What an awesome trip!! The long drive to Whakatane was sooo worth it.
First off, the company was epic from the start. We came from all different walks of life. We all met at the accommodation the night before our dive to get the details sorted. The next morning, we met the skipper Grant at the wharf. What an awesome guy with so much knowledge. We all got our kit on before boarding the boat due to limited space. The boat ride itself was epic. 1 and a half hours to get to the dive site. What a beautiful view though, such amazing views and we saw a massive ray on the surface as travelling to the dive site.
Finally got to the site and got our dive brief from Grant to depth about the site and what we were expected to see. This was my first boat dive at depth so I was a bit nervous…to say the least.
I was not prepared for what I saw. The amount of different marine life I saw was epic!!! Pink and Blue Maomao, moray and conger eel, kingfish, different nudibranch, leather jackets, amazing coloured moki and wrasse and also a beautiful black and yellow fish that I’m not actually sure what it is. (It was a Lord Howe Coralfish – Claire)
The vis was totally superb, the deeper you got, the brighter it became…weird but quite awesome. You didn’t even realise you were going unless you were checking your depth gauge. The water temp was a good 12 – 14 degrees, just like Wellington really. There was sooo much to see at the dive sites, and amazing scenery with the volcano and just enjoying lunch with amazing views and good people.
I would definitely do it again and would love to do another boat trip with Grant to one of his many sites he travels. Worth the long drive from Wellington. Definitely recommended giving it a jam!!!
PS: Sorry no photos…no camera…sad!!! (We have you covered)
Gee – Divemaster