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The Diver's Thread!

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Tysonboss1 said:
G'day Kennas,

Are you a qualified military diver,
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No, PADI Divemaster. The Army paid for that open water course in PNG though, which was handy. Did advanced and rescue in Sydney, and DM in Honduras.
2020hindsight said:
kennas, Gotta feeling Harold Holt would agree with you :eek:
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LOL. No diving where he went in the water, just Russian submarines and big fish. Portsea is OK if you like 5m visibility, 15 degree water, a few but ugly fish, wicked currents, and the chance that a 6m fish might swim out of the darkness and take a nibble. eeeek!
 
Got my ticket in PNG and was a bit spoilt there - spent a lot of time off Walindi in West New Britain - spectacular corals. Kavieng Kennas is great too - there were an Austrian couple running Paradise Island (Lisseung I think) which had some great drift dives
And Tufi was one of my favourites - amazing fjord-like coastline and reef sharks every dive (except at night!)
Also dived Vanuatu, Philippines but never Australia - something about the water temperature!
 
kennas said:
. The Army paid for that open water course in PNG though, which was handy. !
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Sounds lke a sweet swan trip,..

I want to dive the WW2 wrecks up there,... before they deteriorate to much more,

I have done a fair few dives around sydney,... the grey nurse sharks would be my highlight. I like alot of the dive sites down the south coast at shell harbour as well, also northern beaches.

Can't wait to get out to a diferent part of australia though
 
Tysonboss1 said:
I have done a fair few dives around sydney,... the grey nurse sharks would be my highlight.
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Swan trip, LOL :) Haven't heard that for a while.

I lived in Cronulla for a couple of years and was able to jump off the beach there for some cold, low viz rock watching. The Leafy Sea Dragons in Botany Bay around Captain Cook's Landing Point were always good fun. Other than that though....

And yes, the Grey Nurse Sharks are a highlight in the area. Did my Advanced Course at Forster, and getting that close to such big sharks (not your scaredy cat reef shark) is awesome.

The cold is always an annoying factor for me. When I can dive to 30m in boardshorts I'm happy. Need to be in the Caribbean for that though.
 
kennas said:
When I can dive to 30m in boardshorts I'm happy. Need to be in the Caribbean for that though.
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Or Qld!! :D:D:D

Forster is a nice place. That's near Laureton (sp?), right. There is a the wreck of the Titan there from memory. Fish Rock at SW Rocks is another nice location as are the Solitary Islands near Coffs.

Like you said, Kennas those spots get a little chilly for winter.

cheers,


BTW, there is a new charter boat / liveaboard in Brisbane leaving from Murrarie. Is anyone booked on it yet?

cheers,
 
I have done most if my diving at Lady Musgrave Island (QLD)while at uni.......

We spent 3 weeks there last January and every dive was fabulous....... all the wonderful sea life you would expect on the Great barrier Reef, plus the bonus of sharks..... not just the usual reef sharks, but whaler and hammerheads were sighted. We saw Manta rays on every dive as well.

The islands is also has many turtles laying eggs there each night.

Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there!!!

Kennas, I learnt to dive at Cronulla, and the Leafy Sea Dragons were definitely a highlight!!!!!
 
lee_m said:
I have done most if my diving at Lady Musgrave Island (QLD)while at uni.......

We spent 3 weeks there last January and every dive was fabulous....... all the wonderful sea life you would expect on the Great barrier Reef, plus the bonus of sharks..... not just the usual reef sharks, but whaler and hammerheads were sighted. We saw Manta rays on every dive as well.

The islands is also has many turtles laying eggs there each night.

Just thinking about it makes me want to go back there!!!

Kennas, I learnt to dive at Cronulla, and the Leafy Sea Dragons were definitely a highlight!!!!!
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Wow, Lady Musgrave sounds awesome! It's on the list. I've only ever seen one Manta Ray and it was way off in the deep. :( The beast I really want to see is a Whale Shark. My must do dive before I die.

Golly, thinking of Cronulla makes me shiver. Need a dry suit there! Not much other than the Sea Dragons either. I think I saw the tail of a Port Jackson Shark once, but I was shivering so much it could have been anything. :eek:

Love turtles!

Here's a Hawksbill off Dahad, Red Sea, and me. :)
 

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kennas said:
Golly, thinking of Cronulla makes me shiver. Need a dry suit there!
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Come on mate it's not that cold down here. I go diving in a springy during the summer months. It can get chilly 15-20m down though.

Has anyone been diving in Thailand? Especially around the East coast?

My Girlfriend plans to take me to Phuket and i'd like to take her diving. I assume it will be nice and cheap, I'd just like to know what to expect.

Anyone?
 
Pat said:
Come on mate it's not that cold down here. I go diving in a springy during the summer months. It can get chilly 15-20m down though.

Has anyone been diving in Thailand? Especially around the East coast?

My Girlfriend plans to take me to Phuket and i'd like to take her diving. I assume it will be nice and cheap, I'd just like to know what to expect.

Anyone?
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I'm a warm water diver. :eek:

Phuket is on the west coast, but on the east coast I've been to Koh Tao, Ko Samui and Ko Phangang. Diving wasn't that flash IMO but cheap on Koh Tao. Great party islands though. Try and get there during a full moon. I had New Years on Koh Phangang a number of years ago, that coincided with a full moon and golly! :eek:

The Andaman Islands off the west coast are supposed to be the best diving in that region.

For a pure tropical paradise, with some OK diving, I can highly recommend The Perhential Islands off the NE coast of the Malaysian Peninsula. Hard to get to, but just spectacular! Maybe a bit quiet as almost completely undeveloped.
 

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kennas
you can take your buddy along next time ;)
PS you wonder what the dog makes of all this.
 

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Liz Taylor says it's the "most exciting thing she has ever done" - and that's just snorkling ;)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-405987/Elizabeth-Taylor-fed-sharks.html

Elizabeth Taylor fed to the sharks
by CLEMMIE MOODIE
Last updated at 22:00 19 September 2006
Married eight times, undoubtedly Elizabeth Taylor has tangled with a few predators in her time. So perhaps it should come as no surprise to see the 74-year-old actress looking comfortable in a shark cage.

Seemingly oblivious to her ever-deteriorating health, the wheelchair-bound star donned a mask and snorkel, and plunged feet first into the Pacific Ocean for a shark-viewing excursion.

Later describing the experience as the "most exciting thing" she has ever done, Miss Taylor allowed herself to be barricaded into a 10ft by 6ft Plexiglas cage which was lowered below surface level.

Wearing a baggy white t-shirt over an all-in-one swimming costume, she maintained a modicum of glamour with perfectly manicured red nails and several sparkly bangles.

After spitting into her mask - to prevent the plastic eye area from misting up - she enthusiastically clambered into the cage, albeit with the help of two aides.

From here the double Oscar winner tried the snorkel on for size before tentatively dipping her head into the water and looking for her first shark... etc
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hi kennas
i used to dive, done thousands of freewater plus scuba dives.
dived each day nearly till a serious injury forced me(not from diving) to stop.
the pupu springs in golden bay, nelson, new zealand is awesome. virtually infinite visabillity, one of the biggest fresh water springs in the srouthern hemrisphere.
sadly, partly due to an invasive weed outbreak, plus the nz natives, have said diving there is a no.
but, don't let that stop you, do it very early in the morning, or night(night dives r great bar the eels).
do the dive in the main springs, then free dive down the river to the first bridge, where you hop out and get picked up. we used to do it for trout too(spear), so its not too hard to do it surupticiously.
the cave dives in motueka/riwaka are good too.
in the pupu there are lots of salmon too, inseason.
cheers shag.
ps diving's better than drugs....
 
shag said:
hi kennas
i used to dive, done thousands of freewater plus scuba dives.
dived each day nearly till a serious injury forced me(not from diving) to stop.
the pupu springs in golden bay, nelson, new zealand is awesome. virtually infinite visabillity, one of the biggest fresh water springs in the srouthern hemrisphere.
sadly, partly due to an invasive weed outbreak, plus the nz natives, have said diving there is a no.
but, don't let that stop you, do it very early in the morning, or night(night dives r great bar the eels).
do the dive in the main springs, then free dive down the river to the first bridge, where you hop out and get picked up. we used to do it for trout too(spear), so its not too hard to do it surupticiously.
the cave dives in motueka/riwaka are good too.
in the pupu there are lots of salmon too, inseason.
cheers shag.
ps diving's better than drugs....
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Hey shag, Those fresh water dives in NZ sound interesting. The only fresh water stuff I've done is in the Cenotes on the Yukatan Peninsula in Mexico. You're right about the vis, it's like floating through the sky. Awesome. :) Not too many fishes though. Not too sure about the last sentance...;)
 
Did my very first wreck dive a few days ago.

MV Konanda in Vanuatu. Nice dive for beginners, and considering i hadnt dove for about 2 years it took me a while to get used to it again. Still managed to spend over half an hr down there. :)

"This is a lovely wreck dive. Konanda sits on a flat, sandy bottom at 26 metres with her derricks and rigging reaching up to within ten metres of the surface. She is an Island Trader, 45 metres long, which was damaged in a cyclone in 1987 and deliberately sunk for the delight of scuba divers. She has been carefully prepared so penetration into the cabins and holds is totally safe. It’s an ideal introduction to the fun of wreck diving."
 
Great news, Prawn. How was the vis? Wreck diving is a real blast. I often just hover on or in a wreck and open my mind and imagine the people who worked it, the motors still running and all it's history.

The Aaron Ward in the solomons is so good for that. in 70 metres that boat still has it's guns raised as it went down in battle. with 40+ metres visability it is easy to view a large portion of the ship and just imagine.


Here's a great link from a very accomplished diver who is just about as passionate as any rust chaser I know.. He know's your wreck well.
http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=629


cheers,
 
Vis was prob 10 - 15m, which was more than enough to see across the width of the wreck, but not the entire length.

Water was a beautiful 26 degrees. I dont dive where i live (SA) as its too cold down here.
 
Went for my first dive in a very long time today,

Viz = crap
location = crap

what did it feel like to finally get some bubble time = priceless

If only I could have had my spear gun with me, seems like when ever I am diving on air the best eating fish form a parade past me.
 
Spear fishing: man i would love to try that. If/when i retire im gunna get my own dive kit and a spear gun :D
 
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