buffet including prawns; the divers especially appreciated the hot food. On the cruise back to Cairns there were more tea and coffee as well as fresh fruit on offer.

We had a lovely day out, the reef sites are great and the boat is comfortable and spacious. On the day there were around 70 passengers which to me felt as a perfect amount, I like my space.