recommendations for KI or Adelaide this March / April 2010?

[DaveA]

Hi all,

My wife and I will be visiting Adelaide, driving down the peninsula to the ferry, across to KI (staying in KI for 8 days), the end of March through 1st week of April 2010. We welcome any recommendations for dive locations, dive shops, etc. Compared to most on this thread, we are relatively inexperienced (about 10 dives for me, 20 dives for my wife).

Thanks for your time.

DaveA

 

[diver257a]

Hi all,

My wife and I will be visiting Adelaide, driving down the peninsula to the ferry, across to KI (staying in KI for 8 days), the end of March through 1st week of April 2010. We welcome any recommendations for dive locations, dive shops, etc. Compared to most on this thread, we are relatively inexperienced (about 10 dives for me, 20 dives for my wife).

Thanks for your time.

DaveA

Hi DaveA,

I live in Adelaide – I suggest the following.

Given you & your wife’s relative inexperience & the need for detailed local knowledge to dive safely & enjoyably on KI, I would recommend that you use the services of a dive store.

Dive stores - there is only 1 dive store on KI (trades as 'Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris' & 'Kangaroo Island Dive and Adventures'). The Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris website has full details of the store’s services including current pricing. To obtain the URLs for the above dive store, you should google either 'kidivingsafaris' or 'kangarooislanddiveandadventures'. As I have never used this store, I cannot offer an opinion.


Dives - the north coast of KI is where most diving is carried out. In theory, the weather during late March-early April should be ideal for this coastline (i.e. off-shore).

Mainland dives - during your drive back to Adelaide, you can visit a number of divesites suitable for shore diving. I would suggest Rapid Bay Jetty as a first choice. Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris should be able to provide details about this & other sites on the way back to Adelaide.

Regards

Diver257a

 

[DaveA]

Thank you! We found the web sites for 'Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris' & 'Kangaroo Island Dive and Adventures' -- will likely go with them for at least one shore dive on KI and to rent gear for others. There does not seem to be any other shops on KI. We intend to dive at Rapid Bay Jetty before heading to KI -- found references to it which looks great. If you have any recommendations for dive stores in the vicinity of RBJ, would also be interested. The day we leave KI, we need to head straight to Adelaide airport.

Again -- thanks!

 

[diver257a]

There was a dive store at American Beach on KI - I believe this has been closed since last century.

There are no dive stores near or at Rapid Bay - the nearest 2 are at Port Noarlunga (ie the Dive Shack) and Christies Beach (i.e. Southern Diving Centre). These are about 50 km north of Rapid Bay. Alternatively, Adelaide Scuba at Glenelg which is close to the airport & on the way south to Rapid Bay & beyond should be considered. I have shopped at both Southern Diving Centre & Adelaide Scuba. The Dive Shack is a new business - I have no knowledge of this business. All of these stores have websites.

One tip - please check the opening hours for these stores & compare with your travel plans. From memory, some of these stores may be closed mid-week and are usually open late on Thursday evenings.

 

[DaveA]

These are great suggestions that are very much appreciated -- thank you! We are looking forward to visiting this part of Australia.

 

[JDiver56]

Though this is to late for the OP, I want to comment: Kangaroo Island is worth a few days of visit. K.I. was never infested with mainland imports, so interesting wildlife not generally seen outside of reserves can be seen (e.g. echidnas) and the scenery is spectacular.

For the diving, several days of diving will reveal some of the greatest algal species diversity in the world, seals, dolphins (and the opportunity to swim with them), over 150 fish species (some of them endemic), leafy and weedy sea dragons or course, and the opportunity to dive in a pristine and well-kept environment. Those from California, eat your heart out - abalones in 30 fsw, big bugs / crays in Oz / lobsters, you name it, it's waiting here. Water may be warmest in February / March, and if you can swing it when the juvenile leafies are out and about, bonzer!

Kangaroo Island Diving Safaris is the place, but my experiences with them were when Jim and Josie Thiselton were about. Jim guided National Geographic and other photographers to the leafies and other wildlife, offered farm stays at their place, etc. The new KIDS is owned-operated by Mark Snadden, and I am sorry to say I don't know anything about him so I can't comment. I will vouch for his statement ". . . unique Leafy Sea Dragon, Australian Sea Lions, Fur Seals and swim with Dolphins in a pristine wilderness area with spectacular views . . ."

Fly, take the ferry or swim - you won't be sorry you went. In 54 years of diving, this is one of the memorable dive spots in my logs (frankly, moreso than the GBR, as I prefer Fiji, Vanuatu, etc. to the IMO less than pristine GBR).

 

[DaveA]

Sorry for not responding earlier -- have not been active on this forum, which has been my loss. We had a great trip and are considering another trip to OZ in another few years (next time perhaps WA). From where you get tanks to where you dive in Kangaroo Island, be prepared for some long drives (an hour East from where we stayed to get tanks and weights, an hour + in another direction to dive). On one dive, we did see 2 female dolphins with 3 calves (proper term?) at Western River Cove.

As diver257a mentioned, one needs to check the hours of dive shops near Rapid Bay Jetty.

To see sea dragons, recommend going on a guided drive.

Dave

 

[JDiver56]

It seems like the Thistletons have closed up shop and sold the business. KI divers will undoubtedly miss them. But yes, to see Leafies, it is recommended to do some guided dives - and I highly recommend any diver heading to KI not miss the Leafies unless they are familiar with the piers and areas in South Australia (think Voctor Harbour) where Leafies can also be found.

 

[bracko]

I don't know if Dive Shack have moved or opened another store, but they have a store on Richmond Rd. Mile End South now.