Bay of Islands suggestions?

[Eamonn78]

Hi,

I'm new around here, and was wondering if anyone could give some suggestions fo Bay of Islands dives? I'm going there for 3 days around 17th Feb for a family reunion, so can only really get away for one day of diving. I'm thinking of doing the Rainbow Warrior and Canterbury, there's one shop that does both dives one one day. But Ive heard there are some great reef dives too, maybe I should just do one wreck and a reef? If I could only do one wreck, is one better than the other?

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions.

 

[Packhorse]

try Northland Dive - Welcome
They are by far the best operation in that area and very well priced.

They dont do the Warrior but they do the Canterbury and some great coastal dives.
for about $250nz you get 2 nights accommodation, 5 meals 4 dives and air!!
Or $80 ( I think) for just 2 dives.
Getting to them could be an issue as they are quite remote and you will need a car.

 

[AndyNZ]

Hey Greg - Northland Dive will go to the Warrior, we've had a couple of days out with them where Shane will drive the boat around to pick us up from Matauri Bay. Same service, same price as a normal day out.

Eamonn, you will probably need a group to make it worth their while, though.

DiveHQ Bay of Islands are more likely to get out to the Warrior, give Kelly a call or an email to find out more. My preference would be Northland Dive, but if you really want to do the Warrior, then it may work for you. Note that they insist on doing the Deep adventure dive if you are an OW diver and charge you $60 for the privilege.

As for the two wrecks, it depends what you like. The Warrior is much smaller - generally one dive on it is enough to have a good mooch around and soak up some of it's history. Most of the charters in Paihia will do one dive on the wreck, one dive at the nearby Cavalli Islands.

The Canterbury is a much larger, and much more recent wreck. It's a little bit deeper as well, and one dive is certainly not enough.

Who is offering dives on the Warrior and the Canterbury on the same day?? They are not really that close together... I would have thought that you'll either spend a fair chunk of the day driving, or sitting on a boat.

 

[Eamonn78]

Thank you very much for the replies!

The guys offering the Cnaterbury and Rainbow Warrior on the same day are called DiveOps, they call it the War and Peace.


Im leaning towards doing the Warrior as it is such an iconic wreck and hopefully there are some good reef dives around there. I have my advance OW so the extra $60 isnt a concern. Ive already contacted DiveHQ but Ill hit up Northland Dive and see what they have got on.

Thanks again for the feedback.