Marine NZ

South Coast Diver

2009-02-17T21:09:40+12:00

Hi I am Rob or as most of my friends know me as NEMES1S a nickname that dates back beyond somes memory of my actual name.
I am a qualified Scuba diver from Wellingtons rugged South Coast,we are really blessed in Wellington with at least 50 fabulous and interesting shore dives.
I belong to the NIGHTDIVERS99 Crew of avid divers we regularly train and dive in various locations in Wellington and in NZ in general.I am also affiliated with Splash Gordons also on Wellingtons South Coast.

In Wellington we are extra lucky to have a brand new marine reserve open here on our fabulous coastline called the Taputeranga Marine Reserve,the surge in marine life even a few months later was obvious to myself and other regular divers.
It will provide a fabulous environment for the next generation to enjoy the undersea creatures,and the increase in creature and fish life is exiting to say the least.

Taputeranga Marine reserve

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc333/NEMES1SDIVE/IMG_3961.jpg

Another marine reserve I particularly enjoy diving is the Poor Knights Island off the coast of Tutukaka,its a fabulous place for divers to explore.The reserve is so full of life and sea creatures its like swimming through a full colour 3D book of animals,from the smallest Triplefin to the largest of Stingrays.
Its truly a place of fantastic traquility and peace,slowly finning through the incredible blue waters with only the sound of the bubbles exiting the exhaust tee of your regulator its an undersea paradise.

The only way to truly capture the image of such place is to visit it and take a piece of the Knights away in your heart,and you will surely thirst to return there for more of that elixir of tranquility.

Pic of me in the underwater realm

http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc333/NEMES1SDIVE/Rob.jpg

The back of Sydney to the back of Wellington

2009-04-18T16:37:56+12:00

At the age of 11 I was fortunate to be sent to New Zealand for a few months. My uncle Anthony looked after me for a number of weeks and it was here that I would experience something life-changing.
In the back of Sydney in a place called Shalvey, we had a choice of a long trip to the coast or a dip in the local waterway. When the rains hit in Sydney, a lot of places would flood and my friends and I would hit the local ‘Ropes Creek’ for some wet humour. Ropes Creek was full of rubbish, brown muddy in colour and had the occassional eel run between our feet. But being kids we never concieved possible dangers - it was something wonderful in an otherwise dull suburbia.
Years of Snorkling around Scotts Heads up in the Nambucca region of northern NSW gave me a better appreciation of water with better clarity and versatility of life - give or take the odd Jellyfish sting.
At the back of Wellington though, I found a stream that was part of a larger river system. Sure it was cold, but the experience of swimming in crystal clear water made me feel that I was some Platypus in Paradise. I passed over a deep bit that may have been 5-10 metres deep but as I floated above, all that I could wonder at was the fact that I could still see the bottom. It was a period in my life I have not forgotten.

I know New Zealand has the advantage of some good ‘high’ mountain ranges that produce such great waterways, compared to Australia.
I just hope New Zealand never takes its waterways for granted.

Diving in marine reserves

2009-01-15T11:39:02+12:00

As a diver in NZ, living in Northland, I am lucky enough to dive The Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve on a fairly regular basis. I reckon I could dive there a million times and never be satisfied I have seen enough. The same site is different every time. I will be posting a dive report here after each trip I do to the Knights or Goat Island. I hope this will also help me improve on my macro photography skills, which I have been working on since I got my new camera.

My last trip to the Poor Knights was on January 2nd and I dived at Middle Arch and Eastern Arch.Dive one was a photography dive for me and there was HEAPS of encrusting life to get busy shooting (evidence below). Then we took a scenic trip around Southern Harbour before arriving at Eastern Arch. OMG! What an amazing dive! We entered the arch and the light diminished fairly rapidly! I can’t think of accurate words to describe the light effect - only that it was like seeing in black and white and having the benefit of the atmosphere that creates. I could see everything - without a torch as the vis was awesome - but the outlines were fuzzy / grainy. The arch was vast and quite barren until I saw a gentle ‘waterfall’ of blue maomao at the other end. They were in a school and like a waterfall because they were drifting vertically up and down outside of a slight current. They were, well, beautiful. Occasionally shafts of light from above or a glint from a torch would catch their bright blue colour. Then, our eyes were taken onto the wall by some stingray (I saw four), who were sweeping up and down it above our heads and then plunging into the darkness, only to join us again moments later. Here’s some photos from dive one. Enjoy!