Cook Islands? -> Newbie

[PacificDivers]

... I did my first two dives with Pacific Divers and it was possibly the worst dive outfit I've come across in my time. Their boat is lucky that it still floats. My first dive guide was a local who wasn't that friendly. He took off his fins and ran across the bottom throughout the entire dive. I don't know if he thought it was amusing or what, but I thought it was highly unprofessional. On the other hand, he was only a teenager. The second guide I had wasn't that much better. She was hungover and in no shape to dive. She was really young and had more fun engrossing in gossip with the boatsman than she did in diving.
I then went with The Dive Centre. Much much better. The boats were nicer and the staff heaps better. They go on the South and I couldn't believe the difference in the diving. I had a wonderful guide, Gary, who was also a local and does pearl farming. Gary has fantastic customer skills and knew a lot about the marine biology of Raro. He's from Manihiki and he said the diving up there is amazing, but there is no dive outfit up there...
My partner took a course with The Dive Centre and also had a fantastic instructor, Kristen, who is the only American there. She was very flexible and took her time with my partner who was very nervous. She had all the patience in the world and had the lovely "no worries" attitude that I love about the islands.

Kia orana, Steve Lyon, owner of Pacific Divers here.

I urge readers to take the comments of SeaTurtle49 with a grain of salt.

The diving in Rarotonga is, as stated by other people, basic to intermediate. On a good day the diving can be quite fantastic, very clear water, humpback whales etc... On an average day the visiblity is still 30m+ and there is a good ubundance of reef fish. There is no spearfishing to speak of due to cigutera poisoning so the fish are very diver positive.

There is some variety in the sites offered and it is possible to do several days diving without repeating dive sites. All dive sites are within 15min of the harbours.

The island is also quite small, 40 km around the reef. This means that when the weather is blowing from one direction there is still divable conditions on the othe side. consequently we have very few no dive days due to weather.

On top of that Rarotonga is a very nice place to vacation. A good community, very clean and nice gardens.

If you are looking for variety there is also Aitutaki, another of the Cook Islands. It has a dive operation and the diving is markedly different to Rarotonga, with steeper, shallower walls and more live coral cover.

Check out Rarotonga for a great vacation, and fit some dives in while you're here.

Ka kite e kia manuia,

Steve
www.pacificidivers.co.ck

 

[G.uy]

Hi there. Just spent a long time in the Cooks and did all the diving you can possibly imagine in Rarotonga. In short, it's not worth it unless you get to go to the South. The coral is dead and the sharks, turtles, etc. are scarce. The only good diving here is in the South, but conditions have to be perfect in the South to go out there and only 2 of the 4 dive companies go there. The South has passage that you swim down and can (on a good day) be full of puffer fish, white tip reef sharks, green sea turtles, hawksbill seaturtles,and moray eels.
I did my first two dives with Pacific Divers and it was possibly the worst dive outfit I've come across in my time. Their boat is lucky that it still floats. My first dive guide was a local who wasn't that friendly. He took off his fins and ran across the bottom throughout the entire dive. I don't know if he thought it was amusing or what, but I thought it was highly unprofessional. On the other hand, he was only a teenager. The second guide I had wasn't that much better. She was hungover and in no shape to dive. She was really young and had more fun engrossing in gossip with the boatsman than she did in diving.
I then went with The Dive Centre. Much much better. The boats were nicer and the staff heaps better. They go on the South and I couldn't believe the difference in the diving. I had a wonderful guide, Gary, who was also a local and does pearl farming. Gary has fantastic customer skills and knew a lot about the marine biology of Raro. He's from Manihiki and he said the diving up there is amazing, but there is no dive outfit up there...
My partner took a course with The Dive Centre and also had a fantastic instructor, Kristen, who is the only American there. She was very flexible and took her time with my partner who was very nervous. She had all the patience in the world and had the lovely "no worries" attitude that I love about the islands.
The other 3 that work there are all Germans and I didn't really interact with them much, but they seemed nice enough.
As for the other two dive operations, Dive Raro only dives the North and I don't know anything about Cook Island Divers, so I can't say.
A two tank dive cost 125, but they are rising up the price and it gets cheaper the more you dive.
If you are also going to French Polynesia during your trip, I'd forgo the diving in the Cooks and use the money for more diving in French Polynesia because the diving there was unreal.

You have clearly been working for The Dive Center. anyone who has spent any time in the raro dive industry will spot you a mile off.

 

[SeaTurtle42]

G.UY, I clearly don't work at the Dive Centre since if you have noted, I have mentioned that it's not worth diving in the Cooks. Check the facts.

 

[BubblesDown]

Wow, this is better than soaps :: My husband and I are thinking about going to the Cooks or Fiji sometime within the next year, but probably won't dive if we go to the Cooks. I heard from other people that it was more of an beautiful island vacation that has the opprotunity to dive, but not to go there for the diving. Plus since he doesn't dive, it wouldn't be fair to leave him out. We'll see if I can ever get time off work :/

 

[drbill]

When my #1 dive buddy was with her Kiwi boyfriend, they had seriously considered starting a dive op in one of the outer islands in the group. She really liked the diving out there, but if I remember correctly the diving on the main islands wasn't as good. However, she is a very experienced diver who has worked in many areas of the world including on both the Aggressor and Peter Hughes liveaboard fleets.

 

[DeepDivr78]

SeaTurtle42, I had a similiar experience with Pacific Divers and a few years later, went to Cook Island Divers. We did some awesome diving in the South and I really liked their set up. They have a really nice pool for training (I think, but don't quote me on this, that they are the the only ones with a pool) and all their diving staff were very knowledgeable. Greg, the owner, has been in the business 30+ years and was the first one to start diving in Rarotonga. I think he's quite famous in the diving business.
I would suggest to anyone to dive with them, but like you also said about diving in the North, not worth it. But the South, that's a different story, adventurous and thrilling.
DrBill, did your dive buddy say anything particular about diving in Aitutaki? I plan on going there next time around, probably in another few years and would like to do some diving there.

 

[PacificDivers]

SeaTurtle42, I had a similiar experience with Pacific Divers and a few years later, went to Cook Island Divers...

Kia orana,

Please note that Pacific Divers has been under new ownership since mid 2005. We have renewed much of the equipment and have lifted the standard of the operation to be in line with what is expected internationally.

We are the only operator that provides dive computers to all divers, has gear that is replaced every two years, uses quality equipment such as Mares fins, Oceanic masks, BCDs and Regulators, provides two staff on every trip, one divemaster who is ALWAYS a Divemaster or Instructor rated diver, and one boatman who is first aid qualified as well.

I have a background in Marine Science and have dived more islands of the Cook Islands than just about anyone. There are some fantastic experiences in our remote islands but the diving truly is an expedition. As for Rarotonga, as I previously stated, it is a great place to vacation and you can always throw in a couple of nice dives.

If you are interested in expedition trips to a remote and undived destination, get in touch, I may have something for you.

 

[STRANGLERFIG]

Bonjour

Nous avons , Herve et moi , plongé à Rarotonga en février 2007 .


Les plongées sont très belles , les épaves interessantes et les tombants impressionnants .

Nos plongée se sont faites entre 20 et 61 m ( 60 ft / 200 ft) .

Nous avions une chambre au Club Raro , resort très agréable .

Nous avons plongé avec Pacific Diver , et nous avons beaucoup apprécié Steve , plongeur néozélandais .

sécurité , qualité et compétences sont parfaits ; et c'est un dive center très sympathique et le bateau est très adapté . Nous recommandons vivement ce centre .

Le voyage à Rarotonga est loin de l'Europe , mais il mérite d'être fait . La faune est riche et le pays très naturel ; l'accueil et la cuisine formidables .

Merci à Steve et à son team pour ce très beau séjour .


amicalement

Bernard

Hello

Herve and I dived at Rarotonga in February, 2007.

Dives are very nice, wrecks are interesting and drop offs are impressive.
The depth we dived ranged between 20 and 61 meters (60 to 200 ft) .

We had a room at the Club Raro, which is a very pleasant resort.
We dived with Pacific Divers, and we really appreciated Steve, who is a Kiwi diver, as well as his dive center.
Safety, quality and skills are perfect, this is a very friendly dive centre, their boat is comfortable.

We highly recommend them.
Going to Rarotonga is a long way from Europe, but it is worth it.
Fauna is rich, the country is very natural, their hospitality and food are wonderful.

We want to thank Steve and his team for this very nice stay.

 

[BubblesDown]

Bonjour

We dived with Pacific Divers, and we really appreciated Steve, who is a Kiwi diver, as well as his dive center.
Safety, quality and skills are perfect, this is a very friendly dive centre, their boat is comfortable.

We highly recommend them.
We want to thank Steve and his team for this very nice stay.

[/COLOR][/I]

I think it's obvious someone here works for Pacific Divers

 

[STRANGLERFIG]

I think it's obvious someone here works for Pacific Divers

Bonsoir.

:no vous vous trompez lourdement :54:. Nous sommes des médecins français et si vous comprenez notre langue vous pouvez lire le rapport que j'avais fait en décembre 2007 sur nos plongées à Rarotonga et qui se trouve sur le plus important site francophone de destinations de plongée : ici :


:no What a huge mistake you're making :54: . We are French doctors and if you can understand French, you should read the report I wrote in December, 2007, about our dives at Rarotonga, and which can be found on the most important diving destination French website there:

Lecture d'un avis

cordialement

Bernard