Well with all the crazy warm weather we've been having over this side of the planet, I thought I'd give you a taster of some of the dives I've been doing lately. The water temp is around the 21'C mark and, let's just say I have spent a fair few hours u/w lately!
Starting with last Sunday! Simply put, I had the best day's diving I have ever had EVER!
Here's why.
I arrived at Tutukaka Marina a little later than intended (8:30am) so felt a slight rush to get my ***** sorted. Met up with Greg, Sandra and her flatmate Heather and before we knew it, we were off! Yukon's boat was full of lovely people and for some, it was their first dive at the Knights boy! Were they (and we) up for a nice surprise!
Our first port of call for DIVE ONE was the HMNZS Waikato, which, believe it or not, had eluded my dive history until now! And apparently, we had the best conditions. I didn't take my camera as I just wanted to explore! And explore I did! What a fantastic wreck. Greg and his Megalodon Rebreather went down way ahead of us and we (Sandra, Heather and I) headed down the line to the stern. The visability was AMAZING (would guess between 15 18m, maybe even better in places), so we cruised through some well lit holes as we travelled along her. Max depth was around 28m and she is encrusted with a lot of life, most notably an array of colourful anemones! We were about half way along the deck when we met up with Greg and we headed inside again at this point. She's very open and an absolute joy to penetrate. We headed up and out a hole in the port side and headed up and over the wreck. There are lots of interesting holes to poke the torch into wherever you happen to be. The four of us then swum around where she had broken in two, the front of the bridge and had a look inside saw the toilet (lovely!) Again, really light, and easy access penetration! At this point, Sandra and Heather ascended a tad while Greg and I went and had a look at the broken off bow. This was just visable from the bridge and we swam about half way along before heading back to the main structure. While Greg was looking I finned gently back around to the line, after having a bit of a play on the deck. Sandra and Heather were in sight about 10m above me and I finished the 50 min dive with a nice, long ascent and extended safety stop not really for safety but because I couldn't take my eyes off the wreck! She is just beautiful and I am so keen to go and dive her again as soon as possible.
So, onto DIVE TWO!
Skipper Noel's plan for the day was to do a wreck dive, one at the Sugarloaf or the Pinnacles and then finish the day off at the Knights. This is in fact exactly what we did! Dive two was at Tie Dye Arch at the Pinncles (about 8km south of the main islands) and so called for the colourful sponges and anemonies which grace the walls. Maximum depth was around the 20m mark and maximum distance travelled was...well...not very far because as soon as Greg and I (and our other buddy Herbert) got to the archways, we found ourselves surrounded by stingrays all on the move, rotating around us. So we perched ourselves behind several boulder-shaped rocks with the aim of staying out of the current to watch this magnificent display of nature. It was mesmerising and I have a couple of videos that I hope will illustrate just how much! As everyone exited the water, Boat crew, Noel and Paulie were met with lots of "Fcuk!?" "Fcuk! That was awesome!" "So many stingrays?" "just bloody awesome mate!" "Fcuk!?.." you get the idea. We were all impressed!!
And, I also took a video!
DIVE THREE awaits!
Off we steamed to the Poor Knights, visiting Riko Riko Cave en route where Noel got the chance to blow his horn!! and onto Brady's Corner. Greg and I headed in for a relaxing, shallow dive in this beautiful kelp forest. Here are a couple of images from dive three. The kelpie shots weren't that interesting IMHO. Quite like anemone one though
Minimal current, good vis again and a lovely way to end the day's diving....
....on the EAST coast that is!! For after we had taken all our gear off Arrow and said our goodbyes to the crew and the gang, Greg and I high-tailed it west for a dusk dive at the Kai Iwi Lakes. Again, didn't take any photos but this is a good shot of what it would look like during the day.
Once i had nipped home on the way to grab a torch, another tank and my drysuit, I met Greg and his wife Nic at their place and we headed for the Lakes. It was around 8pm when we got there and we had to gear up, dive and eat within an hour and a half so we didn't get locked in by the ranger. Nic had prepared a delicious platter of food including roast chicken, bean salad, green salad....just yummy. Greg and I, having survived only on some biccies and lollies on the boat all day, very ungracefully gobbled up a few bits of chicken before we went for the dive. Then we headed to the water's edge.
This is such a beautiful spot, so still, so quiet. We descended into about six metres and headed down. It got quite dark, fairly quickly and we had some fun practicing our night diving signals with the torches on the way down. At about 12m (I think) we hit a dramatic thermocline thank goodness for my drysuit and then it got cooler again as we reached our maximum depth of 18m. Among the weed at the bottom, we saw some little fishies and also some fresh water crays who were quite bolshy for their size! They stare straight at you, as if encouraging a scrap (maybe they've been talking to their salt water cousins!!).
Conscious of the time, we headed up the silty wall, passing pine cones and forest debris. It was very calm and relaxing and we edged our way up slowly into the last of the ambient light. When we surfaced, I was overwhelmed by the silence again. Total peace and serenity.
As a bonus, we had just washed our kit, (again because we had already washed it down after being in the sea of course!) and after we had de-kitted we tucked into a magnificent water-side picnic! We ate, drank and talked until the light failed and then headed home.
The Waikato was one of the best wreck dives I have ever done, the stingrays were absolutely enchanting at Tie Dye I felt like I was in the lost world and needlesstosay extremely lucky to be there. Also, a large part of the enjoyment for me was catching up with some good friends and meeting some new ones who all shared this fantastic day and will remember it forever. Thanks to Noel and Jo for another fantastic day on the boat, to Sandra for organising the trip, and Greg, Heather, Sandra and Herbert for their buddyship!
So, as if that wasn't enough fun, three days later, along with more keen buddies Andy, Sonia and Pete, we booked a day out on the HMNZS Waikato with Dive! Tutukaka.
As we tied of on the buoy for the first dive, we discussed the plan for the dive which was loosely me with Pete (I was acting as his 'dive model'). We would meet Sonia, Andre (Pete's friend) and Andy on the bow and Sonia and I would begin our ascent as the only ones on OC single tanks! Although Pete and I met the guys slightly later on than expected, this plan did kind of work and Pete and I did have a good go at trying to make me look graceful under water!! This is the first time I have modelled U/W (well, ever actually!) and it is actually quite difficult. Pete was like (signalling rather than talking obviously): "Ascend higher,face the bow, look this way, point your torch at my camera port...hold still, close your legs, push your backside towards the structure..." As you can imagine, I was a fit of giggles a lot of the time! But the guy knows his stuff! We reviewed some of the images on deck and I could see exactly where I was going wrong.
After going back to the marina in between dives and getting a fill (of air and food!), we steamed straight back out there for dive two. Following a similar plan, Pete and I headed straight to the bow to improve on my earlier poses and then went back to the main structure, meeting the others there. The time had come for me to leave so I started my ascent, shortly followed by Sonia and then Andy. Andre and Pete the breather divers remained under for a further 30 mins or so. Personally speaking, I did two 29m dives the first was of 54 minute duration and the second, 60 minutes (accounting for the extra accumulation of deco).
The conditions were not quite as mint as Sunday but not at all far off. The wreck is definitely one of the best I have dived in the world and it will be awesome getting to know her over the years.
Thanks guys for a wonderful trip. It was great going out during the week and having the boat to ourselves!! Thanks also to Luke and Dive! Tutukaka for being exceptional as always!!!
The money shot, by Pete Mesley!
I think I had better round things off now...although I could go on for several 1000 words! I am inspired. I love diving - it is so much a part of the core of me, a reason I exist, I am always challenged and never disappointed and I can't imagine my life without it. In fact, it will be difficult matching last week's for me but I am willing to spend the rest of my life trying! Kia ora everyone
Starting with last Sunday! Simply put, I had the best day's diving I have ever had EVER!
Here's why.
I arrived at Tutukaka Marina a little later than intended (8:30am) so felt a slight rush to get my ***** sorted. Met up with Greg, Sandra and her flatmate Heather and before we knew it, we were off! Yukon's boat was full of lovely people and for some, it was their first dive at the Knights boy! Were they (and we) up for a nice surprise!
Our first port of call for DIVE ONE was the HMNZS Waikato, which, believe it or not, had eluded my dive history until now! And apparently, we had the best conditions. I didn't take my camera as I just wanted to explore! And explore I did! What a fantastic wreck. Greg and his Megalodon Rebreather went down way ahead of us and we (Sandra, Heather and I) headed down the line to the stern. The visability was AMAZING (would guess between 15 18m, maybe even better in places), so we cruised through some well lit holes as we travelled along her. Max depth was around 28m and she is encrusted with a lot of life, most notably an array of colourful anemones! We were about half way along the deck when we met up with Greg and we headed inside again at this point. She's very open and an absolute joy to penetrate. We headed up and out a hole in the port side and headed up and over the wreck. There are lots of interesting holes to poke the torch into wherever you happen to be. The four of us then swum around where she had broken in two, the front of the bridge and had a look inside saw the toilet (lovely!) Again, really light, and easy access penetration! At this point, Sandra and Heather ascended a tad while Greg and I went and had a look at the broken off bow. This was just visable from the bridge and we swam about half way along before heading back to the main structure. While Greg was looking I finned gently back around to the line, after having a bit of a play on the deck. Sandra and Heather were in sight about 10m above me and I finished the 50 min dive with a nice, long ascent and extended safety stop not really for safety but because I couldn't take my eyes off the wreck! She is just beautiful and I am so keen to go and dive her again as soon as possible.
So, onto DIVE TWO!
Skipper Noel's plan for the day was to do a wreck dive, one at the Sugarloaf or the Pinnacles and then finish the day off at the Knights. This is in fact exactly what we did! Dive two was at Tie Dye Arch at the Pinncles (about 8km south of the main islands) and so called for the colourful sponges and anemonies which grace the walls. Maximum depth was around the 20m mark and maximum distance travelled was...well...not very far because as soon as Greg and I (and our other buddy Herbert) got to the archways, we found ourselves surrounded by stingrays all on the move, rotating around us. So we perched ourselves behind several boulder-shaped rocks with the aim of staying out of the current to watch this magnificent display of nature. It was mesmerising and I have a couple of videos that I hope will illustrate just how much! As everyone exited the water, Boat crew, Noel and Paulie were met with lots of "Fcuk!?" "Fcuk! That was awesome!" "So many stingrays?" "just bloody awesome mate!" "Fcuk!?.." you get the idea. We were all impressed!!
And, I also took a video!
DIVE THREE awaits!
Off we steamed to the Poor Knights, visiting Riko Riko Cave en route where Noel got the chance to blow his horn!! and onto Brady's Corner. Greg and I headed in for a relaxing, shallow dive in this beautiful kelp forest. Here are a couple of images from dive three. The kelpie shots weren't that interesting IMHO. Quite like anemone one though
Minimal current, good vis again and a lovely way to end the day's diving....
....on the EAST coast that is!! For after we had taken all our gear off Arrow and said our goodbyes to the crew and the gang, Greg and I high-tailed it west for a dusk dive at the Kai Iwi Lakes. Again, didn't take any photos but this is a good shot of what it would look like during the day.
Once i had nipped home on the way to grab a torch, another tank and my drysuit, I met Greg and his wife Nic at their place and we headed for the Lakes. It was around 8pm when we got there and we had to gear up, dive and eat within an hour and a half so we didn't get locked in by the ranger. Nic had prepared a delicious platter of food including roast chicken, bean salad, green salad....just yummy. Greg and I, having survived only on some biccies and lollies on the boat all day, very ungracefully gobbled up a few bits of chicken before we went for the dive. Then we headed to the water's edge.
This is such a beautiful spot, so still, so quiet. We descended into about six metres and headed down. It got quite dark, fairly quickly and we had some fun practicing our night diving signals with the torches on the way down. At about 12m (I think) we hit a dramatic thermocline thank goodness for my drysuit and then it got cooler again as we reached our maximum depth of 18m. Among the weed at the bottom, we saw some little fishies and also some fresh water crays who were quite bolshy for their size! They stare straight at you, as if encouraging a scrap (maybe they've been talking to their salt water cousins!!).
Conscious of the time, we headed up the silty wall, passing pine cones and forest debris. It was very calm and relaxing and we edged our way up slowly into the last of the ambient light. When we surfaced, I was overwhelmed by the silence again. Total peace and serenity.
As a bonus, we had just washed our kit, (again because we had already washed it down after being in the sea of course!) and after we had de-kitted we tucked into a magnificent water-side picnic! We ate, drank and talked until the light failed and then headed home.
The Waikato was one of the best wreck dives I have ever done, the stingrays were absolutely enchanting at Tie Dye I felt like I was in the lost world and needlesstosay extremely lucky to be there. Also, a large part of the enjoyment for me was catching up with some good friends and meeting some new ones who all shared this fantastic day and will remember it forever. Thanks to Noel and Jo for another fantastic day on the boat, to Sandra for organising the trip, and Greg, Heather, Sandra and Herbert for their buddyship!
So, as if that wasn't enough fun, three days later, along with more keen buddies Andy, Sonia and Pete, we booked a day out on the HMNZS Waikato with Dive! Tutukaka.
As we tied of on the buoy for the first dive, we discussed the plan for the dive which was loosely me with Pete (I was acting as his 'dive model'
). We would meet Sonia, Andre (Pete's friend) and Andy on the bow and Sonia and I would begin our ascent as the only ones on OC single tanks! Although Pete and I met the guys slightly later on than expected, this plan did kind of work and Pete and I did have a good go at trying to make me look graceful under water!! This is the first time I have modelled U/W (well, ever actually!) and it is actually quite difficult. Pete was like (signalling rather than talking obviously): "Ascend higher,face the bow, look this way, point your torch at my camera port...hold still, close your legs, push your backside towards the structure..." As you can imagine, I was a fit of giggles a lot of the time! But the guy knows his stuff! We reviewed some of the images on deck and I could see exactly where I was going wrong.After going back to the marina in between dives and getting a fill (of air and food!), we steamed straight back out there for dive two. Following a similar plan, Pete and I headed straight to the bow to improve on my earlier poses and then went back to the main structure, meeting the others there. The time had come for me to leave so I started my ascent, shortly followed by Sonia and then Andy. Andre and Pete the breather divers remained under for a further 30 mins or so. Personally speaking, I did two 29m dives the first was of 54 minute duration and the second, 60 minutes (accounting for the extra accumulation of deco).
The conditions were not quite as mint as Sunday but not at all far off. The wreck is definitely one of the best I have dived in the world and it will be awesome getting to know her over the years.
Thanks guys for a wonderful trip. It was great going out during the week and having the boat to ourselves!! Thanks also to Luke and Dive! Tutukaka for being exceptional as always!!!
The money shot, by Pete Mesley!
I think I had better round things off now...although I could go on for several 1000 words! I am inspired. I love diving - it is so much a part of the core of me, a reason I exist, I am always challenged and never disappointed and I can't imagine my life without it. In fact, it will be difficult matching last week's for me but I am willing to spend the rest of my life trying! Kia ora everyone
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