Deep Sea Diving.....

[ghetto kitty]

thats why you go do it gareth.

i did it to conquer my fear of the deep blue.

not scared anymore.

[Feigan]

Got to get two dives in whilst in Bali on a wreck on the east coast. Great experience with a great guide.

Saw a big turtle, big shoal of Jack fish, barracuda, lion and scorpion fish, ghost piper harlequin, sea horse, nude branch, dragon net, flounder/flat fish, sweet lips.

Good dive session.

[Feigan]

Got to get two dives in whilst in Bali on a wreck on the east coast. Great experience with a great guide.

Saw a big turtle, big shoal of Jack fish, barracuda, lion and scorpion fish, ghost piper harlequin, sea horse, nude branch, dragon net, flounder/flat fish, sweet lips.

Good dive session.

[ghetto kitty]

feigs - anyone - been diving at koh tao thailand?

and have you got your advanced open water cert? ive only done 5 dives since padi, but feel as if i may as well get another qual if im heading all the way there to dive...

[JAMESSSS]

I did my advanced there yeah!

Was good. Heavily dependent on visibility though, can get pretty bad.

Saw some mad sharks though. They also get whale sharks there sometimes.

[ghetto kitty]

yay sharks. terrified of them and love them too.

strong currents around there? and was advanced pretty easy, it seems so?!

bad visibility sucks. and ill be there in wet season, does that mean worse visibility?

still one of the best sites in that part of the world though, do you recall what dive school you did it with james?

[JAMESSSS]

I did it with Simple Life, which was because my friend was an instructor. Apparently Phi Phi has better dive sites. Koh Tao was rad though.

Chumpon Pinnacle was the best site there I thought.

You should really ask RK, I think they were there for months and months.

We stayed somewhere else, up the beach a bit. Simple life huts got a bit simple after a few weeks. Def. not flashpacker!

[ghetto kitty]

http://www.bansdivingresort.com/

thinking this place - looks swanky. is RK even here much anymore?

phi phi is a bit further to go, i really want to spend the majority of my time in Laos as ive been to thailand 4 times already...
so overnight sleeper train down the coast and then scary as fuck catamaran across to island...
(last time i nearly jumped off i was so terrified, really stormy weather and SLAMMING into the ocean etc, everyone crying and vomiting like armageddon)

[JAMESSSS]

Bans is one of the Thai run places, I get the feeling it's the biggest on the Island.

The actual place looked OK, haven't seen the rooms or anything though.

[ghetto kitty]

hmmm, waiting on an email back from them now...

biggest often means better in my experience, the smaller places tend to have some dodgy operators...

[bassfreak]

Cool a diving thread!

Keen to link up with some Melbourne divers. Been diving since I was young wipper snapper of 10 years old..... My dad used to let me finish off his tanks. I trained up to be an instructor in NZ (PADI) and instructed part time for a few years. Unfortunately I didnt stay registered so am now technically a Divemaster. Would need to sit my exams again if I wanted to instruct again.

Have dived all around NZ, Fiji, Tonga and did some diving in Borneo in 2009. Unfortunately I havent done any diving in Australia yet. I have just recently managed to get all my gear over here, so am about to start doing dives around Victoria. Does anyone have their own gear and interested in organising some weekend missions?

Off to Fiji next month. There will def be some diving on the cards!

[ghetto kitty]

sweet!

i havent dived in Oz and dont know if i would. i want to see the barrier reef but goddamn its expensive here. and fecking freezing down south.
i dont have any gear at all but a friend of mine is a member of the RMIT divers ass. and she said they hire gear out cheap etc etc, she's a divemaster who is alwasy in tropical places teaching

im doing my advanced cert with these guys in koh tao next month...
http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/

they got me with this

no more than 4 people per group, our professional staff is able to provide a unique and personalized diving experience. We are dedicated to upholding responsible eco-tourism with marine conservation, safety, and quality being our main priorities. Through our coral reef conservation projects and reef check courses, we strive to promote sustainable business practices that will preserve this tropical island paradise so that it may be enjoyed for generations to come.

cannot wait!

[bassfreak]

sweet!

i havent dived in Oz and dont know if i would. i want to see the barrier reef but goddamn its expensive here. and fecking freezing down south.
i dont have any gear at all but a friend of mine is a member of the RMIT divers ass. and she said they hire gear out cheap etc etc, she's a divemaster who is alwasy in tropical places teaching

im doing my advanced cert with these guys in koh tao next month...
http://www.newheavendiveschool.com/

they got me with this

no more than 4 people per group, our professional staff is able to provide a unique and personalized diving experience. We are dedicated to upholding responsible eco-tourism with marine conservation, safety, and quality being our main priorities. Through our coral reef conservation projects and reef check courses, we strive to promote sustainable business practices that will preserve this tropical island paradise so that it may be enjoyed for generations to come.

cannot wait!

Havent been to Thailand yet. I'm sure you will love doing your advanced. Lots more fun than your Open Water.

It's a shame that a lot of people only ever dive when they are in tropical regions. Temperate diving can be amazing, although very different to diving in the tropics.

Head to NZ and dive the Poor Knights Islands. It's rated as one of Cousteaus top 10 in the world.
Heres some links to photo's: www.ianskipworth.com/suig/deepknights.html www.diveplanet.co.nz/photographytop50/pkgallery.asp

There is some amazing diving on the North Eastern Coast of Northland NZ. One of my favourites is the Rainbow Warrior, which is Greenpeace ship which was bombed by the french.