We only had TWO objectives for this trip – go NORTH & go DIVING! With 2400ks travelled and 17 dives in 11 days I think we met these objectives. Our first stop was Taupo and some fresh water diving – a novel experience for the others and a good demonstration of thermoclines – it is […]
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Diving at Somes Island
Well, I heard via the famous Facebook that Claire and her team at Dive HQ Petone were planning a trip to Somes Island but first let me tell you a little about Somes Island. Matiu/Somes Island, at 24.9 ha (62 acres), is the largest of three islands in the northern half of Wellington Harbour, New […]
Fiji Scholarship
Last year Dive HQ NZ, PADI Asia Pacific and Safari Lodge Fiji offered 4 lucky divers the opportunity to become a PADI Divemaster in Fiji. One of the successful applicants was our very own diver Kim McFarlane. We are asked Kim to introduce herself to everyone and she will be keeping us informed of all […]
Happy New Year!
Another year is over and a new one has begun! Some of you will have made New Year’s resolutions which may or may not last the year. Most resolutions are made in an effort to improve our lives or our appearance or remove bad habits! – stop smoking! – lose weight! – buy a house! […]
GUE Fundamentals Course
I first heard about the GUE Fundamentals course a few years ago and wondered why anyone needed to go back and learn the basic skills of buoyancy, trim & propulsion. So why did I end up doing the course? I am an experienced diver with 3000+ dives and a PADI Course Director. After a lot […]
24 Hour Dive
It began with an innocent conversation in February: “Oh yes, we used to do a sponsored dive in the aquarium when I was in university” “Really? What did you collect for?” “Galway Lifeguard station” “Hmmm, we could do something like that” Naomi and Lauren starting things off 9 months later, as I burrowed through a […]
Save the Whales – and other marine mammals!
Each year, hundreds of whales and dolphins strand on our shores. Whilst some are sick or injured, others are healthy and just need a helping hand back out to sea. Whilst we can’t predict the exact timing and location of strandings in New Zealand, our job is to be as prepared as possible. No matter […]
Take the GoPro Challenge!
It seemed appropriate as another Diploma in Scuba Instruction Course comes to the end and our latest candidates passed their PADI Instructor Examinations today that we should ask our very own Paddy (Patrick Keenan) what life as an instructor has been like over the past year since he qualified. As soon as I became a […]
A Diving History – Lauren Kohe
As part of the Instructor Development process our Instructor candidates write a brief history of their diving to date and what they would like to get out of diving in the future. Here is Lauren’s…. I don’t remember learning how to swim, I’ve always been able to Growing up in Wellington The sea is part of […]
Dive HQ and the Poor Knights
Cousteau rated them as one of his top 5 dive sites. Who are we to argue? After a recommendation like that nobody would dare put them any lower, even if it did have zero vis, no life and cold water. Luckily for us it has 25-30m vis, lots of life and well… at least the […]