Uli Kunkel
Contributor
I started planning for this little trip a few months back after having done a lot of research on the web at various places, Scubaboard being one of these- so I thought I would put up another trip report of the experience!
I flew into Melbourne on July 13th in the evening and took a greyhound bus over to Adelaide from Southern Cross Train/Bus station. The transportation system is set up easily enough so that you can catch a shuttle from the airport to the station fairly easily. The bus was about what one would expect from an overnight bus trip and I arrived in Adelaide the next day groggy as sin with a killer kink in my neck. On the way back to Melbourne I took the Great Southern Rail train and it was much, much nicer than the bus!
For the duration of the trip I stayed in Backpack OZ, a guesthouse in Adelaide. It was cheap, clean, and friendly. It had most of what I needed except for a rinse tank and a place to dry my equipment.
Thanks to a few different sources, including SB member diver257a, I had been in contact with a number of different local dive shops in the area and had decided to book a day of diving with Underwater Sports Diving Centre. The scheduled dive was at Rapid Bay and the divemaster showed up at the hostel on schedule and we were off.
The drive there/back was incredibly scenic and was even worth the days outing without the diving! The facilities at Rapid Bay consisted of a pockmarked parking lot and a jetty. Not such a big deal, but a fair warning to anyone who might need more in the way of facilities.
The diving from South Australia is done in temperate water. Temperate as in *#^%^# COLD. If you're not used to diving in cold water you will be in for a shock. If I did this trip again I would insist on being fitted for a semi-dry at the dive shop the day before you depart. I was diving in a Nemo 5mm (with leaky crotch zip), three spare hooded vests (2mm), two pairs of thin gloves, booties, 5mm socks, and airline socks for the luxury. Not the best of situations, but I was basically throwing on every spare piece of equipment I could get my hands on to try and sneak one by the cold water.
The conditions were fantastic, despite the 14C water and crazy buoyancy issues from all that kit. I would say the visibility was about 10 15m and no current. Entry points were done down the jetty on marine stairs which are slip proof. The bottom was a combination of short seagrass beds and gravel. It would be fairly easy to rest on the bottom without damaging any marine life if you were careful. Nice sun in the sky and no foul weather afoot. The DM was amazed at the conditions and said he had never seen it that nice before- had I not been turning blue I would have appreciated that, however after 60mins of fun I was out of the water and trying to smoke a cigarette with trembling, numb hands. The second dive was about the same, but we found a little leafy near the end of the dive! Win!
I had a great time diving with Underwater Sports Diving, it was just the two of us out there diving that day and there were plenty of opportunities for photographs. The only gripe I have is the wetsuit situation. However, being Canadian and tough as nails it only took me three or four days to warm up after the dives.
Underwater Sports Diving Centre
Shop 4, 1048 Grand Junction Road
Holden Hill SA 5088
Ph 08 8263 3337
On July 17th I had booked another day of diving at Edithburgh Jetty with a shop just outside Adelaide called Divers Delight. I packed my kit into the back of a taxi and met the staff at their shop the day before and got fitted out for a 7mm wetsuit. There weren't and semi-dry suits available at the time, so I made sure I had the best fitting one and went with it.
The staff at Divers Delight are very warm and welcoming. After my time diving with them I not only felt as though I had a great diving experience, but I had made several new friends as well. The other members of the shop are just as friendly and you get the feeling that you are diving with a large family that gets on with one another very well. They are very accommodating and made me feel right at home.
The drive to Edithburgh was longer than Rapid Bay, but in my impression of the two the extra time was worthwhile. There are a lot of facilities including nearby restaurants and stores around the dive site. The conditions weren't as good as just a few days before at Rapid Bay, with the water temperature down to about 11C (BRAARGH!) and the vis at about 5-10m. The entry was a lot closer at this site however. Edithburgh has a lot more rubble and large beds of seagrass which make it difficult to find a place to steady yourself on the bottom. I found that there was more marine life at Edithburgh, however I was probably just lucky that day.
There was a touch of current which made it difficult for me to keep my cool and remain in the water at a fairly normal position for what one would expect from a diver- I ended up having to put my Nemo 5mm over top of the wetsuit from Divers Delight, so again I was the guy that was bumping into things and started floating away every now and then. For shame! Having been planning for so long to go there and get the photos that I wanted, I was a little disappointed that I hadn't been able to master diving with all that kit on.
Unfortunately, through the rest of my travels this summer I have lost most of my pictures from the trip and I'll have to rely on the memory- but I would definitely do the trip again in a heartbeat!
Divers Delight
PADI 5 Star ID Centre
Shop 1B, St Peters Village
103-111 Payneham road
St Peters SA 5069
I'd be happy to answer any more questions about the experience!
I flew into Melbourne on July 13th in the evening and took a greyhound bus over to Adelaide from Southern Cross Train/Bus station. The transportation system is set up easily enough so that you can catch a shuttle from the airport to the station fairly easily. The bus was about what one would expect from an overnight bus trip and I arrived in Adelaide the next day groggy as sin with a killer kink in my neck. On the way back to Melbourne I took the Great Southern Rail train and it was much, much nicer than the bus!
For the duration of the trip I stayed in Backpack OZ, a guesthouse in Adelaide. It was cheap, clean, and friendly. It had most of what I needed except for a rinse tank and a place to dry my equipment.
Thanks to a few different sources, including SB member diver257a, I had been in contact with a number of different local dive shops in the area and had decided to book a day of diving with Underwater Sports Diving Centre. The scheduled dive was at Rapid Bay and the divemaster showed up at the hostel on schedule and we were off.
The drive there/back was incredibly scenic and was even worth the days outing without the diving! The facilities at Rapid Bay consisted of a pockmarked parking lot and a jetty. Not such a big deal, but a fair warning to anyone who might need more in the way of facilities.
The diving from South Australia is done in temperate water. Temperate as in *#^%^# COLD. If you're not used to diving in cold water you will be in for a shock. If I did this trip again I would insist on being fitted for a semi-dry at the dive shop the day before you depart. I was diving in a Nemo 5mm (with leaky crotch zip), three spare hooded vests (2mm), two pairs of thin gloves, booties, 5mm socks, and airline socks for the luxury. Not the best of situations, but I was basically throwing on every spare piece of equipment I could get my hands on to try and sneak one by the cold water.
The conditions were fantastic, despite the 14C water and crazy buoyancy issues from all that kit. I would say the visibility was about 10 15m and no current. Entry points were done down the jetty on marine stairs which are slip proof. The bottom was a combination of short seagrass beds and gravel. It would be fairly easy to rest on the bottom without damaging any marine life if you were careful. Nice sun in the sky and no foul weather afoot. The DM was amazed at the conditions and said he had never seen it that nice before- had I not been turning blue I would have appreciated that, however after 60mins of fun I was out of the water and trying to smoke a cigarette with trembling, numb hands. The second dive was about the same, but we found a little leafy near the end of the dive! Win!
I had a great time diving with Underwater Sports Diving, it was just the two of us out there diving that day and there were plenty of opportunities for photographs. The only gripe I have is the wetsuit situation. However, being Canadian and tough as nails it only took me three or four days to warm up after the dives.
Underwater Sports Diving Centre
Shop 4, 1048 Grand Junction Road
Holden Hill SA 5088
Ph 08 8263 3337
On July 17th I had booked another day of diving at Edithburgh Jetty with a shop just outside Adelaide called Divers Delight. I packed my kit into the back of a taxi and met the staff at their shop the day before and got fitted out for a 7mm wetsuit. There weren't and semi-dry suits available at the time, so I made sure I had the best fitting one and went with it.
The staff at Divers Delight are very warm and welcoming. After my time diving with them I not only felt as though I had a great diving experience, but I had made several new friends as well. The other members of the shop are just as friendly and you get the feeling that you are diving with a large family that gets on with one another very well. They are very accommodating and made me feel right at home.
The drive to Edithburgh was longer than Rapid Bay, but in my impression of the two the extra time was worthwhile. There are a lot of facilities including nearby restaurants and stores around the dive site. The conditions weren't as good as just a few days before at Rapid Bay, with the water temperature down to about 11C (BRAARGH!) and the vis at about 5-10m. The entry was a lot closer at this site however. Edithburgh has a lot more rubble and large beds of seagrass which make it difficult to find a place to steady yourself on the bottom. I found that there was more marine life at Edithburgh, however I was probably just lucky that day.
There was a touch of current which made it difficult for me to keep my cool and remain in the water at a fairly normal position for what one would expect from a diver- I ended up having to put my Nemo 5mm over top of the wetsuit from Divers Delight, so again I was the guy that was bumping into things and started floating away every now and then. For shame! Having been planning for so long to go there and get the photos that I wanted, I was a little disappointed that I hadn't been able to master diving with all that kit on.
Unfortunately, through the rest of my travels this summer I have lost most of my pictures from the trip and I'll have to rely on the memory- but I would definitely do the trip again in a heartbeat!
Divers Delight
PADI 5 Star ID Centre
Shop 1B, St Peters Village
103-111 Payneham road
St Peters SA 5069
I'd be happy to answer any more questions about the experience!
