Dermochelys
Contributor
My trip to New Zealand is coming together. I already have 2 days of diving out to the Poor Knight Islands with Dive! Tutukaka booked. Looking at where I'll be when, it looks like I might have a chance to squeeze in a shore dive at Goat Island when I drive between Matakana and Tutukaka.
Quick questions.....
1) It looks like the day I could do a dive at Goat Island (Oct 12) would be the first day of the season for a guided shore dive with Goat Island Dive and Snorkel. Is there a good chance of bad conditions in October there? The website says the shore dives are shallow, so I'm assuming the chance of bad conditions scrapping a dive would be higher because of that.
2) It looks like the guided shore dive is at 1:00 PM. If I'm driving between Matakana and Tutukaka on the same day, would fitting in a dive be a good idea? I figured with gear set-up and take down, maybe leave Goat Island at around 4:00 PM, putting me in to Tutukaka by 7:00? Does that sound about right?
3) How is Goat Island for diving? I prefer shallow dives where I can spend the most time looking at fishes and other critters, so it seems like a good fit for me, but I'm wondering if entry / exits are difficult or if viz is usually bad, that sort of thing.
Thanks in advance for any pointers!
Quick questions.....
1) It looks like the day I could do a dive at Goat Island (Oct 12) would be the first day of the season for a guided shore dive with Goat Island Dive and Snorkel. Is there a good chance of bad conditions in October there? The website says the shore dives are shallow, so I'm assuming the chance of bad conditions scrapping a dive would be higher because of that.
2) It looks like the guided shore dive is at 1:00 PM. If I'm driving between Matakana and Tutukaka on the same day, would fitting in a dive be a good idea? I figured with gear set-up and take down, maybe leave Goat Island at around 4:00 PM, putting me in to Tutukaka by 7:00? Does that sound about right?
3) How is Goat Island for diving? I prefer shallow dives where I can spend the most time looking at fishes and other critters, so it seems like a good fit for me, but I'm wondering if entry / exits are difficult or if viz is usually bad, that sort of thing.
Thanks in advance for any pointers!