Spirit Of Freedom Pty Ltd

★ 5 · Jacob Dunn · 2024-08-11

I had the privilege of being on the July 14 trip aboard Spirit of Freedom with master Tony, director Leo, my dive instructor Deanna, and many other incredible crew. This was my first diving live-aboard experience and it was spectacular. Diving the Great Barrier Reef was a bucket list item for me. This trip exceeded everything that I imagined it might be and it really is hard to pick where to begin summing up the experience. I remember when I was considering booking this trip and was hemming and hawing over whether I could spend this much on a few days of my trip. Asking that question after the trip has an easy answer: I am so glad I took this chance and did it. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of highlights: - The first day of our trip included a scenic plane ride from Cairns up to Lizard Island (which was spectacular and easily a 500$ value by itself) to meet the boat and several dives (including a night dive). - Subsequent days included visiting Osprey reef - an incredible place further out from the ribbon reefs that had incredibly clear water and dramatic underwater life, coral, and topography. - Owing to a partnership with a university to conduct certain shark research, Spirit of Freedom is allowed to conduct a shark attraction/shark feed that we get to be underwater for. - Going in July, we were at the tail end of Minke whale season and, again owing to a research partnership, we are allowed to snorkel with Minke whales. Having a whale swimming 10-15 feet underneath me was special - especially in a trip that had already had so many individual highlights. Coming out to Osprey, you should have great diving - the crews are what will differentiate the boats. The crew on our trip was amazing. While you as a diver are responsible for your safety, the crew makes sure that there are layers and layers of checks to make sure that making it back to land isn’t an accident. Beyond ensuring safety, the entire crew would go above and beyond. Dives often had a couple of guides who you could follow or keep an eye on to point out cool aquatic life or other finds. Anton put in extra effort to take hundreds of professional grade photographs of the dives and us during the trip and had phots edited for sharing with us by the final day of the trip. Leo always had some way to make us laugh during briefings. As you would pass him your camera before getting out of the water, Matt would often take a second to take a cool video of you exiting the water hyped from a great dive. Deanna, the dive instructor conducting the advanced open water class I took while on board, was both an incredible teacher and knowledgeable diver - having a marine biology background, training dives would be filled with cool side quests and Deanna pointing out all that is cool and so-small-you-might-miss-it-without-expert-eyes on the reef. I am forever grateful for the experiences had on this trip and to the crew for making them possible. (If you are curious what to expect from the plane ride and in+on the water, I have photos posted to https://jacobdunn.ca/spirit-of-freedom-australia-2024 )

★ 5 · Jennifer Morse · 2023-04-09

Diving the Great Barrier Reef is the trip of a lifetime. Coming all the way from the US, I wanted the best experience possible. I was not disappointed. The staff was tremendous: safety conscious, knowledgeable, and top-notch service in every way. I am a fish-fan, and love to see and learn about new fish. The staff was amazing in this regard. They had plenty of fish books on board too! Pretty much every dive was at a new location. We got to see a wide variety of sites and a wide variety of dive conditions. Trip Leader James gave thorough dive briefings, which instilled confidence. I noticed that even the less experienced divers were very comfortable and confident. Nothing was left to chance. Every consideration was given to us. This was my first live aboard experience. Highly recommended.

★ 5 · Jessica Bentley · 2022-06-23

They'll take you out to the reefs of your dreams! The best coral I've ever seen and a great range of other life too Fantastic team on board - everyone was super friendly and helpful. Felt very well looked after in general, and particularly during my debut experience with seasickness... They really took care of everything for us (including putting your fins on and doing a defog & rinse of your mask) so all we had to do was enjoy the dive. Rental equipment all in good shape, including BCDs with integrated weights and easy to use dive computers. Everyone was provided a nautilus lifeline and safety sausage, and they made sure we knew how to use them. They were also happy to play matchmaker for dive buddies and gave great pre-dive briefings - but ultimately we were free to do as we pleased Cabins and shared spaces including the dining area, indoor lounge, and sundeck were all neat, tidy, and well maintained. Each cabin has an ensuite and also localised air-conditioning controls (which doesn't sound like much unless you've been on a boat that doesn't) Also there's hot showers on the dive deck Fantastic food - who knew you could experience great French cooking at sea... Had a good range of different cuisines, and plenty of food across first and second breakfasts, lunch, and dinner, along with afternoon and morning tea. And the scenic flight to meet the boat at Lizard island was pretty special too