| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 12/06/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 49 |
| Copyright: Other |
Water adventure
North Island diving is just out of my depth
Our man feels the fear and does it anyway
A nervous Gareth Cosslett takes to the New Zealand waters on a diving and boating trip that has him wreck exploring, whale watching and spottingª dolphins
DANGERS abound when it comes to exploring New Zealand’s terra firma.There’s the possibility of getting stuck up one of South Island’s glacial mountains for a start, not to mention the chances of getting caught in a nasty earthquake – April this year clocked up a tidy 21 tremors in New Zealand but they are still waiting for the big one.Not being the heroic type, I thought I would do my best to avoid these hazards. Reader, I took to the water. The locals assured me that while there are some nasties in the water (great whites, hammerheads, killer whales), there are enough fish in the ocean to divert their attention from me.That is cold comfort when you’re 25 metres down clinging onto the bow of the Rainbow Warrior wreck and looking around nervously for a peckish prowler.Diving the wreck, sunk just off the Cavalli Islands, North Island, is considered to be one of New Zealand’s best diving experiences – although Jacques Cousteau voted nearby Tutukaka as one of his top 10 dive sites in the world.My instructor didn’t realise I was seven metres deeper than my Professional Association of Diver Instructors qualification allowed but that just added to the adrenaline rush. Exploring the inside of this historic Greenpeace ship – which was blown up by the French Secret Service in Auckland before being towed to the Bay of Islands to its final grave – is an eerie experience. Algae covers the ship except for the brown patch of metal covering the original blast hole that led to the vessel’s fate.The Bay of Islands is just as entrancing above water. One idyllic day was spent trying to spot dolphins from a 40ft catamaran, which moored occasionally at one of the small islands allowing us to have a quick dip and a barbecue. In fact we didn’t spot any dolphins but who cares when you’re dangling bare feet off the side of a boat, feeling the ocean spray.South Island has its own share of watery wonders but scaredy cats like me should watch out for the grumbling volcanoes and scalding mud pools in land-locked Rotorua on their way south. Kaikoura, on the northeast coast of South Island, is renowned for its whale watching. It is one of the few places in the world where sperm whales can be seen year-round. The continental shelf – a 3,000-metre vertical underwater drop – is just 800 metres from the mainland, allowing the whales to feed way down in the depths. Tourists tend to get magnificent close-up views of these huge black mammals when returning to the surface before plummeting again for more sustenance. But the abundance of New Zealand’s marine wildlife means the more time you spend on the water, the more blasé you get. While on a boat trip in the fjords of South Island’s Milford Sound, I found myself barely bothering to look at the fur seals on the rocks. Milford, though, is the sixth wettest place on earth, so my head-down attitude had more to do with being pummelled by rain than seal overload.But while sea kayaking in Doubtful Sound, further south than Milford and only accessible by boat and private road, I could not tire of watching the dolphins larking around our bow. We had already seen countless bottlenose and Hector’s dolphins in Kaikoura but a man who is tired of dolphins is tired of life. Or maybe I was just too scared to get off the boat.
DANGERS abound when it comes to exploring New Zealand’s terra firma.There’s the possibility of getting stuck up one of South Island’s glacial mountains for a start, not to mention the chances of getting caught in a nasty earthquake – April this year clocked up a tidy 21 tremors in New Zealand but they are still waiting for the big one.
Not being the heroic type, I thought I would do my best to avoid these hazards. Reader, I took to the water.
The locals assured me that while there are some nasties in the water (great whites, hammerheads, killer whales), there are enough fish in the ocean to divert their attention from me.
That is cold comfort when you’re 25 metres down clinging onto the bow of the Rainbow Warrior wreck and looking around nervously for a peckish prowler.
Diving the wreck, sunk just off the Cavalli Islands, North Island, is considered to be one of New Zealand’s best diving experiences – although Jacques Cousteau voted nearby Tutukaka as one of his top 10 dive sites in the world.
My instructor didn’t realise I was seven metres deeper than my Professional Association of Diver Instructors qualification allowed but that just added to the adrenaline rush.
Exploring the inside of this historic Greenpeace ship – which was blown up by the French Secret Service in Auckland before being towed to the Bay of Islands to its final grave – is an eerie experience. Algae covers the ship except for the brown patch of metal covering the original blast hole that led to the vessel’s fate.
The Bay of Islands is just as entrancing above water. One idyllic day was spent trying to spot dolphins from a 40ft catamaran, which moored occasionally at one of the small islands allowing us to have a quick dip and a barbecue.
In fact we didn’t spot any dolphins but who cares when you’re dangling bare feet off the side of a boat, feeling the ocean spray.
South Island has its own share of watery wonders but scaredy cats like me should watch out for the grumbling volcanoes and scalding mud pools in land-locked Rotorua on their way south.
Kaikoura, on the northeast coast of South Island, is renowned for its whale watching. It is one of the few places in the world where sperm whales can be seen year-round.
The continental shelf – a 3,000-metre vertical underwater drop – is just 800 metres from the mainland, allowing the whales to feed way down in the depths.
Tourists tend to get magnificent close-up views of these huge black mammals when returning to the surface before plummeting again for more sustenance.
But the abundance of New Zealand’s marine wildlife means the more time you spend on the water, the more blasé you get.
While on a boat trip in the fjords of South Island’s Milford Sound, I found myself barely bothering to look at the fur seals on the rocks. Milford, though, is the sixth wettest place on earth, so my head-down attitude had more to do with being pummelled by rain than seal overload.
But while sea kayaking in Doubtful Sound, further south than Milford and only accessible by boat and private road, I could not tire of watching the dolphins larking around our bow.
We had already seen countless bottlenose and Hector’s dolphins in Kaikoura but a man who is tired of dolphins is tired of life. Or maybe I was just too scared to get off the boat.
Kiwi delights: Kaikoura is one of the few places in the world where you can spot a sperm whale all year round
Tasty: a Kermadec Islands grouper
six bizarre Kiwi facts
n It is the only country in the world with no indigenous mammals.
n It is home to the world’s greatest and weirdest hangover cure, Spirulina, a thick green goo of a drink, the principal ingredient of which is powdered seaweed.
n Auckland, City of Sails and current home of the America’s Cup, has thehighest per capita ownership of yachts in the world.
n New Zealand has more golfing facilities per head than any other nation.
n Napier, destroyed in an earthquake in 1931 and rebuilt, rivals Miami Beach for having one of the largest collections of art-deco buildings in the world.
n Australians are notorious for claiming celebrity Kiwis for themselves. Famous people from New Zealand – not Australia – are pop band Crowded House and actors Sam Neill and Russell Crowe.