OZ & NZ Dec 21 to Jan5

We'll be escorting the moms-in-law on a cruise of Austrialia and New Zealand over the upcoming Christmas / New Year's holiday. :christmas Not our idea of an ideal diving vacation, but it is a good way for us to travel with the gals. We do hope to get wet, if possible.

Our ports of call are: Melbourn, Hobart, Taz, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Tauranga, and Bay of Islands. I expect the water temps of the more southern sites might be a bit cool for our tastes, but we have done some diving in 58F/15C water.

I'd be most interested to hear from any local folks or others with experience and recommendations for these areas. We are AOW divers with about 60 open water dives.

We will be limited in time in each port, due to the cruise ship format. We have able to successfully coordinate with dive operators on cruises to other parts of the world. Are there any friendly dive operators in these ports to be recommeded? Operators may contact me by PM, if you wish.

KYDan

In some of the older threads on the SB, there seemed to be some animosity toward posters who made mention of any goods or services from which they might have a financial interest. In my earlier post, I asked operators to contact me by PM—to avoid nice folks getting hammered. I’m not trolling, just trying to use good netiquette.

Reading some of the more recent traffic on the board, it seems that folks who could turn a buck are more warmly received when they answer an inquiry such as mine. I did get one nice PM recommending a dive center in Wellington. Thanks, Alison!

After being onboard ship, escorting a couple of sweet, but elderly, ladies for 10 days; Mrs. KYDan and I will be seriously ready to get wet!

Because it is a well known wreck, and not many people from my area have had a chance to dive it, we are interested in visiting the Rainbow Warrior. Is it possible to make a day trip and dive the Warrior from wherever the cruise ships make call in the Bay of Islands area?

Is there anybody in the Tauranga, and/or Bay of Islands area on the board? Any suggestions on who to contact?

Thanks…KYDan

Dear KYDan,

The Poor Knight Islands are fantastic for both invertebrates and
fish. They are about 25km off the coast from Tutukaka, which is
a bit south of Bay of Islands. I've been there twice, back when
the exchange rate was phenomenal. Never dove the R.W..
Seem to remember that it is a wooden ship, not much of it remains,
but i could be wrong -- not into wrecks anyway. But I can't say
enough good things about the Poor Knights.

Cheers,
Hunk of Lead

Yes, that would be a prime choice, as well. I'm currently looking into converting one of our "days at sea" into a day on the land. A much better way to get to know the area, and the people. I'm not sure if I can work out the logistics of travel from one port to another and making the liner's schedule.

I wonder about bus and train options. I'm gradually gaining a knowlege base, but it is hard to ferret out the details...so far.

KYDan

The Knights are the best, but may take a bit of organising. If you're off to the BOIslands, then your port of call will be Opua, which is over the hill from Paihia. In Paihia, your best bet is to hook up with Paihia Dive & Charter. They have a website. You can advise them of your dates that you will be there and liase with them for a dive, including dive rental. The wreck of choice up there is the Rainbow Warrior. A metal ship. I did my IDC with some of their instructors. Good guys & gals
For the Poor Knights, check the website of Dive Tutukaka. They may be able to help if you have enough time.
To Dive in Tauranga, hook up with the Dive HQ in Tauranga. They have a website and are the main dive shop operators in Tauranga. White Island is a good destination, if you like the idea of diving off of an active volcano. DiveHQ are also in Christchurch.
Wellington is out of my area of expertise. It is a more challenging area due to the local dive conditions, but if you check out the NZ yellow pages web site, you will find the local dive operators and will find someone to talk to there.
Water temperatures vary from area, but I expect it to be colder this summer as we have had a colder spring that has averaged 5 degrees C lower than normal.
All these operators will be able to rent you the appropriate gear. 5mm from BOI to Tauranga. Wellington down could be using 7mm. If you have your own drysuit, then bring it.
If you have any more questions, then give me a buzz at greg.somers@visy.com.au
and I will try to help.
If you can swing to the Knights for a day, then I highly recommend it, but it is 1 1/2 hours drive south of Opua and you would be out on the water from 8am to 4-5pm and then need to drive back to Opua.
It's rated as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world.
Hope that helps

Gasman

If you can swing some diving at the Poor Knights Islands then definantly do it.
Wellington is a cold windswept place however the diving can actually be quite nice. I wear a drysuit but my partner gets by comfortably in a semi-dry. The water temp as of last night is still around 14 degrees celcius but might possibly be up around 18 when you get here.
There are a number of dive shops in the wellington region however the one i work at runs shore dives every Saturday morning and boat trips twice a day on Weekends. Not a lot happening during the week but if you PM me i will give you my Phone number and feel free to give me a call and we can take you out for a couple of shore dives.
The shore dives here range from the great depths of 6 m ( 20 feet) to around the 20 metres mark (60 feet) and can can be quite pretty if there hasnt been a southerly thats just rolled in from Antarctica. However if the southerly rolls in there is always the Harbour, and one of my favourite harbour dives is the old Shelly Bay Air Force base wharf.
However dont expect a ot of pretty fish and the likes in wellington but if you like crayfish, great.
cheers

...for the kind replys, Greg and Azza.

We're off on the 21st with our respective mothers-in-lawto pick up the cruise liner in Sidney. We'll cruise our way down the AZ coast and then to the south island of NZ, around and then north. We plan to visit with our friends in Christchurch then when the ship makes call in Wellington, depart the boat and drive to Tauranga. Dive two days there, then pick up the ship again. Sail to the Bay of Islands and dive the Rainbow Warrior. From there it's back to Auckland and a long flight home.

It looks like we can work within the airline's size and weight restrictions and bring our own gear. Being somewhat easily chilled we'll bring our 7mm suits and hoods.

We elected not to dive in Wellington, because we decided to drive to Tauranga and take advantge of the ship's day at sea to give us 2 days in Tauranga. As I read the topo map the elevation between Wellington and Tauranga, gives me some concern when we factor in our tight schedule.

Next time, we leave the "mums" at home and spend some more time ashore, getting to know the area, the people, and more time diving. So many dives...so little time.

I'll let you know how it went when we get home.

KYDan

KYDan:

...for the kind replys, Greg and Azza.

We're off on the 21st with our respective mothers-in-lawto pick up the cruise liner in Sidney. We'll cruise our way down the AZ coast and then to the south island of NZ, around and then north. We plan to visit with our friends in Christchurch then when the ship makes call in Wellington, depart the boat and drive to Tauranga. Dive two days there, then pick up the ship again. Sail to the Bay of Islands and dive the Rainbow Warrior. From there it's back to Auckland and a long flight home.

It looks like we can work within the airline's size and weight restrictions and bring our own gear. Being somewhat easily chilled we'll bring our 7mm suits and hoods.

We elected not to dive in Wellington, because we decided to drive to Tauranga and take advantge of the ship's day at sea to give us 2 days in Tauranga. As I read the topo map the elevation between Wellington and Tauranga, gives me some concern when we factor in our tight schedule.

Next time, we leave the "mums" at home and spend some more time ashore, getting to know the area, the people, and more time diving. So many dives...so little time.

I'll let you know how it went when we get home.

KYDan

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That sounds like a good plan mate. I would much rather dive Tauranga than Wellington any day. If you like wreck diving there is an old Tug they sank in about 25 metres of water that makes an interesting dive. Also White Island is a must do if you can. They do trips to White Island from Tauranga although it is a few hours steaming from there. Also Mayor Island is another good dive spot in Tauranga.

I hope you enjoy your trip

Your right about the altitude. When you drive through SH1 it takes you up the centre of the north island and up towards Taupo. Allow for the drive from Wellington to Taupo to be about 5-6 hours, depending on traffic and road construction. It's a great place for a lunch stop and a swim in the lake. You'll branch off there to go through Rotorua and then on to Tauranga. That'll be another 4 hours to get there. You can do it faster, but you drive on the wrong side of the road, so allow for a little discretion and safety. The open road speed limit is 100kms (60mph). Our drivers are less courteous, so allow for some turkeys to be at the wheel as they speed around. There are plenty of rest stops and shops, but the roads will be busy with the holidays. Expect delays with cars towing caravans and boats, but there are passing lanes. Petrol was $1.12 per litre as of this morning, but 1 full tank should get you from Wellington to Tauranga if you get an average size rental. About $50-60. There are plenty of cafe's and roadhouse food joints and all service stations have toilets as well. Buy some sun screen as we have a very penetrating UV heat here. One of the strongest in the world. Don't be a sun hero. In the heat, you can burn in 10-15 minutes, so slip slop slap.....you know the rules....
Have a great holiday and welcome to NZ.

Gasman