Newsletter - September 2010
In mid August we dived the Somosomo Strait between two of the larger islands, Taveuni and Vanua Levu, in Fiji . Filled with beautiful soft corals and teeming with fish, we were lucky enough to see turtles, schools of barracuda and jack fish, sharks, leaf fish, blue ribbon eels, lion fish and much more ! The highlight was possibly a dive called the “Great White Wall”, where we entered a large tunnel in the reef top at 8m and emerged at 20m from a hole in a huge vertical wall covered in beautiful white soft corals. We dived every day and the afternoons were spent lazing about, reading, playing dice and sipping a few cold beers...paradise! We also visited a village and feasted on a ‘lovo’. On our last day some of us went horse riding whilst others visited amazing waterfalls which have been the setting of movies like Blue Lagoon. And of course we went to the International Date Line hoping that we could extend our stay by going back in time... Alas, the trip finally came to an end, but we are working on a new destination for 2011 so watch this space! Here are a few photos from the trip. The video footage will be edited shortly:
Trimix in Taupo Local dentist, Christian Blaschke, and Gerald Van Der Watt from Wellington successfully completed their Rebreather Trimix course in Taupo during August. Trimix is a breathing gas consisting of oxygen, helium and nitrogen which allows divers to venture deeper than traditional recreational depth limits. Combining trimix with rebreathers we silently decended towards 60m off the shores of Lake Taupo and snuck up on trout and a large number of “koura” (fresh water crayfish). The sheer rock walls were breathtaking. Fortunately we were kept toasty warm in our drysuits.
Dry Suits In Store We have a new stock of Pinnacle Evolution 3 dry suits in the shop and school. They available for sale and hire. So if you’ve never tried a drysuit and wondered what they are all about (they’re all about warmth by the way !!), then come in and see them for yourself and take one for a test drive ! Local Diver Wins Photo Competition Local diver, Alex Stammers, came 1st and 3rd in the Marine Reserves category for the 2010 NZUA Marine Photographic Competition. Well done !
Dive Boat Overhaul Our purpose built dive boat has been given an overhaul recently. Some people have mistaken it for a new boat !
Scallop Season A reminder that scallop season started on 1 September. Mid week Diving We started our mid-week morning dives again from September, so give us a ring if you want to book your place. For our first trip of Spring we checked out the local wreck of a Japanese Trawler in 27m of water and also a scallop bed while we were at it.
Our latest trip schedule can be found at http://www.divehqhibiscuscoast.co.nz/dive-trips.php#trips Open Water Courses Congratulations to the following divers on recently completing their open water courses:
New Shop Hours We are now open 7 days a week again for the Spring/Summer season. We are open late night Thursdays (7pm) and Fridays (6pm), and also early from 7 am Monday and Friday mornings. So now there is plenty of time to drop your cylinders off for filling/testing, or regulators for servicing, before or after work.
Grant, Shailina and Josh.
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