EnderG60 Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Hi all, I will be visiting your lovely country from the US on a study abroad program. I was wondering if any of you would mine recommending anyplaces that would be good to see, things to do or places to dive around Wellington. Thanks, Danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Tahiti bay and Island Bay are alright for Diving. Go the marine obsevitory. Heaps of fun stuff to do in Wellington. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimsum Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 The HMS Wellington was recently sunk off the south coast if you are qualified to wreck dive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Thus the reason for mentioning Island Bay. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucid Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 I think shae, that maybe you should of exlained that in your post then, as anyone who doesn't know about it, may just flag on the diving and go do something else instead. if you want to recomend something it is usaully good to recomend a reason for saying that then they have an idea of what to expect, and decide whether or not they want to go there. Ender, how long are you going to be here for, and where abouts in wellington are you going to be basing yourself, would be good to meet up at some stage if it is possible. B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 Good Point Ballistic. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted December 13, 2005 Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 what do you think he is doing?? :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted December 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2005 alrighty, details. I will be arriving on Jan. 7th and will be staying at the Wier House at the Victoria University of Wellington, which im tild is close to the harbor. I will be there untill Feb 16th when we depart for Sydney. Classes will be From 8 am to noon ish Monday through Thursday and we will have Friday through Sunday to do as we wish. Thats really all I know at this point. I would like to do some sky diving and bunge jumping, and a bit of hicking, but I mainly want to dive. I have my advanced certification, but an not yet certified for large wrecks, caves or nitrox as of yet. And any other fun activities for a college student would be more then welcome I dont mind catching a short flight to hit up a good dive site, but must abide by the "no diving for 24 hours before a flight" rule. With that out of the way I figure you guys might like to see some pics of my tank and where I work. http://mytankpics.com/tanks/albums/user ... mg0494.JPG http://mytankpics.com/tanks/albums/user ... mg0543.JPG http://mytankpics.com/tanks/albums/user ... %20083.jpg http://mytankpics.com/tanks/albums/user ... %20028.jpg and my 15g http://mytankpics.com/tanks/albums/user ... mg0910.JPG [mod="cees]img tags removed, files to large, see http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/linkin ... t8669.html [/mod] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoezealand Posted December 16, 2005 Report Share Posted December 16, 2005 awesome looking tank!! i really want to go diving on that wreck! (i wanted to do it as part of my 'adventure diving' course, but my dad says i cant do it without him :roll: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 so anyone got any recommendatoins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Send a PM to pies or ask the question in the saltwater section. Many in there do not read the freshwater bits. Pies lives in Wgtn, has a large marine tank well worth visiting, and is an experienced diver so will know places to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Shae - Have you actually dived in Wellington because it appears you know not what your talking about. Wellington diving - The south coast, from Moa Point to Red Rocks (basically behind the air port for a few km in each direction) has excellent diving. There is a lot of fish life, kelp etc and for visibility its about as good as you are going to get within 1000km. As mentioned they have recently just sunk a boat there which can be dived on. This required a boat, the above I am talking about is for shore diving. If you eat crayfish, the south coast is an excellent spot for crays. Tetahai Bay/Rocky Bay/Whiteria Park (forgive my spelling) is very average for diving. Not much to see day or night. Small numbers of fish and maybee a few rays, lots of Conga eels. Never seen crayfish or anything noteworty out there at all. Honestly not worth the energy, the south coast is about 100x better in all ways. Again I am talking about shore diving. Kapati Island - Requires boat access. Outstanding diving, similar wild life to the Poor Knights (water is a few deg warmed) but without the volcanic action. I'd rate the dives i've done in Kapati in my top 10 NZ dives. Lots of life, lots of kelp and other things, nudi branch etc. Well worth the effort. East coast - White Rock, Tadman Bay etc. OK diving, very exposed. Good for crays but can be some crazy currents, best dived from a boat buy shore diving options exist. Better the West (above) but a long journey for little payoff, better on the south coast. Wellington Harbour - If you HAVE to dive and everywhere else is shutdown you can dive the harbour. Personally i find it unspectacular but not bad either. One of those things you have to say you have done once. Dive NZ. The poor knights are exceptional and worth the expence to do it. NZ water is cold, warm is about 13 deg C, cold as low as 6 deg C. You will need a 7mm wet suit, and probably more than 15kg of weight. The diving here is great, BUT it is different to tropical diving. Its more dangerous, the vis is worse and did i mention its cold? Give it a go, get used to the temprature and join one of the many clubs here in Wellington, you will find endless options and some semi-unique things too. Try a drift drive on the south coast, or dive with sea lions and seals at red rocks. I've seen dozens of pengiuns at Island bay swiming around me like little crazy bird fish. No need to pay $35 to see em, they live right here. Piemania Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 Unforturnaly due to my travel restrictions I will be having to rent most of my equipment including a wetsuit....and thats some pretty cold water. but those all sound great, and hey cant be worse then the crappy atlantic diving close to here :roll: My only concern is that I get lost pretty easy, and would like to have a guide. If you have any recommendations of a good dive shop that offers guided dives(phone numbers help too ) or if any of you would mind showing me around some of the sites a bit for a fee do let me know. Id like to do a few close by dives even if they are nonspectacular, but I certainly dont mind a long drive or even a short flight to go someplace great as long as enough down time is taken into account before the return flight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted December 19, 2005 Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 My only concern is that I get lost pretty easy, and would like to have a guide. If you have any recommendations of a good dive shop that offers guided dives(phone numbers help too ) or if any of you would mind showing me around some of the sites a bit for a fee do let me know. Diving alone is stupid. Check out 'Splash Gordon' in Wellington, or Dive Spot in Kapati. Both are excellent shops and I have dived with both and reccomend. They have club dives most Sat mornings, and if you join the club rental equipment is discounted. Id like to do a few close by dives even if they are nonspectacular, but I certainly dont mind a long drive or even a short flight to go someplace great as long as enough down time is taken into account before the return flight. You will want 24hrs before you fly from the end of your last dive. Dive the south coast and see how you go. If you can afford to travel a little go straight to Tutukaka and dive the Poor Knights. One of the best dive spots in the world (top 10). Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted December 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2005 oh I would never dive alone, a buddy of mine is going to get certified down there, and I ALWAYS dive with someone else, but I just wanted to go with someone that knows where the good stuff is so I dont miss it! Only restrictions on traveling I have is I have to be back for classes monday through thursday, other then that we can do whatever we want. I was talking about luggage restrictions on wieght(damn gas crisis) How long of a drive is Tutukaka from wellington? I checked out thier website and it absolutly looks like something for the to do list. and did you mean Kapiti? and thanks for all this info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pies Posted December 20, 2005 Report Share Posted December 20, 2005 Tutakaka is a long drive. Over 12 hrs, maybee longer depending on Auckland traffic. Did I mean Kapiti? Yep! Your welcome, good luck to you. when you get here maybee i'll come out and show you some sites to get your started. Pie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted December 21, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2005 yeah that would be great! any good places to see, do or eat i should know about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted January 4, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2006 24 hours till i leave :bounce: 60 hours till i get there see you guys saturday!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 welp jetlag sucks, but im here. Im at the wier house at teh victoria university right next the the half way stop of the cable car, with a great view of the bay. It is absolutly beautiful here and there is so much to explore! and if anyone knows any good bars close by where im at do tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderG60 Posted January 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2006 oh and i need a good dive shop to do my two friends certification. cheaper is always better, and one thats not a 4 day would be good since we are in class most of the week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.