Our World – Underwater Scholarship Society in Europe

Hey everyone!

I am deeply honoured to be choosen as the 2012 European Rolex Scholar for the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society and I am looking forward to a year of great adventures.

In this blog I will try to share my experiences with you as the year progress.

I have dreamt about this scholarship for many years and it´s in the category of things you hope for but never really think you´ll get. Well, if you don´t apply, your chances are slim so I pulled myself together, spilled my heart out on paper, applied, and the result is beyond my wildest dreams.
So the first thing I´ll say here is that if you, like I did, read these blogs and think that you want to be the person who does this next year don’t hesitate, sit down and write that application and don’t wait until the last day (31st December) but start in time. I´ll remind you in a few months when it´s getting closer.

The first thing I did as a soon to be scholar was to visit London International Dive Show in the beginning of April were I got to meet a lot of people from the business as well as some of the people from OWUSS that will (and already has) help me through this.

The second event was the annual meeting in New York City were the scholarship year begins and ends. It´s a weekend were I met a lot of new people and all of them friendly, welcoming me into the family. Really this first month requires a lot of text to describe just a small part of it and I´ve decided that that description will be in my journal on the scholarships homepage so that this blogpost won´t be a whole essay.
Instead I´ll go right ahead and tell you what I did after I got back from New York.

I had barely got in through the door and started to unpack before it was time to prepare for a trip to Norway. I had been invited to Dykkersport dive centre in Oslo for a photo workshop held by Lars Stenholt-Kirkegaard who is the Nordic coordinator of the scholarship. Having just unpacked my new Olympus Pen Lite camera and the housing I was eager to get some help in figuring out how to take nice pictures with it. I arrived at the well organized dive centre located on the quay right by the Oslo fjord and was warmly welcomed by the manager Heidemarie Nordahl, and the staff. The workshop mixed theory and practice with a lot of good tips about how to use proper lighting and angles to create an image. All of us would go out for a morning dive and shoot a lot of pictures that we then sorted through, edited and discussed together with Lars and each other.To see other peoples pictures, for inspiration and to discuss with them, helped me quite a bit. And with an experienced photographer like Lars to guide us and add his comments I feel like everyone learned a lot, now I need more practice.

Heidemarie invited me in to her house and made me feel right at home during my stay, I even got to share in a big feast on king crab one evening, an invasive species in Norway but absolutely delicious.
By the end of the weekend I had a few pictures that I was happy with and a lot of inspiration to work with when documenting my travels. Norway had showed me a very friendly side and I believe I will be back soon to investigate more of the diving in this beautiful country of fjords.

 

If there is one thing I learned while being in the Arctic it is that you are at the mercy of the weather every single second of every single day. As the majority of the northern hemisphere was entering the first few satisfying weeks of Spring, Iqaluit in northern Canada was experiencing its average March temperature of -35°C.

 

Stepping off the plane I entered the freezer that is springtime Iqaluit. With every breath I took I was sure I could feel ice crystals forming inside my lungs. By the time I had walked to the airport terminal my meager jeans had already proved inadequate for a 100m dash in the Arctic and my hands were sporting a worrying tinge of purple.

 

My inappropriate dress was quickly remedied as I got hold of my bags and seized the polar clothing I had been supplied with courtesy of Arctic Kingdom – a travel and outfitting company specializing in polar trips. It is quite terrifying to think how quickly you can literally freeze here. As my time in Iqaluit progressed I learned to respect the cold and not to be fooled by the cozy warmth of the buildings. When you step outdoors it takes mere milliseconds for the cold to hit.

 

But, in the far north the cold brings a unique beauty. 500km north of the treeline a white wilderness takes over. The white envelops the landscape flawlessly. Snow covered plains convene with the sea ice to create one image of a seemingly untouched and unbroken environment.  From afar it appears delicate. Up close there is no mistaking its resilient and uncompromising strength.

 

As I raced out across the sea ice one Sunday morning atop a snowmobile with Graham Dickson – owner and founder of Arctic Kingdom – I was speedily introduced to the harsh realities of the Arctic. It’s a catch-22 in this climate: When the temperature plummets below about -20°C it is too cold for snow, the air is bitingly crisp and the sky is a cloudless expanse. This makes for great over-land trips as the visibility is high. However, any exposed piece of flesh will freeze in minutes, if not seconds. On the other hand, when the temperature is higher, but still well below 0°C, it can and will snow. This makes over-land trips near impossible as the visibility can drop dramatically and the Inuit guides will advise you to stay at home.

 

On this Sunday morning it was the latter of the two temperature scenarios that we had to contend with. We were attempting to reach a polenya – an area of open water where the ice has cracked/not formed– approximately 20km from Iqaluit so we could check it out for diving opportunities. We had gone no further than 4km when the decision was made to turn back. The snow was whipping up in icy threads, which not only made the visibility poor but also made us damp – a dangerous situation in the Arctic. Turning back towards Iqaluit we had to leave our mission for the day incomplete.

 

These snowstorms, or whiteouts, aren’t to be overlooked when in town either. On another day I embarked on a 1-mile walk along the main streets of Iqaluit towards Graham’s house, it was a walk I had done countless times.  But on this day the snow was quite frankly pummeling me as it tore across any open area with frightening force. With my head bowed I trudged on thinking what on earth would it be like to be truly out in the wilderness in such conditions, this seemed difficult enough!? Continuing with my walk I realised that not being able to see the road should be cause for concern. Nevertheless, I made it to my destination unharmed and was given my usual hyper welcome from Graham’s two puppies Hudson and Riley, while his lovely wife Maureen warmed me up immediately with a big mug of coffee.

 

Graham and I weren’t going to give up on our mission to reach the polenya despite all the adverse weather and when a break came we took our chance. Arctic Kingdom is in the process of establishing a new base in Iqaluit and dive trips are one of the many adventurous exploits on the cards. This polenya was a potential dive entry site, the alternative being cutting through 3m+ of ice. So, we embarked upon our second attempt to reach the polenya. This time we had Louise Murray joining us. Louise is a photojournalist and Arctic Kingdom expedition leader and she had the unpleasant experience of getting to ride in the qamutic (sled) behind the snowmobile. The ice may look sleek from afar, but it is rough and tough terrain and every little bump jars. If your chiropractor were to see you riding in a qamutic he/she would most likely weep.

 

This time round we made it to the polenya and as we sped across the ice I was totally amazed. We were in-fact crossing the sea. To think that the seawater was just a matter of metres below me was surreal. Snowmobiles and qamutics may not be the most comfortable way to travel, but the sights you see are more that worth the jiggling around. To stare out across sea ice and only see white, white, white as far and wide as the eye can see is breathtaking.

 

Approaching the polenya I became taken aback. To see open running water out on the land is entirely unexpected and I had no idea I would be so enthralled by it. I hadn’t seen open water for weeks. As we contemplated this as a potential dive entry site our prior fears were confirmed: Polenyas exist because the currents are so strong that the water moves fast enough to keep the ice open. To plunge in here would be insane – we all love a drift dive, but when that drift dives sees you sucked under sea ice it is an entirely different story… I’m sure you would see a few stunning sights en-route to your death though.

 

With the polenya a no go for diving our next option was breaking through the ice on the local park pond. Stomping down to the park with the newly acquired auger screw in hand Graham and I stopped atop the pond. As Graham spiraled the auger screw around and around and around I looked on with hope. The 2m screw ran out of length, the ice was too thick. With my hands and knees down on the ice I peered through at the so near but yet so far water.

 

Our final hope was to make it to the floe edge, which was a 40km snowmobile ride out of town. Unfortunately the weather made this impossible as temperatures plummeted back down to -30°C and winds gusts of up to 70kmph created a wind-chill temperature of -55°C. Funnily enough March is not the prime time for diving in the Arctic for all the reasons we encountered. I knew this when I embarked upon my trip and it was certainly not difficult to understand why it was impossible when I was right there experiencing the sometimes-terrifying conditions.

 

Admitting defeat we left the diving plans to one side. The trip still produced many highlights for me, one of which was learning to drive the snowmobiles. I warned Graham before being let loose on them that I didn’t have a driving license. I can’t drive a car. He seemed unperturbed by my warnings though, much to my delight (I should add – I wasn’t breaking any laws by driving a snow-mobile). Louise and I were even given the honorable task of taking his brand-spanking new machines for a spin. You learn fast on a snowmobile. As my housemate Erin warned me – “you need to really ride it, be in charge, no hesitation, no deliberation.” Understood.

 

You can reach other communities via snowmobile, but it would take a matter of days. And for a tentative driver like me more like a matter of weeks. Generally, Iqaluit and the other northern communities are only accessible by air (or an extremely long snow-mobile ride) in the winter months and there is a real feeling of severance from “regular” life. Things work differently in the far north. I gawped at the $5 loaves of bread and cried at the cost of vodka in the bars, but I had a pleasant surprise when it came to my trip to the cinema and was only charged the decent price of $8. I later discovered I had been mistaken for a child. Wow.

 

Life in the far north is certainly different, but I loved the experience and diving wasn’t the sole purpose of my trip though. I wasn’t here to merely tick a box. I was here to experience life in the freezer, to see if I liked it, could handle it and would want to work in it. Although I was based in a town and not camping out on the ice having the extreme Arctic experience, I still had an insightful and gratifying trip. I did like it, I could handle it and I would want to work in it.

My huge thanks go to everyone at Arctic Kingdom, Maureen, Louise, Erin and everyone else who made my time in Iqaluit amazing!

 

During my final day in Cape Town I got the chance to join in with some data collection for a masters student at the University of Cape Town. I love fieldwork, especially when it involves being in, on or around the sea. When Steve Benjamin of Animal Ocean – a marine adventure company based near Cape Town – got in touch to ask if I wanted to help catch Lesser Sandshark/Guitarfish (Rhinobatos annulatus) along the western cape coastline I immediately said yes.

 

Also helping was a group of students from Gap South Africa. When the data collection got into full swing I was glad we had plenty of people on hand as it required some hard graft. After an hour drive along the scenic western cape we made it to the sheltered bay that was to be our data collection site. After lugging the seine net – which we would be using to catch the sharks – down to the shore we were briefed and quickly set to work.

 

Four of us took to the water in our wetsuits to help deploy the net along the shore, while the others stayed on-shore to pull in the net. The net must have been at least 20m long and considering it was scooping up everything in its path it could get pretty heavy. In the end we all had to run back on-shore to help pull the net it and once it was out we would inspecting its contents. We had to pick through heaps of seaweed in an attempt to find two species of fish that were also needed for research. The sand sharks were a bit more obvious and were picked out of the net with ease.

 

These sharks/guitarfish, live in sheltered bays in the subtropical regions of the world. I was amazed at how close to shore these sharks were and we only needed to deploy the net approximately 10m out from shore in order to catch them. The IUCN do not consider the Lesser Sandshark a threatened species and it is the most abundant guitarfish in the sub-equatorial African region.

 

Although it is not a threatened species, learning more about this species is of great importance. The fact that it is not threatened allows researchers to collect the sharks for their research, providing extremely valuable information about their life patterns, behaviour and population dynamics. In doing so they can gain information that will help ensure this animal remains unthreatened.

 

In total we managed to deploy the net enough times to collect 11 sharks and by the final haul our muscles were burning. It was a really enjoyable day and a chance for me to learn more about postgraduate study. I am still in two minds about whether or not I will go on to do further study, but one thing I do know is that I enjoy getting my hands dirty and being out in the field.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

Sharks were becoming a highlight of my scholarship year and as I surfaced from each dive alive and bite free I was becoming ever more confident. I had just spent a few days in Perth, Western Australia, where reports of shark attacks were abnormally high. I was visiting the 2008 OWUSS Scholar Steve Lindfield but we both managed to snorkel and survive in the sea around Perth. What’s more, before visiting Steve I had been cage diving with great whites in New Zealand – in the very cage that had just made headlines because a shark had managed to “enter” the cage – I survived that too.

With sharks becoming such a prominent feature of my year there was one country that I couldn’t leave unvisited. Whether you want to see tiger sharks, bull sharks, sevengill sharks, black tips, raggies, blues, makos and of course the big man – the great white – South Africa is the country that will deliver.

 

So I went. As the plane coasted over the wine-lands of Cape Town and came in to land with the sea and mountains creating an almost unbelievable backdrop, I knew I would like this place. Thanks to the generosity of Shark Explorers I was about to spend a week experiencing some of the best shark action South Africa has to offer.

 

Shark Explorers is a shark diving operator based in the quaint town of Simon’s Town – a short drive out of Cape Town. Morne Hardenberg and Stephen Swanson run this upbeat and forward thinking company and together with their two Divemasters – Earnest and Brocq –their passion and zeal for sharks shines through in every trip. Seeing sharks is such an exhilarating experience it would be easy to run a shark diving operation and rely on your customers’ exhilaration to carry you through. Morne, Stephen, Brocq and Earnest ensure their operation is about so much more than this; Their conscientiousness and enthusiasm for sharks is evident and when a customer has a question they have the answer.

 

I spent a week diving with these guys and over the course of the week I had some of the best dives of my life. As well as running the great white shark cage diving trips that South Africa is renowned for, Morne and Stephen also run sevengill shark trips inshore and blue shark and mako shark trips out in the deep. I was lucky enough to experience all of their trips and as the week progressed I had to take a step back so I could grasp all the amazing sights I was seeing.

 

Having seen great whites in Australia and New Zealand I would describe myself as having become comfortable in their presence. But in S.Africa I realised I hadn’t seen the BIG ones. As I sat on the bow of the Shark Explorers Boat – watching Morne manning the bait line, Stephen manning the decoy line, Earnest stomping on the chum bucket to get the juices flowing and Brocq sitting on top spotting for sharks – there was the standard cry of “shark!” as a shark appeared as a grey/white silhouette through the green water.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

“Wow, it’s a big one” was the first thing I heard that made me perk up, followed by “jeez, it’s massive!” When you have spent time on shark diving boats you can tell a genuine tone of excitement. This was most definitely genuine. I immediately started scanning the water for the big-un. “It has to be at least 4m” the boys conferred with one-another as I searched with my eyes for the beast. I am generally considered a quiet person, but as this this gigantic shark came into view my mouth produced a number of loud comments that aren’t repeatable … I felt a genuine feeling of fear, swiftly drew my legs into my chest and was extremely glad I hadn’t spotted this beast before taking a surf lesson the day earlier. No matter how much time you spend in the sea, how many dives you have to your name, how many countries you have visited, how many awesome creatures you have seen…there are some things that can’t fail to take your breath away.

 

That mammoth shark went on to chomp down an injured seal only one hundred metres from the boat. The seal’s intestines were then spotted hanging from the shark’s gills as it swam underneath the boat. Nature at its finest eh.

 

I didn’t spend the whole week gaping at the size of the South African great whites though – there were other dives to be done. Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) inhabit coastal temperate waters and they can be found just a few metres from shore, just along the coast from Simon’s Town. Shark Explorers run regular trips to see the sevengills and these characterful sharks make for a great diving experience. Although they can reach over 5m they are more akin to puppies than sharks and they are not to be feared. They have two additional pairs of gill slits in comparison to most sharks, as the name suggests, and they are a very primitive species with a skeleton resembling those of ancient shark species (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_shark).

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

Every species of shark has its own character and when you dive with different species you start to notice the differences and similarities. I only had one dive with the sevengills but in 80-minutes I warmed to these sharks: They look happy; they swim along with a smile on their faces. They cheekily appear over your shoulder, or swim directly towards you with their cheerful faces giving you a friendly once over.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

As I followed Morne though the kelp forest, weaving my way in and out of the tall fronds, I was astounded at how many sevengills kept appearing. They were evidently at ease in our presence and would meander past us as if we were just another piece of kelp. I can’t recall experiencing a dive like it. I have had sharks swarming around me in an excited frenzy; I have peered through the grates of a cage as great whites patrol past; I have hovered over an ocean trench as silky sharks appear from the blue; but I have never felt so chilled out in the presence of a shark.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

It was a nice change – when you dive with sharks they tend to be on-guard. If you get too close, or if they come to check you out and are quizened by your presence, they will speedily scatter. The sevengills were different. They were inquisitive, they came super close, but they never scattered. I didn’t see one swim at speed – they seemed very comfortable as they cruised along and went about their business as if nothing was amiss, despite a few foreign beings being in their presence. They look contentedly spaced-out.

 Photo: Morne Hardengberg

A speedier and more energetic dive was soon to follow. After powering out into the open ocean for near on 2-hours we stopped amid the easy rolling swell, the soaring mountains of the Cape now barely visible. We had come all this way to dive with blue sharks and mako Sharks – two species I had never seen before, but two species that I have longed to see. To me diving in the open ocean is the ultimate: hundreds or thousands of mysterious meters plummet below you. You cannot know what mysteries reside down there. It captivates me, it excites me – it very nearly draws me down in pure fascination. And the best bit – who knows what’s going to show up…

 Photo: Morne Hardenberg

Hovering in mid-water I was surrounded by a seemingly endless blue as needle-like sharks nipped past me. These Blue Sharks have to be the sleekest sharks I have ever seen. They are petite, slim, shiny, and have the most alluring blue band running the length of their refined bodies. But don’t be fooled – these sharks are not as reserved as their graceful appearance would imply! Unlike many sharks that will swim directly toward you and turn at the very last moment, the blue sharks will just keep swimming – straight at you, no gentility, just an intrusive nature that took me quite by surprise. I would often feel them before I would see them. One over confident shark decided to stalk me from behind, making a beeline for my armpit as I held my Light and Motion housing out at full stretch in front of me. You may not think you can jump when you are surrounded by water, but I did. It didn’t end at armpits either: fins, cameras, hoses, legs, and my head, was bopped by a blue.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

Despite the mako sharks not turning up, the blue sharks provided more than enough amusement. I often surface from a dive because I am cold or my deco-time is pushing its limits. I rarely surface from a dive because my air is running low, but the blue sharks had me completely enthralled and as I saw the needle on my air-gauge creeping ever nearer the red I was willing my breaths to slow down. As I reluctantly made my way toward the surface I looked down to see the sharks still busying themselves amongst the remaining divers, bumping into their camera lenses and nibbling at their fins.

Photo: Morne Hardenberg

 

The swell had picked up by the time it came to our ride back to Simon’s Town but every bump and jolt was worth it. Some dives are unforgettable – you look back on them and think wow, or as the South Africans would describe it: ‘lekker bru!’

 

My entire week with the Shark Explorers team was awesome. To get to work alongside people who are as enthusiastic about working with sharks as they were in the beginning is a rarity and it rubs off on everyone. The Shark Explorers boat is full of excitement, everyday. Whether it was spotting the giant great white, cruising with the sevengills or avoiding the bumps of the blues I was constantly in my element. Once again my time had to come to an end and I was sad to leave the Shark Explorers team behind. With a healthy respect and brimming enthusiasm for sharks I am sure Morne, Stephen, Brocq and Earnest will have many busy days ahead with many happy customers onboard.

Thank you to Morne who supplied many of the images for the blog.

 

It struck me quite suddenly – since arriving in New Zealand I had been diving every single day. Not such a bad thing. But, when you are in a country boasting some of the most incredible landscapes the world has to offer it would be a crime to pass through without taking time to explore some of them. My opportunity to see some of the great sights of New Zealand came during my week in Paihia.

 

I was in Paihia to dive the wrecks and reefs of the Bay of Islands thanks to the generosity of Craig and Lisa Johnson, who own and run Paihia Dive. I was relishing my dives on the wrecks of the Rainbow Warrior and the Canterbury as the week progressed, but with a bad weather day looming my chance to check out some land-based highlights had come.

 

Jo Gill, a good friend of Craig and Lisa, made plans for me to join a Fullers Great Sights day trip up to Cape Reinga. Cape Reinga is where the Tasman Sea collides with the Pacific Ocean. For an ocean geek like me I was pretty excited at the prospect of beholding such a sight.

 

But this day trip did not just take in Cape Reinga – it was a full-on tour of the highlights of Northland. During the course of the day I saw an ancient Kauri forest, drove down the 90-mile beach, sand-boarded down a mammoth sand dune, had my ocean geek moment at Cape Reinga and forlornly said no to some famous fish and chips. I was saving myself for the Paihia Dive barbeque – it turned out to be a good decision.

 

Despite hopping on the coach in Paihia at 7am, not returning until 6.15pm and covering hundreds of miles, the day had a remarkably relaxed pace to it. You are never on the bus for more than 1h30min at any one time – morning tea and afternoon tea quaintly break up the longer stretches of the drive. It was rather nice to be able to leisurely dunk my croissant into my hot chocolate during the 30minute morning tea break; it made an enjoyable change to my usual breakfast antics of shoveling down a cereal bar and shotting coffee as I run to make a morning dive.

 

Before morning tea the coach made its first stop at an ancient Kauri forest. As I wandered round the boardwalk in the chilly early morning air I slowly began to come-to after dozing on the coach. The cool air and light drizzle made for a refreshing start and as I craned my neck to see the top of the soaring Kauri trees. I thought how incredible it would have been to witness New Zealand when these centuries old trees covered the entire landscape. As the coach driver “Dice” explained, it was as recently as 1987 that the Kauri Tree officially became a protected species. Up until this time the now treasured native tree was an extensively exploited resource; while the timber was used for boats and buildings, the gum was used for varnishes and other resin based products.

 

Native Kauri furniture and arts are still being made today, but the Kauri wood now comes from trees that were buried underground thousands of years ago when a massive tsunami flattened much of Northland. As the coach drove through the flat plains where the unearthing of the Kauri takes place we were nearing the 90-mile beach. It’s not 90-miles long by the way. It’s only 60 – pretty mediocre eh.

 

The coach began trundling down 60-miles of what is actually of course a stunning and anything but mediocre beach. It took about an hour to drive the length of the beach and as I gazed out of the window I was surprised by how much the beach resembled the beaches of the east coast of Scotland: Grassy dunes, pine forests, grey/blue choppy water… But then I saw a palm tree.

 

As the coach turned off the beach and headed along a dry sandy riverbed it pulled up alongside a mountainous sand dune. Soooo, I’m sliding down that am I? Acting calm, cool and collected I scaled the ominously steep slope. I was quite frankly freaking out on the inside. I wasn’t coming this far and not doing it – I didn’t want the humiliation of trudging back down, I would take a broken bone over that any day.

 

Perching on my board, I looked down the gauntlet of sand and tentatively pushed off. It turned out to be pretty easygoing in the end: No tumbles, no broken bones, no humiliation. But man the sand got everywhere! I brushed myself down and jumped back on-board the coach, ready to continue my adventure through Northland at a more relaxed pace.

 

After stopping for lunch at a lovely little beach, the coach meandered its way toward Cape Reinga – the highlight of the trip. In contrast to the cold and drizzly morning, the afternoon weather managed to give me the lobster tinge us Scottish folk are well known for. As I wandered down toward the lighthouse I looked out to see the spectacle that is the Tasman Sea colliding with the Pacific Ocean. I am sure appears as a body of water with a few white ruffles in it to most normal people, but for me it was pretty cool. For those not so enamored by oceans colliding the Cape is very picturesque in many other ways. With its steep cliffs decorated by the flowering flax plants and the shiny white lighthouse contrasting against the blue sea there is plenty to marvel at.

 

After an hour of enjoying the splendor of Cape Reinga it was time to head back towards Paihia. With a stop for afternoon tea and fish and chips on the way home there was plenty of breaks during the long drive south. The whole day seemed to have sped by and when I thought about how much I had seen and done I was quite amazed. Considering I had one day out of the water to try and see as much as possible I think I did pretty well. A big thank you to everyone at Fuller’s Great Sights!

Following on from my week of diving in the Poor Knights Islands I headed further north towards the Bay of Islands. As the coach wound its way through the sprawling landscape I was captivated by what is New Zealand’s stunning and endless expanse of flourishing green countryside. Despite the landscape being one of the most mind-blowing in the world, there is something so charmingly unimposing about New Zealand. Being here is all about enjoying the outdoors and appreciating the beauty of the mountains, plains, forests and coastlines.

 

The little roads that curl their way through this country are adorned with makeshift campervans and archaic cars bought by backpackers for their self-guided journeys across the islands. A motorway is hard to find and a flash car seems somewhat out of place. Each town has a campsite, not a 5-star hotel. For someone who grew up running around campsites and gawped at the price of a coke in a 5-star hotel, I was thoroughly enjoying my time in New Zealand.

 

Nestled amongst the lush countryside of the Bay of Islands is the popular tourist town of Paihia. Known by most visitors as the place to swim with dolphins or to see the “hole in the rock”, it is known by divers as the place to come to dive the wrecks of the Rainbow Warrior and the Canterbury. Hence my visit.

 

My hosts for the week were Craig and Lisa Johnson and their three sons – Hamish, Toby and Vinnie. These three boys have to be the most entertaining kids I have ever met and they made for a fun-filled and very amusing week (regardless of the fact that 10-year old Hamish consistently beat me at chess, despite my genuine best efforts to win). Craig and Lisa run Paihia Dive, a small and friendly dive centre situated on the main street in Paihia. I have visited a lot of big dive centres so far this year so it made a nice change to spend time in a smaller centre where I could get to know the great team and get to grips with the overall running of things.

 

So now that I was in Paihia I was keen to see more of New Zealand’s underwater highlights. Having just had an awesome week diving in the Poor Knights Islands with Dive! Tutukaka I had a taste for New Zealand diving, and wrecks were becoming a highlight. In Paihia wreck diving was to take precedence, much to my delight. Over the course of the week I got to dive both the Rainbow Warrior and the HMNZS Canterbury – the latter being the sister ship of the Waikato, which I had dived upon the previous week with Dive! Tutukaka.

 

I kicked off with a dive on the Rainbow Warrior, which was once the Greenpeace flagship. The story of how this wreck came to lie in 28m of water in the Cavalli Islands – which are just a short rib ride out of Matauri Bay north of Paihia – is well renowned. I, however, didn’t know the story and listened in fascination as Craig recounted the history of the Rainbow Warrior before the first dive of the day.    

In July 1985 the Rainbow Warrior was moored in Auckland Harbour where it was preparing to sail to the French Polynesian atoll of Moruroa to protest against the testing of nuclear warheads. In doing so the ship would be illegally entering French military zones. The French Government decided allowing the protest to go ahead would be endangering many people and in a plot later uncovered by the New Zealand police the French Secret Service bombed the ship right there and then in Auckland harbour. No casualties were intended, but a man named Fernando Pereira was killed by the second of two bomb blasts as he returned to the ship to rescue his camera.   

The ship was irreparable and transported to Matauri Bay, where the local M?ori people now maintain its guardianship. It was scuttled here in December 1987 and for over two decades the Rainbow Warrior has been a draw for wreck divers and Greenpeace pilgrims alike. Lying in one piece on a sandy bottom at 28m, the total length of the ship is 55m, which makes lapping the ship in one dive more than achievable. As Paihia Dive’s trainee Divemaster Adam guided me around the ship, beginning at the stern and making our way round the starboard side towards the imposing bow, I checked out the scorpion fish and eels hiding out underneath the soaring mass of the ship.

 

The bow of the ship is a striking feature. With vis reaching 15m+ I was able to hover on the sandy bottom in front of the wreck and gaze up at the towering bow. When the Rainbow Warrior was scuttled here it was also declared a fish sanctuary and the fish life on the wreck is certainly thriving. Indeed the entire wreck is a thriving ecosystem. The bow is spattered with luminous blue anemones and kelp has turned the deck into a self-contained forest. As you enter some of the swim throughs from the main deck you find rooms filled with big eye fish and mackerel, all of which scatter rather neatly as you intrude upon their hideout. 

   

I did a few dives on the Rainbow Warrior during my time with Paihia Dive. Although the wreck is relatively small in comparison to a lot of the other wrecks in New Zealand it has a special story and there is an abundance of life to keep even the non-wreck lovers happy. For novice deep or wreck divers it makes for a perfect introduction to both. At 28m it is deep, but as you tour the wreck you gradually ascend and your decompression limits aren’t pushed. And when the vis is good the entire ship is simply laid out in front of you with wide swim throughs and light-filled penetrations.

 

The HMNZS Canterbury is a little different. I could have quite easily pushed my deco limits as I explored around this 113m long wreck lying in 38m of water. In a similar story to its sister ship the Waikato, the Bay of Islands Canterbury Charitable Trust bought the Canterbury for $1 and it was scuttled in November 2007 to create a new artificial reef. Resting in Deep Water Cove, a sheltered location just a short boat ride from Paihia dock, the Canterbury is an excellent alternative to diving the Rainbow Warrior when the weather picks up.

 

The weather did pick up when I was in Paihia so I had ample opportunity to explore the Canterbury. This ship was scuttled with divers in mind, and you certainly notice that when you’re diving it. The penetrations have been stripped of most of their clutter, doors have been fully removed, new exits and entry points have been added and in contrast to the Waikato it lies in one piece on the seafloor. Indeed the penetrations are so accessible that you can practically swim the entire length of the ship from the inside with plenty of light streaming in from the doorframes. I peeked into countless rooms as Craig guided me through the front windows of the bridge and down through a hatch into one of the main corridors of the ship. Desks, chairs, warning signs, ladders and telephone boxes still remain inside the ship, which saw operational service in locations such as East Timor and the Persian Gulf with a crew of over 250 men onboard.

 

Today the local Hapu people manage the Canterbury and fishing is not allowed in the surrounding area. It was heartening for me to visit New Zealand and witness how much is being done to preserve and sustain the marine environment and diving industry in this country. The Rainbow Warrior, Canterbury, Waikato and Tui (another wreck on the Tutukaka coast) have all been scuttled to provide artificial reefs. In getting to dive three of these wrecks I was able to see first-hand how successful they have become at both sustaining a diverse ecosystem and heightening divers’ interest.