New Zealand - Diving at Paihia and Tutukaka (Poor Knights)

[ExploringRTW]

26 - 30th February

Diving at Paihia and Tutukaka (Poor Knights)

For our first full day in Paihia I knuckled down to some more web updates , catching up on some e-mails & booking some diving for myself and a boat trip for Sylvia. The dive was to be on the recently sunk HMNZS Canterbury, a purpose prepared Naval ship which cost two dive companies $NZ1 to buy and $NZ1,000,000 to prepare (for divers) and sink !!! Sylvia was off to see some Dolphins & landmarks of the area. Whilst booking the dive I was unusually anxious about being ready (as in rested and mentally there) but I dismissed it as pre-dive jitters.

The $NZ1,000,000 preparation cost was quite a shock to me as I initailly couldn't see where the expense lay. However, after discussing it I understood that it had been necessary to drain all fuels, oils & fluids, remove anything that might snag a diver e.g. aerials, and cut plenty of access holes in the hull for divers to penetrate and exit from.

The following morning we were up early to get down into town as I needed to get fitted up in my wet gear etc for my dives today. I still didn’t feel completely with it and started to wonder if I should have gone a day later. I’d had some sort of cold-not-developed hanging round me for a few days and it wasn’t going one way or another. Anyway, in the end I dismissed it again.

A kiss good bye from Sylvia and I was in the dive shop getting kitted up with the other divers and soon find myself a little surprised to be helping push a cart on the street with our dive gear on down to the Harbour, some 400 or so meters away. We help load the boat up and we are soon underway and quickly at the (first) dive spot for the HMNZS Canterbury and getting our tanks and weights on.

There were three of us diving in my group, one other paying guest, Alison, and ’our’ Dive Master, Mark, who was to act as our guide. A backward roll off the side of the boat had us in the water and getting to the initial submerging point, however my mask didn’t stay tightened and kept releasing just at the point I wanted it to hold at-the net result was a mask exchange in the water with one of the crew on the boat. I was assured the mask was fine and put it on. Even though I’d done the usual spit & wash preparation the lens was still fogging up. After a bit of further faffing I felt a bit of a turnip and thought I’d better be ready to go and started to descend. (Stoopid idea !!) However I just wasn’t ready and had to ascend almost immediately again much to my embarrassment. Mark & Alison were understanding and waited whilst I got my head together.

After a few minutes I was ready and we set off again-this time with a bit more resolve to over-come the awful feelings that were engulfing me this morning. It may sound a bit dramatic but I felt like my brain was in a bucket of Swarfega for most of the dive. The Canterbury is a good (but new and hence uninhabited with any fish or coral life as yet) wreck dive, having only been sunk as a purpose-sunk dive site in November 2007. We got to penetrate the hull, go along the walk-ways, go in and out of various holds, sit in the still rotating gunners turret, stand in/on the bridge and stand on the look-outs point. Ordinarily a lot of fun but somehow significantly dulled by the feelings from the beginning of the dive. My mind wasn’t there. I really didn’t enjoy most of it and my air disappeared far quicker than I would have hoped despite the 15l tank I’d requested. I came up after 26 minutes with 10 bar left which is shocking even accounting for most of the dive being done at around 30m.



As close as I can get you without an underwater camera I'm afraid.



We had lunch and prepared for a second dive which was in a bay by a rock Island Centennial. The main company representative of the boat lent me his own personal mask for this dive and whilst I didn’t think it was really necessary, was grateful for the thought and so took it on the basis of ‘it can’t do any harm !’ We were soon in and descending with more of the confidence that normally accompanies me. The dive was very interesting and we got to see a good variety of fish and activity. One particular fish actually allows you to hold it, it also expects to be fed by the holding diver and follows you like a seagull when you’ve got chips. Mark was cracking sea enenemies open and letting these fish scurry to eat them. I did still however have a number of problems with the mask. I had to clear it about a dozen times which was a real pain and made all the more complicated at the end of the dive by the fact that I was 1kg light on the weight belt and found myself floating to the surface even with the BCD fully deflated whilst my mask was about a third full. I was fighting to get back down to the safety stop point at 5m without being able to see where I was going. Fortunately Mark could see my dilemma and called an end to the dive as the safety stop isn’t strictly necessary if the dive has been shallower than 18m.

Back to the surface I was pleased that the dive had gone a lot better and I’d been able to enjoy it, and that I hadn’t created a vacuum in the oxygen tank ! After waiting a little while for some newer divers to do their second dive we were taken back into the harbour where I met up with Sylvia again for a bowl of latte, yes a bowl ! (available in all good coffee bars across NZ !!!!), and we caught up on our respective days.



Seen from Sylvia's boat trip.



Sylvia saw these views on Russell where she was dropped off from her boat.



Sylvia had been lucky enough again to see some bottlenose Dolphins and was amazed to see that they were able to keep up with the boat even when it was flat out. The Dolphins also performed some big mid-air rolls as well so she was very pleased.



The Bottlenose Dolphins.





After our trips yesterday, we decided to take a more restful day to get some of our admin done and clean the bike which was starting to look too grubby for a 2006 model. Sylvia very kindly offered to clean the bike. Most of the stuff I needed do was either mundane, as in sorting photo images into respective folders, or frustrating as in trying to follow up on things that weren’t being done without me sitting on them, such as a £500 rebate for shipping charges I shouldn’t have had to pay when sending the Dakar home from India. I managed to make some headway but it still seemed frustratingly small for the effort I’d put in. Sylvia spends most of the evening looking at where we will spend our time(& money) on the South Island whilst I monitored the TV for us both.



Skippy, pre Sylvia's efforts.




Skippy post Sylvia's efforts.

We left Paihia late the following day on a very clean GSA and took the coastal route down to Tutukaka, which was to be my next diving area providing access to the Poor Knights. An area rated by Jacques Cousteau as one of the top ten dive spots in the world. The road was very windy and undulating which was great for most of the ride but started to wear me out nearing the end.(poor old codger !! ) In the end we were both getting hungry and thirsty anyway so we stopped for some lunch on the beach.



Leaving for Tutukaka on a ferry that gave us some good/better roads on the way down. I can't remember why I pulled the long face-probably couldn't have an ice cream !

We arrived at Tutukaka to be surprised that it is basically just a Harbour and small Hotel, shop complex and a campsite. We set up the tent and went looking for a dive company. I was a bit overwhelmed for choice and eventually settled for a newer small company that had a purpose built diving boat which was around a year old.



The entrance to 'the'/our campsite in Tutukaka.



The harbour at Tutukaka.





We cooked dinner in the camp kitchen and relaxed watching TV in the adjoining ’living room’ area. I hd to be up fairly early for my dives tomorrow, and so after my experiences at Paihia we go to bed at around 10. (Initially I had hoped to make my dive on the second day after arrival but the weather forecast was showing the sun to be at its best on the first).

The following morning we got up and breakfasted and I off to the pier to catch my boat. (Poor Cinderella Sylvia was left with the washing and a few other domestic chores to do.) The crew were very professional and everything was beautifully laid out and ready for me to check its suitability/size. Each diver had plenty of sitting & dressing space which makes the experience a whole lot more relaxed and dignified.



'My' Diveboat, the Shadowfax. This shot really doesn't do it justice. It really was a lovely diveboat.

There had been some concern when I was booking as to wether I done (m)any cold dives. I wasn’t sure what they meant as I would be wearing a wet suit anyway so I shrugged it off. When I jumped in the water though I got the point. Firstly, your head is cold :, and then when you set off on the dive, you get a similar sense of deep intakes of breath as when you jump in cold water normally :EEK. I think their concern is at 3 levels. Firstly, that you’re not going to get too cold on the dive, secondly panic, or thirdly whoosh through your air before you‘ve got anywhere. The visibility was good and the dives were a pleasant experience but I wasn’t struck by any specific beauty that Jacques commendation would have suggested. There were other dives you could do in some caves in the area and I suspect that was where some of the Poor Knights real beauty lay.

After our second and final dive, but before going back to the harbour, we were taken on the boat into one of the larger caves there. Apparently ‘Crowded House’ did a concert on a float in the cave(above water ) a few years ago. Although it was a fascinating and interesting, I wished we’d been able to dive there.

I did a few more web updates in Paihia the following day and we set off back Southerly towards Orewa the day after.

Despite our reservations of the ‘Top Ten’ campsite in Orewa (mentioned in my last entry) we opted for there this time as the weather was better and camping is cheaper !! We watched the seagulls dropping the clams & the kite surfing for a while and we took the bike into town for dinner and settled for the Indian restaurant we ate at last time.

Mike