Potentially in OZ for a year or two

[zilch]

sorry to say it, but another Pom might be in sydney for work in the next few months or two , on a company move.. Bit of a tropical blue water diver, learned to dive in Airlie beach, QLD last april, done Egypt Red Sea in September, so use to 80 F..As i am a bit of a novice, does it make sense to join a local club in Sydney, or should i spend some time getting some experience continuing to dive tropical before thinking about local diving, to get some experience in.

Not pre-judging, just not sure

 

[alcina]

Dive, dive, dive. Sydney has some great diving - so some web searches and I'll bet you find a shop close to where you will be and they can help set you up with buddies etc.

Have a great time!

 

[Roz Amos]

There are heaps of dive shops in Sydney that run guided shore dives on Sat and Sun mornings, which may be a good place to start and also a good place to meet new buddies. Should help you get used to diving the cooler water and worse vis with a bit of guidance! When you move here, I would look on diveoz.com.au - they have directories of dive stores, and you can see where the nearest shops are to you and just go from there.

 

[zilch]

Should help you get used to diving the cooler water and worse vis with a bit of guidance!

Thanks for the input, hmm sounds abit like the UK which i have declined to do :11: as i do not have sufficient fat reserves for cold water diving .. When you say cold and bad viz, like what temp and how many metres.. Whitsundays was 8 metres max.. would that be a good day ??

Thanks

Jim

 

[Roz Amos]

Is a lot warmer than the UK! Water temps around Sydney vary between about 17 degrees in winter up to about 23 in summer (Celsius, obviously!) - is in the low twenties at the moment. Vis varies a lot around the sites and is generally better in winter - can be anywhere between 1m and 15m, has been very variable lately.

 

[Daryl Morse]

Sydney's great! I get there often (every month or so) and I love the place. I try to go diving every trip. I've gone on the Sealife V that's run by ProDive Manly. They're a great bunch. Lots of other choices as well.

If I were so fortunate as you, I'd buy a package of 10 or 20 boat dive trips and then go every chance I had. I hear the shore diving's great as well if you'd rather not spend the money on boat diving.

As for the "cooler water", the water here in Vancouver was 46F/8C for my dive last weekend. That's cold. Sydney is balmy in comparision, even in the winter.

 

[BacardiSpice]

G'day Zilch!

I don't think you'll find most of the diving around here much more challenging than tropical diving...vis might not be what it is in the warmest of warm water, but it's still not bad and better than many of the more - erm - temperate climes. A bit of shorediving with some of the clubs around places like Shelley Beach would serve as the perfect intro.

Look forward to seeing you around the Sydney sites.

 

[underwater]

check out underwater.com.au for comprehensive info on all Dive Shops, Liveaboards and Day Boat operators in Syndey and elsewhere around Australia, great local info and diving recommendations .. and best of all, discounts for diving all around Oz

Looking forward to see you there !

Tim :10:

 

[zilch]

Thanks to everyone for the replies, makes a bit more sense. will have to have a look around some of the clubs when i arrive. should know for definite (visa app in,medical to go) in about 3/4 weeks..and if it goes ahead, may look to do a Nitrox and speciality (advance) courses first, before getting into club diving, if that makes sense..I am SSI OW certified, so assume there should be opportunity to progress my qualifications in OZ if i want to retain SSI card , more than most places..

Cheers and many thanks

Jim