almitywife
Vegemite Mod
long winded as only i can be but here is the topside logistics report and hopefully the photographers will add their pics in a couple of days
Diving Tassie - OH MY! Swim thru's and caves and ledges and depth and blue water!
We decided to tag along with a number of Frogdive divers who recently purchased their Oceanic Paragon drysuits (and got a free Tassie weekend as part of the deal) to see what cold water diver was about.
Departing Sydney on the Thursday we arrived in sunny/windy/rainy/hot/cold & overcast Hobart and discovered very quickly Tassie weather changes quicker than Melbourne could ever hope to!
A quick side trip to the Cadbury factory for a tour ( Cadbury Australia - Home - About Us - Cadbury Factory Tours , must book weeks in advance) for a buy-up of the chocolate necessities for a long weekend of diving and we headed off to GoDive Hobart for our group meetup.
Busted with the famous 5kg never ending box of chocolates
The crew at the GoDive was friendly and helpful and once everyone arrived the van was packed and we were off (via the local BWS & woollies for individual comfort food) for the hour drive to Eaglehawke. Actually we are a few klms out of Eaglehawke and only 9klms away from Port Arthur. Arriving about 6.30pm we were greeted by the lovely Charmaine who was already cooking up a hot and hearty dinner for us all while we unpacked the gear and claimed our rooms.
The dive lodge is still a work in progress (they are expanding) but all the comforts and gear requirements are there!
Big locked storage shed complete with hangers/robes/shelving for divers and the shed even includes a heater for the winter months when nothing seems to get dry. Outside is the coolest confined water dive pool ive seen, looks like 2 silos complete with port holes and the depths are approx 1mtr and 3mtrs for OW training
Storage room with racking and shelves
Training pool
The dive lodge is our home for the next 5 days and I couldnt find fault.very clean and comfy.
There are 12 bunk rooms so its fantastic to have a private place to chill out when you need some me time. The double bunks were built rock solid so even when a big guy was in the top bunk there wasnt a fear that it would come crashing down during the night. The room also had a wardrobe for everything to be out of the way, power points and linen/towels were provided. The two bathrooms were super clean and despite being on water tanks, hot (short) showers were never a let down. All the action otherwise happens around the kitchen/lounge room or out on the front balcony where the kettle is always on and Diesel the dog wants to play catch the stick with you constantly (make him sit first).
Pic of the rooms
Lounging around
View from the balcony
Food is hearty and non stop, you can be as healthy as you like with cereals, salads and veggies or go the daily full hot breakfast that would make the heart foundation weep and then there is the yummy lunches and dinners we were never hungry and Charmaine and Frank did all the work!
The GoDive boat is a Crusader rubber duck with dive ladders and racks built in for comfort and speed with twin 115hp Yamaha outboards that can accommodate 10 divers easily. I can say that it was one of the finer boats I have vomited it on in my 10 years of diving.
Inside the boat
And heading out
And a Oceanic moment (plus Hot n Dry ringin on the left)
Their usual dive day is to gear up in the morning and head out, after the first dive return to the lodge for lunch and a few hours break before changing tanks and heading off for dive number two.
But our group asked for a change and the GoDive team was very accommodating so after the first dive, we returned to the wharf and was met with a change of tanks, morning tea inc hot soup and we were off for dive number two!
The dives our group completed during the weekend were:
1. Waterfall Bay
2. Fallen Cliffs
3. Twin Peaks
4. Waterfall Bay (different area)
5. Big Thumper
6. Kelp Forest
All dives were between 20mtrs to 35mtrs deep, lots of swim thrus and caves and ledges. The vis was a constant 15-20mtrs+ depending on the day but one dive at Waterfall Bay near the caves had claims of gin clear water and the temps hovered around 10c-12c (50f) depending on the site but despite this I can honestly say I was never cold (and neither was Brett when he borrowed my gloves). The only complaint I heard about the cold was for those wearing thinner gloves.
I was surprised by the lack of fish life around but was overwhelmed by the plate sized abalone and lobsters and crays.
The soft corals and colours on the ledges were really nice but I do think if I had more experience diving these waters I would have had more luck finding the smaller and more unique fish life that is hiding below the kelp line. Oh and kelp! Freakin kelp everywhere, to the point that Fishwife and I was kelped-out and I swear I was being watched by the kelp (started imagining eyes in the kelp) after a while but the boys tell me they were wowd by the giant kelp although sadly we were told see it now before it all disappears.
On the Monday, we were driven to the airport for those that had an early flight or otherwise we were welcomed to leave our bags at the GoDive shop so we can tour around Hobart until it was time to grab a taxi and head off to the airport and home.
Lodge Plus:
clean, comfy, roomy and relaxing. Charmaine & Frank never seemed to stop working but they leave you alone also.
Lodge Neg:
The ceiling light in the bedrooms need to be moved to make getting up and down the top bunk easier. Truly, the only thing I could fault.
Dive Plus:
Blue water, great viz, depth, swim thrus and caves!
I wasnt anywhere near as cold as I thought it would be.
Lawrence ran a fun, relaxed and safe boat. For someone so young hes very level headed and nothing was a problem for him.
Dive Neg:
Not enough time! We could easily redo the 6 sites we dived and still have another dozen we havent even seen yet!
Shhhhh dont tell but; who was the diver that TWICE put on their drysuit and was wondering why getting their head thru the neck was difficult because TWICE they left the hanger inside the drysuit!
Hint:
* Virgin airline was our choice of carrier. Using the sporting goods=5kgs clause none of the divers had any issues with their luggage, well except for the one diver they flew JetStar and got a $50 fee.
* There is no local shop so stock up on the comfort foods (booze, fizzy drink, ect) before you get to the lodge.
Thanks to: Go Dive Tasmania (Frank, Charmaine, Lawrence and the boys). Everything was taken care of and Luke at Frog Dive Scuba Centres for getting our group together and making it happen we had a fun weekend and I would return to do some more Tassie diving so if you get the chance do it!
oh, and there will be some underwater pics but i have to nag hubby for those over the next few days!
Diving Tassie - OH MY! Swim thru's and caves and ledges and depth and blue water!
We decided to tag along with a number of Frogdive divers who recently purchased their Oceanic Paragon drysuits (and got a free Tassie weekend as part of the deal) to see what cold water diver was about.
Departing Sydney on the Thursday we arrived in sunny/windy/rainy/hot/cold & overcast Hobart and discovered very quickly Tassie weather changes quicker than Melbourne could ever hope to!
A quick side trip to the Cadbury factory for a tour ( Cadbury Australia - Home - About Us - Cadbury Factory Tours , must book weeks in advance) for a buy-up of the chocolate necessities for a long weekend of diving and we headed off to GoDive Hobart for our group meetup.
Busted with the famous 5kg never ending box of chocolates
The crew at the GoDive was friendly and helpful and once everyone arrived the van was packed and we were off (via the local BWS & woollies for individual comfort food) for the hour drive to Eaglehawke. Actually we are a few klms out of Eaglehawke and only 9klms away from Port Arthur. Arriving about 6.30pm we were greeted by the lovely Charmaine who was already cooking up a hot and hearty dinner for us all while we unpacked the gear and claimed our rooms.
The dive lodge is still a work in progress (they are expanding) but all the comforts and gear requirements are there!
Big locked storage shed complete with hangers/robes/shelving for divers and the shed even includes a heater for the winter months when nothing seems to get dry. Outside is the coolest confined water dive pool ive seen, looks like 2 silos complete with port holes and the depths are approx 1mtr and 3mtrs for OW training
Storage room with racking and shelves
Training pool
The dive lodge is our home for the next 5 days and I couldnt find fault.very clean and comfy.
There are 12 bunk rooms so its fantastic to have a private place to chill out when you need some me time. The double bunks were built rock solid so even when a big guy was in the top bunk there wasnt a fear that it would come crashing down during the night. The room also had a wardrobe for everything to be out of the way, power points and linen/towels were provided. The two bathrooms were super clean and despite being on water tanks, hot (short) showers were never a let down. All the action otherwise happens around the kitchen/lounge room or out on the front balcony where the kettle is always on and Diesel the dog wants to play catch the stick with you constantly (make him sit first).
Pic of the rooms
Lounging around
View from the balcony
Food is hearty and non stop, you can be as healthy as you like with cereals, salads and veggies or go the daily full hot breakfast that would make the heart foundation weep and then there is the yummy lunches and dinners we were never hungry and Charmaine and Frank did all the work!
The GoDive boat is a Crusader rubber duck with dive ladders and racks built in for comfort and speed with twin 115hp Yamaha outboards that can accommodate 10 divers easily. I can say that it was one of the finer boats I have vomited it on in my 10 years of diving.
Inside the boat
And heading out
And a Oceanic moment (plus Hot n Dry ringin on the left)
Their usual dive day is to gear up in the morning and head out, after the first dive return to the lodge for lunch and a few hours break before changing tanks and heading off for dive number two.
But our group asked for a change and the GoDive team was very accommodating so after the first dive, we returned to the wharf and was met with a change of tanks, morning tea inc hot soup and we were off for dive number two!
The dives our group completed during the weekend were:
1. Waterfall Bay
2. Fallen Cliffs
3. Twin Peaks
4. Waterfall Bay (different area)
5. Big Thumper
6. Kelp Forest
All dives were between 20mtrs to 35mtrs deep, lots of swim thrus and caves and ledges. The vis was a constant 15-20mtrs+ depending on the day but one dive at Waterfall Bay near the caves had claims of gin clear water and the temps hovered around 10c-12c (50f) depending on the site but despite this I can honestly say I was never cold (and neither was Brett when he borrowed my gloves). The only complaint I heard about the cold was for those wearing thinner gloves.
I was surprised by the lack of fish life around but was overwhelmed by the plate sized abalone and lobsters and crays.
The soft corals and colours on the ledges were really nice but I do think if I had more experience diving these waters I would have had more luck finding the smaller and more unique fish life that is hiding below the kelp line. Oh and kelp! Freakin kelp everywhere, to the point that Fishwife and I was kelped-out and I swear I was being watched by the kelp (started imagining eyes in the kelp) after a while but the boys tell me they were wowd by the giant kelp although sadly we were told see it now before it all disappears.
On the Monday, we were driven to the airport for those that had an early flight or otherwise we were welcomed to leave our bags at the GoDive shop so we can tour around Hobart until it was time to grab a taxi and head off to the airport and home.
Lodge Plus:
clean, comfy, roomy and relaxing. Charmaine & Frank never seemed to stop working but they leave you alone also.
Lodge Neg:
The ceiling light in the bedrooms need to be moved to make getting up and down the top bunk easier. Truly, the only thing I could fault.
Dive Plus:
Blue water, great viz, depth, swim thrus and caves!
I wasnt anywhere near as cold as I thought it would be.
Lawrence ran a fun, relaxed and safe boat. For someone so young hes very level headed and nothing was a problem for him.
Dive Neg:
Not enough time! We could easily redo the 6 sites we dived and still have another dozen we havent even seen yet!
Shhhhh dont tell but; who was the diver that TWICE put on their drysuit and was wondering why getting their head thru the neck was difficult because TWICE they left the hanger inside the drysuit!
Hint:
* Virgin airline was our choice of carrier. Using the sporting goods=5kgs clause none of the divers had any issues with their luggage, well except for the one diver they flew JetStar and got a $50 fee.
* There is no local shop so stock up on the comfort foods (booze, fizzy drink, ect) before you get to the lodge.
Thanks to: Go Dive Tasmania (Frank, Charmaine, Lawrence and the boys). Everything was taken care of and Luke at Frog Dive Scuba Centres for getting our group together and making it happen we had a fun weekend and I would return to do some more Tassie diving so if you get the chance do it!
oh, and there will be some underwater pics but i have to nag hubby for those over the next few days!
) 
