Dive Pacific 173 Feb March 2020

ISSUE 173 - $9.90 inc GST 

February / March 2020 

NEW ZEALAND'S DIVE MAGAZINE 

NEW ZEALAND’S ONLY DIVE MAGAZINE 

P A C I F I C 


The GREAT 

New Zealand 

discovery puzzle 

P A C I F I C 

Alien? 

Paranormal? 

The Octopus 

www.Dive-Pacific.com 

How to Adopt-A-Wreck 

Four big answers for women who Scuba 

How to join the Coast Care action 

Russell’s road crash. What can we learn? 

Spearfishers Notebook: the low down on Boarfish 

PLUS: Diving in Niue, Vanuatu, Madang, Wakatobi ... 

www.dive-pacific.com 1

2 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific

An experience 

without equal 

“The reef systems here are some of the most pristine I have seen anywhere in my dive 

travels around the globe, and Wakatobi resort and liveaboard are second to none. 

The diversity of species here is brilliant if you love photography.” ~ Simon Bowen 

www.wakatobi.com 


contents 

18 

12 

IN DEPTH 

4 EDITORIAL: Scared of climate change? Let’s be scared into action 

Managing Editor Gilbert Peterson 

SOUNDINGS Local and international news & comment 

5 Change to cylinder safety, events calendar & letter 

7 Wellington’s marine reserve goes 3D virtual 

8 $10k research grant on offer; Sea of Solutions conference; 

Underwater land slides 

9 UNDERWATER TOUR 2020 comes to Auckland - three great 

presenters! New photo competition! 

10 Greece’s seahorse research institute 

37 

SPECIAL FEATURES 

11 THE GREAT NEW ZEALAND TREASURE HUNT! Pt II Join WINSTON 

COWIE’s campaign to change history. Local info on Spanish/ 

Portuguese explorers – did they get here a century before Tasman 

or Cook! Much mana at stake! 

16 PADI’s new mission: Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean 

18 Loose gear can kill – Russell’s road crash. What can we learn? 

24 Four big questions answered for women who Scuba 

(eg Can you dive on your period?) 

73 

26 Care for our coasts – Te Wairua O Te Moananui – established to 

accelerate action 

33 CREATURE FEATURE: Alien mind? Or three minds? The Octopus 

40 Adopt a wreck gathers pace with GIRT: MARINE ARCHAEOLOGY 

42 Life thriving under Antarctic ice 

50 BACK IN THE DAY with Dave Moran: Wade Doak wrote about diving 

for science in the 1960’s!! 

BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS 

20 Niue – There’s nowhere like it 

28 Vanuatu ticks all the boxes for divers 

8 

35 Madang – Walking sharks and other wonders 

44 Wakatobi – It’s the little things (that get you!) 





www.dive-pacific.com 1 

P A C I F I C 

ISSUE 173 - $9.90 inc GST 

February / March 2020 


P A C I F I C 


Alien? 

Paranormal? 

The Octopus 

How to Adopt-A-Wreck 

P A C I The F I GREAT 

C 

New Zealand 

discovery puzzle 

Four big answers for women who Scuba 

How to join the Coast Care action 

Russell’s road crash. What can we learn? 

Spearfishers Notebook: the low down on Boarfish 

PLUS: Diving in Niue, Vanuatu, Madang, Wakatobi ... 

10-year old Ben Abbott - the 

next generation of diver coming 

through, reaches for a small 

octopus in a Northland rockpool. 

Shot with a Panasonic GH4 and 

7-14mm lens in a Nauticam 

housing. 

33 

44 

OUR EXPERT COLUMNISTS 

6 Don’t get caught out on April Fool’s day – rule change coming. 

LEGASEA UPDATE 

22 Getting the lowdown on the Boarfish 

SPEARO’S NOTEBOOK! with Jackson Shields 

51 Kina 

SPECIES FOCUS with Paul Caiger 

52 Keep your head - Being aware of your environment 

can save the day 

INCIDENT INSIGHTS with DAN, the Divers Alert Network 

54 Why can’t I dive? Epilepsy… 

DIVE MEDICINE with Prof Simon Mitchell 

58 SHADES OF COLOUR: Post production is so important 

More stunning images from our regular photo competition 

28 

62 Mastering the basics of digital imaging editing 

DIGITAL IMAGING with Hans Weichselbaum 

64 Exposure, White Balance and more... 

BACK TO BASICS Underwater Photography, A Practical Guide for 

Beginners 

by Alexey Zaystev. Translated from Russian exclusively for DIVE PACIFIC 

GEAR BAG 

46 Upgraded sidemount, Spinlock life jacket earns official tick, 

4HP electric outboard 

68 Classifieds 

26 

Check out our website www.divenewzealand.co.nz 

Dive Pacific magazine is available in the lounges & 

inflight libraries of these airlines. 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Guide to gas cylinders revised 

A slight revision to the Guide to Gas 

Cylinders has been released and 

is available on the WorkSafe New 

Zealand web site. 

worksafe.govt.nz/dmsdocument/20566-guide-to-gas-cylinders/latest 

https://tinyurl.com/yhzhnk95 

Following feedback from filling 

stations and dive shops it was 

determined that the use of 

Membrane Systems did not include 

the risk of using high pressure 

oxygen for the filling of Nitrox 

cylinders. 

These systems are limited to 

below 40% of oxygen, mostly in the 

32-36% oxygen range, and do not 

blend oxygen and air but rather 

remove the nitrogen from the 

Whitianga Dive Festival to 

turn on the fun 

Divers from far and wide will be 

gathering at Dive Zone Whitianga 

this April 17-19th for a great long 

weekend of competitions, games 

and social evenings. 

See Inside Back Cover 

TecFest NZ – New Zealand’s 

only Technical Dive Festival 

Tecsploring New Frontiers in 

Taupo – May 1st, 2nd & 3rd 

You don’t have to be a tec diver 

to join the action 

See Outside NEW ZEALAND’S Back ONLY Cover DIVE MAGAZINE 

filling air supply. 

Therefore, where a cylinder is now 

only used for Membrane systems 

it does not require mandatory 

oxygen cleaning as long as it is 

clearly identified as for use with 

membrane systems only and that 

it is not oxygen cleaned. 

Please note that fill stations using 

membrane systems are advised 

to ensure that any such markings 

are clearly visible to both the user/ 

diver and any filler. 

Additionally, it is requested that 

any fill station owners or Approved 

Filler Certifiers and trainers clearly 

identify these requirements to 

their fillers. 

LOCAL EVENTS CALENDAR 

Stellar speaker line up for 

Underwater Tour 2020 

Coming to Auckland 21st May 

A stellar international line-up of 

underwater photographers for 

this year’s touring speaker event 

series. An evening of inspiration, 

adventure and discovery with 

Aaron Wong (Singapore), Dr Janet 

Lanyon (Brisbane) and Dr Richard 

Smith (UK) 

See page 9 

Hutchwilco Boat Show 

Auckland 14th - 17th May 

Great Prizes! See page 51 

LETTER 

Dear Dave, 

Would you convey my thanks 

to Dee Harris for her excellent 

article on turtles. Over 

the years, I’ve had some 

wonderful U/W experiences 

interacting with turtles all 

over the world. 

Cheers, 

Mike Davis 

International Dive Show Calendar 

• Interdive (Frankfurt, Germany) 

- January 15-19, 2020 

• Boot International Boat Show 

(Dusseldorf, Germany) - Jan 18-26, 

2020 

• FESPO (Zurich, Switzerland) 

January 31-Feb 2, 2020 

• Duikvaker: Dutch Dive Expo (Houton, 

Netherlands) - February 1-2, 2020 

• Moscow Dive Show: Dive Show.RU 

(Moscow, Russia) - February 6-9, 2020 

• Salon de Immersion: Mediterranean 

Diving Show (Barcelona, Spain) 

- February 14-16, 2020 

• Outdoor Adventure Show (Toronto, 

Canada) - February 21-23, 2020 

• Go Diving (Coventry, England) 


• DC Dive Show (Washington, DC) 


• EUDI (Bologna, Italy) 

- February 28-March 1, 2020 

• Boston Sea Rovers (Danvers, 

Massachusetts) - March 6-8, 2020 

• Scandinavian Dive Show: DykMasson 

(Gothenburg, Sweden) - March 15-16, 

2020 

• Madrid Dive Travel Show (Madrid, 

Spain) - March 21-22, 2020 

• Beneath the Sea (Secaucus, New 

Jersey) - March 28-29, 2020 

• Marine Diving Fair (Tokyo, Japan) - 

April 3-5, 2020 

• ADEX - Asia Dive Expo (Singapore) - 


• DRT Shanghai (Shanghai, China) - 


P A C I F I C 

established 1990 


P A C I F I C 

February / March 2020 Issue 173 


Find us on facebook - 

follow the links on our website 


P A C I F I C 

Diver Emergency Number, New Zealand : 

0800 4 DES 11 1800 088 200 (toll free) 

Australia : +61-8-8212 9242 

Publisher 

Gilbert Peterson +64 27 494 9629 

Dive Publishing 

P.O. Box 34 687 

Birkenhead, Auckland, New Zealand 0746 

divenz@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Editor at Large 

Dave Moran +64 9 521 0684 

davem@divenewzealand.co.nz 

Advertising Sales Manager 

Colin Gestro +64 272 568 014 

colin@affinityads.com 

Art Director 

Mark Grogan +64 9 262 0303 

bytemarx@orcon.net.nz 

Printed by Crucial Colour Ltd 

Retail distribution 

NZ: Ovato NZ Ltd 

All rights reserved. Reprinting in whole 

or part is expressly forbidden except 

by written permission of the publisher. 

Opinions expressed in the publication are 

those of the authors and not necessarily 

the publishers. All material is accepted in 

good faith and the publisher accepts no 

responsibility whatsoever. 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz 


Registered Publication 

Dive Pacific ISSN 2624-134X (print) 

ISSN 2324-3236 (online) 


Scared of climate change? 

Let’s be scared into action 

Several commentators in 

the media lately have been 

saying ‘let’s make this year 2020 

the year when we really get 

serious about climate change’. 

The year when we take hard 

and fast actions to make a real 

difference to our otherwise 

carbonised future. 

There is every reason to think 

we can. 14 year old Cruz 

Erdmann in our last issue of 

Dive Pacific noted things are 

looking up. He pointed out that 

only a couple or three years 

ago the voice of climate change 

action was muted. Then, hand 

wringing minorities were often 

dismissed as greenies, and the 

thousands of scientists trying to 

urge urgency were, it seemed, 

unheard. No one much appeared 

to be heeding their increasingly 

frequent warnings. 

Mercifully this has changed. 

Climate change is now centre 

stage, recognised it would 

seem by a majority at last as 

the biggest issue of our times, 

notwithstanding trade wars, 

impeachments, or whether 

the royals can survive without 

plundering the public purse. 

Even veganism is trending. 

Whoever thought that possible? 

Getting serious about climate 

change will actually require us 

doing things that make a difference. 

A real difference. More 

than making commitments to 

change, we will have to change 

and, according to those most 

informed, change fast. 

Just to rev up the case from 

one of the well informed folk, 

I was unfortunately given (for 

Christmas) a book called The 

Uninhabitable Earth by David 

Wallace-Wells. He’s deputy 

editor of the New Yorker 

Magazine, so fairly reliable you 

might think. 

I said ‘unfortunately’ because 

the book is as scary as hell. A 

quote to set the scene: “Many 

perceive global warming as a 

sort of moral and economic debt, 

accumulated since the beginning 

of the Industrial Revolution and 

now come due after several centuries. 

In fact, more than half the 

carbon exhaled into the atmosphere 

by the burning of fossil fuels has 

been emitted in just the past three 

decades. Which means we have 

done as much damage to the fate of 

the planet and its ability to sustain 

human life and civilisation since 

Al Gore published his first book 

on climate than in all the centuries 

- all the millennia - that came 

before.” 

That’s within our own lifetimes 

for most of us, or even within 

half our own life times. Yes, 

the rate of carbon emissions 

has been rising exponentially. 

What did we think was going to 

happen to the planet’s climate 

as a result of all that? 

Just to think about the oceans 

for a moment. Drawing on what 

Wallace- Wells reports, over a 

quarter of the carbon emitted 

by humans is sucked up by the 

oceans , which also in the past 

50 years have absorbed 90% of 

global warming’s excess heat. 

Half of that has been absorbed 

since 1997.. today’s seas carry 

at least 15% more heat energy 

than they did 20 years ago… 

the result is ocean acidification 

which in turn results in coral 

bleaching, which is coral dying. 

“According to the World Resources 

Institute, by 2030 ocean warming 

and acidification will threaten 90% 

of all reefs.” Reefs support as 

much as a quarter of all marine 

life and directly supply food 

and income for half a billion 

people as well as protecting 

against flooding from storm 

surges. Since 2016 as much as 

half of Australia’s Great Barrier 

Reef has been stripped by mass 

bleaching – and then there’s the 

Australian bush fires. Not so 

lucky. 

Dramatic declines in ocean 

oxygen have played a role in 

many of the planet’s worst 

mass extinctions – where dead 

zones grow choking off marine 

life, wiping out fisheries. These 

places are evident in the Gulf 

of Mexico and off Namibia’s 

Skeleton Coast. 

The thing is that we simply 

don’t know what changes are 

well afoot already, for example 

to the ‘ocean conveyor belts’; 

what a possible slow down may 

mean to the Gulf Stream, or the 

Humboldt current. We don’t 

really know what the tipping 

point for these are, where 

change becomes unstoppable, 

irreversible. 

In this issue of Dive Pacific 

we report on the Te Wairua 

O Te Moananui initiative 

– a determined effort 

to take more and better 

responsibility for our coasts 

and seas. Another report 

updates us on Wellington’s 

enviable Taputeranga 

Marine Reserve. We often 

laud the Wakatobi resort 

story – an admirable 

example of what has 

been done both to employ 

former fisher people while 

preserving and protecting 

their marine environment. 

These are among our 

commitments so far, along 

with that to Legasea. Tell us 

what yours are and we’ll do 

our best to help promote it. 

- Gilbert Peterson 

Managing Editor 


LegaSea Update 

Don’t get caught out on 

April Fools Day 

April 1st, commonly known 

as April Fool’s Day, this year 

in terms of crayfish is the day 

the rules change for recreational 

fishers on the northeast coast. 

But who would know? LegaSea is 

concerned not enough effort is 

going into educating fishers on 

the new rules. 

It was purely by chance, when 

reading another management 

document last December that our 

team discovered the Fisheries 

Minister Stuart Nash had decided 

to change the rules relating to 

cray fishing! 

As of April 1st, this year recreational 

fishers in Area 2, from 

Waipu in the north through the 

Hauraki Gulf down to East Cape, 

will have a reduced daily bag 

limit from six to three. Earlier 

we had supported this measure 

as a means to conserve and help 

rebuild the severely depleted 

crayfish stock. 

We rejected proposals to make 

telson clipping mandatory for 

recreationally caught crayfish 

on the northeast coast. Telson 

clipping requires recreational 

fishers to clip the last third of the 

middle part of the tail fan (the 

“telson”) of every legal sized red 

rock lobster to be kept. The telson 

clipping is to indicate it cannot 

be bought, sold or traded. 

LegaSea wholeheartedly supports 

compliance initiatives to stop 

illegal take by fishers across all 

sectors. In our December 2018 

submission we expressed doubts 

about the effectiveness of telson 

clipping as a deterrent for largescale 

poaching. In our view, 

poachers are intent on avoiding 

detection and a whole tail does 

not prove a crayfish was legally 

landed by a commercial fisher for 

sale. 

In reality, telson clipping does the 

opposite intended. 

Telson clipping legitimises 

illegitimate taking of crayfish by 

making every Area 2 crayfish not 

telson clipped available for sale. 

This is hardly desirable when 

crayfish are fetching around $100 

per kilo on the black market. 

In our last submission we noted 

the costs of introducing telson 

clipping across the whole CRA 2 

management area. We submitted 

that MPI compliance resources 

would be better used to target 

those individuals who are taking, 

selling or buying illegal crayfish. 

We also recommended the 

Minister of Fisheries, Stuart Nash, 

ask his Ministry for evidence to 

demonstrate that telson clipping 

had resulted in a measurable 

and significant reduction in the 

volume of crayfish being sold 

illegally in the South Island. We 

weren’t convinced at the time, 

and we’re not sure if that information 

was ever produced. 

A simple and realistic solution 

to combating the illegal trade 

of rock lobster is traceability 

and identification of commercial 

catch destined for the local 

market. This system would be 

much harder for poachers to 

circumvent than telson clipping. 

Traceability is becoming increasingly 

popular amongst restauranteurs 

and consumers because 

it provides added benefit and 

assurance to everyone in the food 

chain. 

What’s more, if you’re paying 

$145 per kilo for your crayfish, 

you’d be an April Fool if you 

didn’t ask where and when it was 

caught. 

More info 

Crayfish management 

submission – December 2018 

(we need to ensure this link is 

spelled out) 

https://tinyurl.com/yzrxg88x 

Want to help? 

If you want to help this 

ongoing effort, please support 

us. 

www.legasea.co.nz/support-us/ 

Photo: Sam Wild 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Dive into Wellington’s Marine Reserve without getting wet! 

For people who hate getting their 

feet wet technology is making 

it possible to enjoy the mysteries 

of the deep without leaving your 

warm, comfy couch. 

An innovative Wellington diver 

keen to share the marine life of the 

Taputeranga Marine Reserve on the 

city’s southern coast has created a 

virtual dive tour of the area making 

the underwater world as close as 

your desktop, or Virtual Reality 

viewer and phone: 

adventure360.co.nz 

Nicole Miller at the edge of the 

Taputeranga Marine Reserve 

Nicole Miller, President of the 

Wellington Underwater Club and 

member of the Reserve Trust, has 

turned video footage from her 

dives into 360 videos including 

close-ups of the HMNZS Wellington 

wreck sunk there in 2005. 

Virtual reality now lets people 

swim around the ship’s bridge past 

the Captain’s toilet with the video 

showing how the marine environment 

is slowly encrusting the ship. 

“On just about every dive we 

discover something exciting - 

marine life or historic artefacts. We 

are so lucky to have this marine 

wonderland right at our doorstep,” 

Nicole says. “It’s a veritable 

seaweed garden full of weird plants 

and wildlife.” 

A little Blue Eyed Triple Fin 

In her videos you get up close and 

personal with a Banded Wrasse, 

come eye ball to eye ball with a big 

Blue Cod, and flirt with a little Blue 

Eyed Triplefin. 

“There are just so many little 

critters around,” Nicole says. “This 

is probably the only city in the 

world with a protected marine 

reserve right on its doorstep so 

easy to get to. Take a bus, or your 

car to Island Bay then follow the 

critters painted on the pavements 

to the Island Bay aquarium at the 

start of the snorkel trail. It’s super 

accessible.” 

Fellow diver and penguin monitor 

Celia Wade-Brown says: “Forwardlooking 

“biophilic” cities care 

A Wandering Sea Anemone on 

the hunt for food 

about their local environment on 

land and sea, and less pollution 

and more support for local groups 

working in this area adds up to a 

huge overall impact.” 

“The virtual dive tour is a great 

starting point for others to get 

interested in our home, and for 

Wellingtonians themselves to get 

interested in the wider marine 

environment.” 

Getting up close and personal 

with a Blue Cod 

www.taputeranga.org.nz and 

Wellington Underwater Club 

www.wuc.org.nz 

A diver among the seaweed in the 

Taputeranga Marine Reserve 

On the bridge of the HMNZS Wellington 


SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Stellar speaker line up for Underwater Tour 2020 

Coming to Auckland 21st May for the first time 

The Underwater Tour team 

have curated a stellar international 

line-up of underwater 

photographers for 

this year’s touring speaker 

event series. Now in its third 

year, this is an evening of 

inspiration, adventure and 

discovery with Aaron Wong 

(Singapore), Dr Janet Lanyon 

(Brisbane) and Dr Richard 

Smith (UK). 

Aaron Wong: 

Asia’s most 

published, 

recognised 

and sought 

after underwater 

and 

commercial 

photographer. 

Also 

Singapore’s 

favourite 

2018 MasterChef finalist and an 

adventure TV show presenter. 

Aaron is Ambassador of the 

anti-shark finning campaign 

I’m FINished WITH FINS for 

sharksavers.org in Singapore 

and Hong Kong. He has also 

shot for countless fashion 

magazines, celebrities and 

advertising campaigns as well 

as authored two exquisite 

coffee table books, The Blue 

Within, and Water Colours which 

merges fashion photography 

underwater. 

Dr Janet 

Lanyon: A 

diver for over 

40 years, Janet 

is a marine 

mammal 

specialist 

and world 

authority on 

dugongs. She 

leads the Marine Vertebrate 

Ecology Research Group at 

The University of Queensland. 

She has published 80 scientific 

publications on the sea 

cows of the Indo-Pacific 

region. She and her team have 

also researched America’s 

manatees, whales, sea turtles, 

sea snakes and coastal 

dolphins. Janet’s fascinating 

stories will open our eyes to 

the world of these whacky 

much-loved 

marine 

mammals. 

Dr Richard 

Smith: Back 

by popular 

demand! 

The UK’s Dr 

Richard Smith 

will return to 

share tales of his latest scientific 

adventures, and incredible 

imagery. We’ll get a peek at 

some of the creatures in his 

new book The World Beneath – 

The Life and Times of Unknown 

Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs 

- and discover how a group 

of underwater explorers are 

discovering new species more 

often than you might think! 

Richard is a marine biologist, 

underwater 

photographer 

and writer for 

a wide variety 

of international 

publications. 

MC Darren 

Jew: Canon 

Master Darren 

Jew, AIPP M 

Photog IV, 

author, publisher and 

six-times Winner of the AIPP 

Australian Professional Nature 

Photographer of the Year 

Award, was a speaker in our 

2018 series. 

The tour: 

14 May Brisbane 

15 May Sydney 

16 May Melbourne 

18 May Adelaide 

19 May Perth 

21 May Auckland 

Tickets from $75. Early bird 

tickets from $60 for a limited 

time only. 

Check www.underwatertour. 

com.au for venues and tickets. 

International Photo Competition: Underwater Tour Awards 2020 

Entries now open! 

As a natural extension of the annual 

Underwater Tour speaker series, photographers 

from around the globe are invited to enter this 

prestigious new international photography 

competition to celebrate the best of the ocean. 

Prizes for each of five category winners are: 

AUD$500 cash, a Nautilus Lifeline personal 

rescue beacon and Momento Pro $A250 photo 

book voucher. PLUS a GURU AWARD for the 

winning portfolio of a minimum of five photos. 

The Guru winner receives a Whales Underwater 

whale swim experience of 7 nights/5 days on the 

water in Tonga. 

Competition closes: Sat 29 Feb 2020 at 13:00 

UTC/GMT (Sun March 1st 2020 at 00.00 AEDT) 

Judges are a panel of award-winning photographers 

and Underwater Tour speakers; Darren 

Jew, Jürgen Freund, Aaron Wong, William Tan 

and Jasmine Carey. Award winners will be 

announced on 14 May at the first Underwater 

Tour event in Brisbane. Winning images will be 

screened to audiences at every Underwater Tour 

2020 event. 

For more go to: www.underwatertour.com.au 


Whys and wherefores of landslides 

underwater 

New information about 

landslides on the seafloor off 

New Zealand’s east coast is about 

to help scientists better understand 

why and where they happen, 

and the threats they pose. 

NIWA marine geophysicist Dr Sally 

Watson has compiled a database 

bringing together a vast array 

of information about offshore 

landslides gathered from scientific 

voyages over many years. 

“Our database maps where 

landslides have occurred, how big 

they are and where they are most 

common,” she says. 

Dr Watson says one of the most 

interesting features of the database 

Late last year 500 experts from 

many countries gathered in Bangkok 

to develop solutions to the problem 

of marine debris, with a particular 

focus on plastic. 

Hosted by United Nations 

Environment, the SEA of Solutions 

Conference was attended by 

delegates from governments, 

business, civil society, academia, 

UN agencies and the media. The 

aim was to inspire market-based 

solutions and develop policies that 

prevent marine plastic pollution in 

South East Asia. 

One problem highlighted was the 

poor performance of developed 

countries in segregating their waste, 

leading to the export of unrecyclable 

is that landslides appear concentrated 

in particular regions, and 

clustering in submarine canyons 

which means either that canyons 

involve landslides as one of their 

formation processes, or that 

canyon processes are causing 

landslides. 

Underwater landslides have the 

potential to cause tsunami but can 

also damage marine infrastructure 

and seafloor biological habitats. 

“For a lot of these landslides, it’s 

not totally understood how or why 

they’ve occurred. At the moment 

we’re mostly observing trends and 

where they exist. From that we can 

try and understand why.” 

SEA of Solutions Conference tackles 

plastic waste 

waste to third countries. The Basel 

Convention was recently amended 

to list certain plastic waste as 

hazardous thus forming a legal basis 

against the illegal trade of plastics 

that are not recyclable. This will 

take effect on 1st January 2021. 

An example of an effective plastic 

recycling programme was from 

South Africa. PETCO funds and 

manages the costs of PET (polyethylene) 

recycling with its members 

paying a fee to cover the costs of 

recycling collection, tools, and 

education. Its members include all 

involved in the PET chain from resin 

producers to retailers. The Malaysia 

Plastic Pact, a similar concept has 

been announced for Malaysia. 

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

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Diving Equipment 

$US10,000 dive research grant put up 

Divers Alert Network ® (DAN ® ) is 

accepting applications for the 

2020 DAN/RW “Bill” Hamilton Dive 

Medicine Research Grant. The 

year-long, $US10,000 grant is to 

support new or ongoing research 

projects with issues relating to 

decompression. 

“Decompression safety was Bill 

Hamilton’s life’s work,” said Petar 

Denoble, DAN Vice President of 

Research. “We established this 

grant to carry on his legacy and 

support the next generation of 

researchers studying diving physiology 

and advanced decompression 

procedures.” 

Applicants can be involved in any 

aspect of dive-related sciences, 

but the spirit of the grant is to 

support projects closely related to 

Dr Hamilton’s studies. The grant 

is open to applicants at any stage 

of their professional education or 

career. Recipients are required to 

present their results to DAN. 

To apply send an email to 

Research @ DAN.org The deadline is 

March 15, 2020. 

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SOUNDINGS 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

Greek Hippocampus Institute set up to 

study seahorses 

There are 47 species of the seahorse, the extraordinary and charismatic marine creature in the scientific 

genus, Hippocampus. In Greek, hippos is “horse” and kampos is “sea monster”. 

Over the past decade, 14 

additional species have been 

discovered. However, identifying 

them is always a challenge as 

seahorses have the ability to 

change their colour and shape 

in order to blend in with their 

environments. 

Now, in Greece, the 

Hippocampus Marine 

Institute, has been set 

up mainly to study and 

protect seahorses. Vasilis 

Mentogiannis, a founder of 

the Institute, explains. 

In November 2007, a group of 

the Marine Antiquities Ephorate 

diving crew visited Stratoni to 

inspect an underwater harbour 

installation for a mining 

company. After finishing that 

we decided to continue exploring 

and that was when we spotted 

our first seahorse, and it was of 

a species that was quite rare. 

The excitement was intense. As we 

continued we spotted another, and 

another, and yet another; the area 

was thriving with seahorses! It was 

Photo: Hippocampus Marine Institute 

such a unique experience!. When 

we returned later in 2008 we had 

the same experience; there were 

a plethora of seahorses living in a 

hypertrophic, underwater habitat! 

How rare was the Seahorse 

you encountered? 

Seahorses have been listed as 

“Vulnerable” on the Red List 

of Threatened Species, of the 

International Union for Conservation 

of Nature (IUCN), since 1996. 

Since 2003, seahorses have been 

categorized as “Data Deficient” 

worldwide, with the exception of the 

Mediterranean species which was 

re-classified as “Near Threatened” 

in 2016. Greece has signed four 

European and international treaties 

protecting these species. The latest 

documented populations of seahorses 

in the Mediterranean Sea are in 

Stratoni, Spain, Italy, and France and 

a population also exists in southern 

Portugal. 

Why did you decide to conduct 

research in the Chalkidiki, 

Stratoni area? 

For the past decade, in this specific 

area of Chalkidiki, Stratoni, we have 

always encountered this magnificent 

phenomenon. What’s more, 

we occasionally find both of the 

seahorse species normally found 

in Greek waters: the Hippocampus 

hippocampus and Hippocampus 

guttulatus. 

Over the past 10 years, we have 

been systematically monitoring, 

observing, measuring water and 

sand samples, conducting surveys 

and many other initiatives. And 

we have tried to establish “citizen 

science” by sharing this spectacular 

phenomenon through many publications. 

All this resulted in the creation 

of the marine research centre specifically 

for the monitoring and protection 

of the seahorse. 

We believe that the protection and 

overall communication of this rare 

population of seahorses in Stratoni 

will benefit the whole area 

by creating an underwater 

“theme park” focused on this 

mythical, dragon-like underwater 

species. 

The technical challenge 

One of the biggest difficulties 

was in scientifically proving 

and documenting the seahorse 

populations. We had to cover 

a large underwater area and 

take a multitude of measurements. 

The Freedom computer, 

which each diver from the 

institute uses, helped incredibly 

with its O-led big screen. 

It was very easy to use and 

provided the data we needed with 

the single push of a button. 

Another critical piece of equipment 

was the Liberty Rebreather, as 

we could make observations that 

couldn’t be done with open-circuit 

scuba. The use of this rebreather 

ensured absolute silence so we didn’t 

disturb the underwater environment. 

Its reliability, user-friendliness 

and state of the art technology is 

important as it can be very easy 

to make mistakes under pressure. 

The SOLO Analyzer is an excellent 

example: it’s very easy to use and 

exhibits cutting-edge technology. 

Freedom computer 


The GREAT New Zealand 

treasure hunt is on! Part II 

HELP FIND SPANISH OR PORTUGUESE BURIED TREASURE 

AND RE-WRITE NEW ZEALAND HISTORY 

Dive Pacific is calling on divers and other adventurers 

to begin exploring for further evidence to prove that 

Spanish and/or Portuguese sailors were the first 

Europeans to land in New Zealand and Australia. 

The evidence uncovered thus far is compelling, as 

Winston Cowie (left) writes in this feature. More 

artefacts would clinch the case. So Dive Pacific is 

promoting this call for action to find it. 

There are prizes to be won! Not for the treasure but for your ideas on how we/you should 

proceed to find the treasure. 

• What do you think would be the most prospective way to advance this cause? 

• What could or should be done to find more evidence? 

• What plans could be started? 

• What technology should be harnessed to find the treasure? 

• We’re convinced it exists, but how do we uncover it and where? 

Dive Pacific has several copies of Winston Cowie’s book, Conquistador Puzzle Trail, up for grabs. 

They’ll go to the best ideas on how to advance the search for buried Spanish/Portuguese 

treasure. 

In Part 1 Winston Cowie, master diver and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, outlined 

the evidence mustered so far including expert views of old Portuguese and Spanish maps. In 

this issue we delve into what today’s map experts say and what has been recorded in New 

Zealand’s oral tradition by both Maori and early European settlers in Northland’s remote coast. 

Map on the wall of 

the Madrid Naval 

Museum, Spain, 

celebrating the voyage 

of Juan Fernandez to 

New Zealand in 1574 


Welcome to the Conquistador Puzzle and The Great 

New Zealand Treasure Hunt! Were the Portuguese 

and Spanish the first Europeans to discover New 

Zealand and Australia? 

There has been a fair bit of smoke 

billowing around this subject 

for a while now and, from the 

outset I wanted to take a different 

approach to the subject. Rather 

than saying ‘this definitely 

happened’, as others have, I 

wanted to present this historical 

mystery as a puzzle. I set out 

to highlight the antiquities that 

have been found and put them 

forward only as potential evidence 

of a discovery by Spanish or 

Portuguese explorers. These antiquities 

include maps, shipwrecks 

and artefacts; they’re the pieces of 

a puzzle, and I put them forward 

as arguments, for and against, to 

encourage you to consider which 

part of the Conquistador Puzzle each 

piece might form. 

This theory has been around for a 

long time. Two hundred years ago 

a person looked at a map created in 

the 1540s, and seeing the similarities 

in the coastline to a continent, 

coupled with Portuguese names, 

drew the conclusion that Australia 

and New Zealand were probably 

discovered by the Portuguese or 

Spanish. Voila. We can do the 

same today. It appears that human 

perception hasn’t changed much in 

this time. 

important positions: William 

Faden, the Royal Geographer 

to King George III, and also the 

Chart Committee of the British 

Admiralty in 1803; two of New 

Zealand’s most famous historians, 

Dr Thomas Hocken and Dr Robert 

McNab, in the late nineteenth 

century, amongst others. 

So what do today’s experts 

say? 

Recently the likes of Australians 

Kenneth McIntyre and Peter 

Trickett expressed views similar 

to those made back in the 19th 

century. 

So what does the most recent 

expert to review the maps say? 

The iron helmet likely dredged from 

Wellington Harbour in the early 

1900s, dating to 1560-1580. (c) 

Museum of New Zealand.Te Papa 

Tongarewa. 

In the 1980s, this was Dr Helen 

Wallis. Like the others she was top 

of her field and president of both 

the British and International cartographical 

and mapping societies. 

She was awarded an OBE in 1986. 

After reviewing the maps she said 

Top historians and geographers 

of their day proposed it. They 

include important people holding 

Maori lady’s tale of a Spanish landing and massacre near Dargaville 

Australian Pearl fishermen with a Portuguese swivel cannon 

found in Napier Broome Bay, northern Australia, 1918 

Film Directors David Sims and Winston Cowie working on 

the documentary ‘Mystery at Midge Bay: Discovering New 

Zealand’s earliest shipwreck.’ 


The Pouto Lighthouse - it has seen many a shipwreck, including 

the ‘caravel’ referred to as being Spanish in oral tradition 

“the balance of evidence was in 

favour of a Portuguese discovery.” 

Matthew Flinders, the second man 

to circumnavigate Australia in 

1802-1803, did so with a copy of 

a sixteenth century Portuguese 

map in his hands – donated by 

none other than Captain Cook’s 

companion Joseph Banks to the 

British Library following their 

‘mapping’ of New Zealand in 

1790. His view, that of a practical 

navigator, was that the coastline 

on the map was too close to the 

truth to have been made by conjecture 

alone. His conclusion was that 

Australia appears to have been 

mapped before Abel Tasman. 

Why have these experts 

been ignored? 

I think it must come down to 

the mood of society at the time, 

and politics. In the 1980s in New 

Zealand when Wallis came to her 

conclusion, there were claims of all 

sorts of random discoverers of New 

Zealand from Phoenicians to Celts, 

to all sorts. The water supporting 

the Portuguese and Spanish claims 

was muddied, and put in the 

same boat as the others. This was 

also when the Treaty of Waitangi 

land claims were in full swing. 

The political mood was sensitive. 

Simply put, the 1980s wasn’t the 

time for this debate, despite a 

Portuguese or Spanish discovery of 

Aotearoa/New Zealand making no 

difference whatsoever to ahi kaa 

and tangata whenua. 

But…what about that buried 

treasure? 

I’ll tell you what I have found. Then 

it’s your turn to get fired up. I 

headed to one of the most isolated 

parts of New Zealand, Northland’s 

rugged Pouto Peninsula, where the 

smoke from these Spanish and 

Portuguese stories was coming 

from. My aim was to speak to 

elderly people there to find out 

more. With David Sims, formerly 

of the NZ National Film Unit, 

we captured a generation of oral 

tradition on camera, interviewing 

elderly Maori and Pakeha, many 

of whom have since passed, may 

peace be with them. 

Oral tradition 

In the 1890s Gustav Shick, one of 

the first European settlers in the 

area, was told a story by an elderly 

red-haired Maori woman who was 

living on his farm. She told him 

that many, many years before a 

ship had been wrecked and men 

with armour had come ashore. The 

local Maori killed most of them but 

allowed some to live. She considered 

herself to be a descendent of 

one of them, given her red hair. 

Buried treasure 

She said they had a chest of 

treasure that was buried in a 

cave on the peninsula. This story 

is corroborated by old Jim and 

Tom Pomare of Waikaretu Marae. 

One of them was going fishing 

one night out towards the Pouto 

lighthouse, and he came across 

skeletons and armour lying in the 

sand. He picked up a helmet which 

had a skull inside it, and buried 

The recovery of a benteak plank at Midge Bay, 

Pouto Peninsula in the 1980s 

An old pohutukawa in La Coruna Police Station Spain with the 

poenamo gifted to it by Cowie, donated by the late Master carver 

Kerry Strongman. No one knows how old the pohutukawa is with 

Cowie working on permission to get it dated. 


Baylys Beach looking towards the Maunganui Bluff 

where the caravel wreck is said to be located 

The Tower of Hercules. An old Roman Lighthouse at La 

Coruna Harbour where the Loaisa expedition, where the 

second attempt to circumnavigate the world after Magellan 

departed from in the 1520s. The fabled ‘lost’ caravel the San 

Lesmes, may have been wrecked on New Zealand’s coastline. 

Get your metal detectors ready. It’s 

a long beach. 

Cannon recovered from Amanu atoll 

in the Pacific as recorded in the late 

Robert Langdon’s book ‘The Lost 

caravel.’ 

the helmet nearby. He told the 

story to the local police constable 

Corbett. We interviewed him in 

detail – he has since passed away. 

Two different and independent 

accounts of the same story, both 

talking about physical artefacts. 

Helmets 

Back on the Schick farm, Trevor 

Schick, Gutstav’s grandson, went 

into one of the caves on the peninsula 

and came across a helmet 

that was described as Spanish or 

Portuguese. He took it for morning 

talk to Te Kopuru School in the 

1930s. We interviewed one of 

his neighbours, the elderly Louis 

Kneebone who has since passed 

away. Louis was at school with 

Trevor Schick and she remembered 

the day he brought the helmet to 

school. She said he got in trouble 

and was told to put the helmet 

back where he found it. It was said 

to have created a ‘real buzz around 

the playground.’ 

These are some of a number of 

different accounts by credible 

people, good honest 

country people, of 

Gustav Schick who was told the story 

in the 1890s. Below: The young Trevor 

Schick who took the helmet to school 

A magnetometer survey being completed on 

another shipwreck in Dargaville in the 1980s, the 

Rangiriri wreck near Hoanga 

Magnetometer survey findings- Midge Bay, Pouto. The likely resting 

place of New Zealand’s earliest shipwreck - A Dutch vessel. 


Mrs Louis Kneebone and her son 

Kevin. Mrs Kneebone recalled seeing 

Trevor Schick at primary school in 

the 1930s with the helmet 

At the launch of Cowie’s Book ‘Conquistador Puzzle Trail’ at The Kumara Box in 

Dargaville. Representatives of Pouto Marae and local historian Logan Forrest 

physical artefacts that have been 

found and reburied in the shifting 

sands or caves of the peninsula. 

This is the same coast where a 

shipwreck resembling a caravel 

was also seen by two local farmers 

in the 1980s though covered over 

soon after. It’s likely still there, 

waiting for its secrets to be told. 

Those helmets, those skeletons 

with armour lying on the beach, 

that caravel and treasure, if 

found, will change New Zealand’s 

discovery history. 

The Pouto Peninsula calls. It’s 

time to find New Zealand’s buried 

Spanish and Portuguese treasure, 

in both the physical and metaphorical 

sense. It’s there somewhere. 

It’s time to put to rest those 500 

year old ghosts. 

Send in your ideas and let’s 

get on the treasure hunt!! 

Winston Cowie, an award winning 

environmental policy manager 

and New Zealand author works as 

the Marine Policy Manager for the 

Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi. 

As well as Conquistador Puzzle 

Trail Winston has written a New 

Zealand Land Wars historical fiction 

series. www.winstoncowie.com 

Footnote: 

“By working with the Spanish 

Embassy, who assisted in translating 

my book into Spanish, we 

have arrived at the point where 

perceptions have been changed 

in both New Zealand and Spain 

in respect of these Iberian explorations. 

They are now taken more 

seriously. Previously they weren’t 

even mentioned in New Zealand 

schools and universities. While 

there is not enough evidence 

yet to say that the Spanish and 

or Portuguese voyaged to and/ 

or discovered Australia and New 

Zealand, there is enough evidence 

to consider that on the balance of 

probabilities, in fact they did” 

“With my book now available in 

both languages, I am sure that 

in my lifetime, with additional 

research, we will be able to say 

definitively this did happen. And 

there is still that buried treasure to 

find” – Winston Cowie 

Conquistador Puzzle Trail has 

been translated into Spanish, 

and praised by the Spanish and 

Portuguese embassies in New 

Zealand and Australia. It’s also 

been added as a source to Te Ara, 

the online Encyclopedia of New 

Zealand. And with the support 

of the Spanish Embassy to New 

Zealand, 350 free copies were sent 

to schools and universities in New 

Zealand. 

Getting people to read these 

theories is the only way to 

encourage debate and move 

knowledge forward. (eg Excellent 

exam question: Were the Portuguese 

or Spanish the first Europeans to 

discover New Zealand?) 

Tahu Kena and Kaumatua Paki Pomare Kena. Te Uri o 

Hau. Pouto Marae. Kaumatua Paki Pomare Kena said: 

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the Spanish came to New 

Zealand early on and I wouldn’t even argue with the 

fact that they were here.’ 

Pouto historian Logan Forrest standing next to an old olive tree 


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Contact your local PADI ® Dive Center or Resort to learn more, or visit PADI.com 


Russell’s road crash 

By Russell Hughes 

Loose gear can kill 

In October last year I blew a tyre in my trusty Hilux surf fully loaded, I have had the 

vehicle for five years and those who know me know I loved that archaic 90’s SUV. The 

accident really shook me and I thought to share this incident with everyone and hopefully 

prevent any unnecessary harm coming to others. 

The accident. 

What happened? 

Transporting multiple twins, 

stages, deco bottles and weights 

I headed for a fill. The zone 

was 100kmh and the clock read 

80. On an uphill corner with a 

downhill camber I felt the back 

come loose… Going to habit I 

relaxed the pedals and hoped the 

…The vehicle fish tailed wildly until it caught an edge, 

flipped and, as I lost consciousness, started to roll… 

truck would regain traction after 

the initial loss. It didn’t. 

The vehicle fish tailed wildly 

until it caught an edge, flipped 

and as I lost consciousness, 

started to roll… 

I remember waking up with 

the truck still in drive, a head 

full of smashed glass, the 

doors jammed, in the middle of 

nowhere. 

After kicking my way out my 

first response was to make sure 

the scene was clear and no other 

motorists would be harmed by 

the wreck. I looked through the 

blown out windows of my truck 

to see a lack of gear. It had been 

ejected through the windows and 

was now hissing and bent down 

the bank! 

Not great eh. 

Question: How many 

domestic divers travel with a 

lot of dive kit and cylinders? 

I have been here a while now and 

have seen how we all transport 

kit. Often in SUV, sedan or any 

arrangement apart from a ute 

where the payload is separated 

from the cab. This being said 


Russell with much loved 

Hilux and gear 

I don’t advocate going out and 

buying a ute just to transport 

your gear! 

The reality is we all move 

around with single or multiple 

compressed cylinders in the 

back. You are lying if you say you 

always stow them properly! 

Answer: What I can do 

Take 10 minutes. Pack properly 

and if you do not have the luxury 

of partitioning the vehicle then 

tie stuff down. After consulting 

fire services, Ambos and Police, 

the reality is LOOSE GEAR KILLS 

PEOPLE. 

I am lucky to have rolled 

sideways. Going end over end 

would have seen 100kg + of gear 

meet little resistance… scary 

thought I reckon. 

Possible solutions 

Whenever possible we can rent 

tanks where at the locations we 

travel to. Many of our favourite 

facilities can provide rental cylinders 

for diving guests. Within 

the GUE community here we run 

a club so anyone diving out of 

Tutukaka can access tanks & fills 

by pre booking! 

Plan your trip and have a 

dedicated support vehicle. It 

takes longer but… There will no 

panic packing and the start of the 

error chain! 

Reflection 

I am a lucky man today. No one 

else was hurt. I sustained minor 

injuries. And I can learn from 

my mistakes. I wish you all safe 

diving, and the driving to get 

there! Please think about how 

you travel, At the end of the day 

it is just a hobby! 

“We are all guilty of normalizing 

our ventures beyond established 

limits” 

Tie downs like these can 

prevent a lot of harm 


There’s nowhere like Niue! 

With water clarity ranked amongst the very best 

in the world, Niue offers an unrivalled dive 

experience. Visibility is often over 70 metres with 

many caves, coral walls and drop-offs. 

Pristine hard coral reefs are home to endemic species 

such as the Niuean sea krait, the katuali, which is very 

placid and highly curious, and often seen along with 

turtles, reef sharks, maori wrasse, schools of trevally, 

pufferfish, lionfish, eagle rays, ribbon eels, shrimps, 

clams and gorgonia fans. 

In Bubble Cave you can surface inside an enclosed 

chamber with an unworldly vista of large stalactites. 

nudibranchs, crayfish, lionfish and a nursery of hatchlings 

often head here to seek shelter. In the caves fish 

will often orientate themselves upside down! 

Variety 

Numerous dive sites offer a range of experiences and 

hidden gems, from Snake Gully to Bubble Cave. Snake 

Gully is Niue’s signature site, a cavern crammed with 

painted crayfish, sea snakes by the dozen (sometimes 

hundred), and schools of barracuda, all in less than 20 

metres. 

Marine Protected Area 

Niue’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) covers 40% of 

the island’s ocean territory, a massive 127,000 square 

kilometres including as well the nearby Beveridge 

Reef, an uninhabited, semi-submerged atoll with 

the largest density of grey reef sharks in the world. 

National Geographic’s Pristine Seas operation named it 

one of just 17 pristine sites in the world. 

Niue Coral Reef Restoration Project 

A coral nursery set up two years ago aims to propagate 

coral species to restore their numbers, particularly 

in rarer coral species. Recently the team made 

the exciting discovery of a Staghorn Coral (Acropora 

Nobilis) previously thought extinct there. The initial 

focus for coral out planting has been of Branch Coral 

(Acropora Florida) to make dive sites in Alofi South 

even more attractive to fish and divers. 

Whale interactions 

Niue is one of the only places where you can swim 

with humpback whales just metres off shore. 

Migrating humpback whales come regularly between 

June and October each year. Niue is a signatory to the 

Whale Sanctuary for Endangered Oceania Humpbacks 

and committed to promoting understanding of the 

whales, hence interactions are only permitted with 

licensed operators, respecting the whales’ privacy and 

visitors’ safety. Swimming with, or even just seeing 

these whales can literally be a life changing experience. 

Two fully certified, professional dive operators are on 

hand with “learn to dive” courses also available. 

Many beautiful basslets are found on the Far Northern Reefs, 

with the mirror basslet one of the prettiest 


RUN2179 

What you see is what you get in Niue. And what you see diving is everything. 

With crystal clear waters, surrounding one of the world’s largest uplifted coral atolls, 

you can see up to 80m in any direction. A world teeming with healthy marine life. 

A world waiting for you to discover. 

Start discovering Niue today, www.niueisland.com 


S pearos notebook 

Where to find them: 

Giant Boarfish 

with Jackson Shields 

Boarfish are not a common 

species on people’s dinner 

plates, the main reason being is 

they eat worms in the sand and 

so they’re very rarely caught by 

the recreational fisherman. They 

are a distinctive looking fish with 

their long snout, and we have two 

species in New Zealand waters: the 

Longed finned Boarfish and the 

Giant Boarfish (which is not always 

giant…). 

very hard to come by, most likely 

living out on the sand away from 

structures in the deep. 

So where to target Boarfish? I get 

asked this question all the time 

and most people presume they 

Boarfish are often found in pairs; 

the male (yellow speckles on the 

back), and female (brown blotchy 

back). They often park up on the 

sand to rest and can easily be 

spotted from above in clear water. 

When parked up they will nearly 

…Though Boarfish don’t eat other fish, they will be in fishy 

areas (most of the time). Look for lots of bait fish on the 

weed-edge and narrow your focus there… 

The Long finned Boarfish is not 

really a target species. Most people 

prefer to leave them be, and while I 

have seen a few they are quite rare. 

They mainly get sighted in places 

like the Poor Knights, though I 

have seen them further north and 

also at the Alderman Islands. 

The Giant Boarfish is more of a 

target species for spearfishers. 

They make great eating with very 

nice white flesh, and similar in 

flavour to John Dory, but with 

a Snapper like fillet. 

Boarfish are more commonly 

a North Island fish though 

speared in the Malborough 

sounds, and I have heard 

of captures by commercial 

fishermen all the way down 

to the Bluff. The majority of 

the encounters are between 

Motiti Island north to the 

Cavalli Islands on the east 

coast. They have become 

more prominent in the last 20 

or so years, which may reflect 

the reduction in gill netting 

that no doubt had an impact 

on their population. But 

fish are fickle creatures and 

population fluctuations could 

be analyzed in many different 

ways. 

We mainly encounter them in 

the warmer months between 

October through to May when 

they move onto reef and 

shallower water to spawn. 

The rest of the year they are 

are only found in deep water. 

But I shot my first boarfish in 

about 5 metres. They park up in 

very strange places, normally in 

orientation with sand. The most 

common place I target them is on a 

weed-edge, where the weed meets 

the sand, which is a good place 

to target many different species 

of fish including John Dory and 

Tarakihi, but we can talk about 

them another time. 

Dan with male and female boarfish 

Photo Sam Powell 

always be facing into the current. 

But they don’t limit themselves to 

just the weed edges but are often 

found on sand patches between 

massive weed beds also. 

Sheltered water, with lots of 

current 

Not just any weed-edge will be 

productive for Boarfish. Most 

productive areas will be on the 

inside of islands or sheltered parts 

of the coast line. Highly 

exposed pieces of coast, or 

seaward coasts of islands that 

get pummelled by ocean swell 

are often not as productive. 

Wavy sand is not ideal; ideally 

you want flat sand. I am 

guessing this has something 

to do with the worms they eat 

not living in the wavy sand 

that gets churned over by 

big seas. We might venture 

further in regards to the 

dexterity and colour of the 

sand but I think we can stop 

there… 

So now we know what 

sort of area to look for, we 

can narrow our focus onto 

where on the weed-edge 

to find them. Ideally we 

want current. I know lots of 

people don’t want to swim 

into current because its hard 

work and tiring, but the more 

current, the more fish… 

Though Boarfish don’t eat 

other fish, they will be in 


Male boarfish 

fishy areas (most of the time). 

Look for lots of bait fish on the 

weed-edge and narrow your focus 

there. We could go further here 

too, to talk about the shape of the 

weed-edge, and the type of weed 

but it’s easier to implement the 

basics first. Earlier I mentioned you 

will mostly find the boarfish facing 

into the current. So with regard 

to your approach, approach from 

down current to hit them in their 

blind spot. 

Drift down from high up 

When looking for them, stay high 

in the water column as to not 

spook them. Avoid going to eye 

level. Sure, sometimes they are 

stupid and inquisitive and swim 

straight up to you. But to be on 

the safe side shoot from above. 

Orientate yourself above and drift 

straight down on them. I know it 

is tempting to try and spear from 

side on, but there is a chance they 

will spook and disappear out onto 

the sand or into the weed. 

Early in the season you can also 

find Boarfish in schools, an incredible 

sight. The best approach if 

this occurs is to lie on the bottom 

and wait for them to come to you. 

Jackson with a 5kg boarfish 

They will be very active swimming 

around. So try putting these 

suggestions into practice and see if 

you come across them. 

We’re in the prime of the season 

for finding Boarfish and, as I 

mentioned they make great eating! 

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corrosion. ACT NOW AND FLUSH YOUR REGS! 

WHOLESALE MARINE DIRECT 

0800 272 589 www.salt-away.co.nz 


Solomon Airlines flies directly every week from Brisbane to Munda 

Magical Munda 

-Dive the unexplored 

www.divemunda.com 

Dive Munda is a multi award winning SSI Instructor Training 

Centre in the Western province of Solomon Islands committed 

to sustainable dive eco-tourism. Scuba dive unexplored reefs, 

WWII history, Kastom culture, hard and soft coral, cuts and 

caverns along with pelagic life and shark action, all in one of the 

last wild frontiers left on planet ocean. 

Experience Magical Munda 

at Agnes Gateway Hotel 

Award winning service and 

pristine diving 

SSI Instructor Training Centre 

WWII wrecks, caves and reefs 

– untouched and unspoilt 

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24 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

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Four big questions answered 

for women who Scuba 

CAN YOU DIVE ON YOUR 

PERIOD? 

An inconvenience at the best of 

times, and when you’re out at sea 

zipped tightly into your wetsuit 

with no toilet nearby, your period 

can be even more of a frustration. 

But is it safe to dive on your period? 

The answer is yes. 

There’s no reason why 

you can’t go diving 

when it’s your time of 

the month, providing 

you feel comfortable. 

A common concern 

is a fear of attracting 

the unwanted attention 

of a shark while 

diving, but according 

to Marie Levine, 

founder and executive 

director of The Shark 

Research Institute, 

diving on your 

period is perfectly 

safe. Furthermore, 

throughout history, 

there has never been any reported 

incidents of shark attacks linked to 

menstruation. 

CAN YOU DIVE WITH 

BREAST IMPLANTS? 

If you have had any surgical 

procedure, it’s always best to seek 

professional advice to ensure you 

are fit to dive. However, the good 

For the latest in maritime news and views, 

from tinny to tanker we have it covered 

SUBSCRIBE NOW 

www.skipper.co.nz • phone 09 533 4336 

news is that breast implants are 

not considered a contraindication 

to diving. 

There have been various studies 

carried out around the safety of 

scuba diving with breast implants, 

and research has demonstrated 

that different implant materials 

can range in buyonce levels. 

In some cases, this created an 

increase in air bubbles, however, 

they did not grow large enough to 

rupture the breast implants and 

the bubbles worked themselves out 

after a time. 

And for added reassurance, before 

you become a certified diver you 

are required to fill in scuba diving 

health questionnaire – a legal 

document which is used to protect 

prevent scuba diving injuries and 

minimize a scuba instructor’s 

liability – however breast implants 

are not listed on the form as a 

potential hazard. 

CAN YOU SCUBA DIVE 

WHEN YOU’RE PREGNANT? 

It’s not advisable to 

scuba dive whilst 

pregnant, but due to 

ethical reasons there 

has been little research 

into the possible effects 

of diving when pregnant. 

There have, however, 

been various scientific 

studies involving 

hyperbaric chambers 

and different species 

of animals, to simulate 

the increased pressure 

of diving. The results 

showed a range of 

developmental abnormalities 

including low 

birth weights, premature 

delivery and abnormal skull 

development. Therefore to avoid 

risk, we advise taking the recommended 

advice and do not scuba 

dive during pregnancy. 

Image by Sarah Richard 

VIP0819 

CAN YOU SCUBA DIVE 

WHILE WEARING CONTACT 

LENSES? 

The last thing you want is blurry 

vision while diving, but is it 

safe to use contact lenses when 

you’re metres below the surface? 

Absolutely. 

Both soft and hard contact lenses 

are perfectly safe to wear when 

scuba diving. However, soft lenses 

are considered the better option. 

Soft lenses allow gas to penetrate 

them, helping air to pass through 

the lenses and prevent blurry 

vision post-dive. Hard lenses also 

tend to make your eyes feel slightly 

dry, causing you to blink more 

often than usual, whilst soft lenses 

do not have this effect. 


VIP0819

SOUNDINGS 

LOCAL NEWS 

Caring for our coast 

programmes 

up and running 

We all care deeply about the 

health and wellbeing of our 

big blue back yard but how many 

of us really know what’s going on 

beneath the surface of our favourite 

beaches, bays and harbours? 

Our diverse coastline is 

the ultimate playground: 

swimming, surfing, sailing, 

snorkeling, diving, kayaking, 

waka ama - all on our 

doorstep. And our reefs, 

estuaries, mangroves and 

sea-grass beds provide a 

huge variety of kai moana. 

But they can only continue to 

do this if we treat them with 

respect and take responsibility 

for their wellbeing. The 

Te Wairua O Te Moanui trust 

has been formed with the 

aim of encouraging just that. 

Te Wairua O Te Moananui 

– Ocean Spirit recently 

celebrated its first year 

as a registered charitable 

trust. Based on Northland’s 

beautiful Tutukaka Coast, 

the Trust’s vision is a healthy 

ocean in which coastal 

ecosystems and human 

communities thrive in a 

harmonious, respectful 

and mutually beneficial 

relationship, a relationship 

which also recognises the 

ocean’s intrinsic value, beyond the 

benefits she provides humanity. 

As the name also suggests, the 

trust embodies the strong spiritual 

connection between people and 

the ocean. 

Hands on, practical community 

based programmes 

The mission of the trust is to 

develop this relationship through 

education, research, advocacy and 

practical learning programmes, 

as well as to support the development 

of community-based initiatives 

that encourage sustainable 

practices in coastal and ocean 

eco-systems. 

Hauora Moan Team, SW Bay, Malekula, Vanuatu 

Nurturing a respectful relationship 

with the ocean is core to the 

trust’s vision, and we believe the 

most effective way of doing this 

is through people participating in 

practical projects. An example is 

the Trust’s Hauora Moana (Healthy 

Ocean) Community Monitoring 

Programme. 

The first step in caring for our 

coastal waters is to monitor and 

understand the actual state of their 

various marine ecosystems. Then 

we can make informed decisions 

about where, when and how much 

we can responsibly take from 

them, to make sure we pass on 

healthy marine environments to 

future generations. So the Hauora 

Moana Community Monitoring 

Programme aims to train local 

community 

members in 

a qualitative 

monitoring 

method developed 

specifically 

for communities 

to use. It 

aims to provide 

“real-time” 

feedback about 

the health and 

wellbeing of 

specific sites 

important to us, 

which can then 

inform responsive 

and appropriate 

management 

actions. 

Hauora Moana 

is actually based 

on a reef survey 

methodology 

developed in 

Vanuatu and 

the Solomon 

Islands, which 

was an outcome 

of research done 

by ocean ecologist and founding 

trustee, Glenn Edney. There Glenn 

investigated the correlation 

between traditional ecological 

knowledge and modern scientific 

ecological understanding. 

Schools coastal kaitiaki 

In addition to community 

monitoring teams, the trust is also 

working with Ngunguru Primary 

School as part of their Coastal 

Kaitiaki programme which aims to 

develop ecological understanding 


Hauora Moana monitoring team getting ready to survey 

Kukutauwhao Bay in the Tutukaka Harbour 

Glenn Edney brings the SeaBin 

to its permanent home on B 

Pier in Tutukaka Marina 

and foster leadership in caring 

for the Ngunguru estuary and 

the wider coastal environment. 

Their programme started before 

the formation of the Trust and 

has now completed two years 

of monitoring. The students are 

enthusiastic participants in Hauora 

Moana while their experience 

below the surface presents the 

opportunity to engage with the 

wider local community about the 

state of health of the estuary. 

Waiheke Island initiative 

In November last year two of the 

trustees, Glenn Edney and Janey 

Pares Edney, attended a four-day 

workshop on Rotoroa Island in 

the Hauraki Gulf to facilitate 

the Hauora Moana Programme 

Hauora Moana monitors checking 

the giant clam circle in the community conservation area 

a consequence of which was the 

trust was invited to bring Hauora 

Moana to Waiheke Island as part 

of a pilot programme to build 

community-based management 

capacity around the care of local 

marine ecosystems. 

Seabin 

Another success story for the Trust 

is the SeaBin Project in Tutukaka 

Marina. The first of its kind and 

the culmination of a collaborative 

effort between the Trust, the 

Interact Club at Huanui College 

Glenbervie, Whangarei City Rotary 

Club and Tutukaka Marina. SeaBin 

has been in operation for nine 

months and has already collected 

more than a thousand items of 

plastic, from buckets, water bottles 

and children’s toys to micro-plastics. 

Waka 

In keeping with its core vision of 

healthy ocean and healthy communities, 

the trust is working with 

legendary voyaging catamaran 

designers James Wharram and 

Hanneke Boon to build a 65’ “Vaka 

Motu” with the aim of connecting 

and empowering coastal communities 

throughout Oceania. The trust 

is seeking financial support to turn 

this vision into reality. 

If you would like to learn more, or 

wish to support this project please 

contact glenn@oceanspirit.org 

www.oceanspirit.org 


By Anne Simmons 

Looking for a holiday destination that ticks all the boxes? Port Vila in Vanuatu is a must. This 

bustling, colourful capital of Vanuatu with a range of accommodations, where dining out is easy, 

and with plenty of activities for the entire family. Especially divers. You can easily go diving in the 

morning and in the afternoon knowing any non-diver contingency also have plenty of options. 

Mama’s markets along the water front, shopping in town, family friendly resorts welcome day 

visitors, with the easiest and friendliest transport system in the world - just wave down a van 

with a “B” licence plate and say where you want to go. Here there is a raft of cultural and soft eco 

adventure tours too – the sky is the literal limit. All boosted with friendly smiles and support from 

the local Ni-Vanuatu people – they genuinely want you to enjoy your holiday. 

The diving couldn’t be simpler. 

The operators are well established 

with a wealth of knowledge 

about their dive sites. Just let them 

know what you want to experience 

and they will do their best: 

shipwrecks, reefs teeming with 

life of all types and sizes, gentle 

drifts, colourful walls, a sunken 

flying boat… There’s no scarcity of 

options. 

Nautilus Scuba and Big Blue 

operate from the sea front in Port 

Vila; Hideaway Dive operates from 

Hideaway Island, a short drive 

out of town; Sailaway Cruises & 

Tranquillity Dive operate out of 

Havannah Harbour, a 20 minute 

drive over the hill. Most are happy 

to collect you from your accommo- 

Pipe fish Photo: Anne Simmons 


Who’s watching who Photo: Anne Simmons 

Exploring the Tasman. Photo: Eric Simmons 

dation. They know the best places to go on the day for 

the conditions. 

Wreck diving choices abound 

Semele Federesen was an inter-island cargo vessel 

Popcorn Shrimp Photo: Anne Simmons 

scuttled in 1985 in 30m water, later moved by courtesy 

of Cyclone Uma in 1987 to her present location about 

50m in the sand. Crystal clear water, so much so it 

is possible to see her from just below the surface. 

Sea fans and soft corals bring her alive, perfect for 

exploring, with a lively reef alongside where divers 

can slowly ascend rather than hanging aimlessly on 

a line. 

Star of Russia, sister to the Titanic!, an 83 metres long 

sailing ship lying in 34m, an excellent orientation 

dive if you are headed further north to Santo to dive 

the SS President Coolidge. The Star is only a short boat 

…Shipwrecks, reefs teeming with life of 

all types and sizes, gentle drifts, colourful 

walls, a sunken flying boat… 

ride within the harbour, her wooden decking long 

since perished, allowing divers easy access. Schools 

of trevally and resident batfish, crocodile fish and 

the usual array of tiny critters are most entertaining, 

so although visibility can be compromised by cruise 

ships in harbour, she is well worth the visit. 

Konanda sits at 26m, an excellent training wreck, is 

upright on a sandy bottom where safe penetration is 

possible and with loads to discover. 

Bonza, an old island tug, sits at 24m just five minutes 

by boat from Hideaway, another nice easy dive. 

Covered in soft corals, with a myriad of macro life, 

various shrimp, glassfish, anemone fish, Bonza is a 

perfect wreck for any diver. 

If you don’t mind deep and dark with limited viz ask 


Purple anaemon with shrimp Photo: Anne Simmons 

about the Tasman, an old Qantas 

Sandringham Flying boat that hit 

a reef on take off in 1951. Now at 

40m she is a deep and challenging 

dive for those with the requisite 

experience. 

Unique reef charms 

A plethora of reef dives are waiting 

for you too, each with their own 

endlessly, interspersed with 

patches of cabbage coral and large 

plates offering homes to a variety 

of fish. It’s always worth peering 

under them to check 

out who is home. 

White tip sharks, 

turtles, flute mouths, 

puffers and many 

other species enjoy 

or frustrate that perfect shot, 

shrimp, nudibranchs, pipe fish, the 

occasional passing squad of squid. 

Keep an eye out above you for 

…The Cathedral is not to be missed both for the 

experience of entering its chimney reaching right 

to the surface, where shafts of light filter down… 

unique charm. The Cathedral is 

not to be missed both for the 

experience of entering its chimney 

reaching right up to the surface, 

where shafts of light filter down, 

giving rise to some unusual display 

effects, while the wall dive outside 

hosts a variety of growth and 

tiny critters. Here the hard corals 

are again thriving after cyclone 

damage many years ago, where 

fields of blue and yellow staghorn 

corals now stretch seemingly 

their shelter while 

schools of rainbow 

runners coast along 

the top of the drop 

offs. 

Macro finds & 

weirdos at night 

For the macro 

enthusiast there is 

plenty to search for; 

anemone fish of all 

sorts to entertain, 

Trevally Photo: Anne Simmons 


LIVE VOLCANO 

There’s more to do 

in Vanuatu 

LAND DIVING 

DIVING & FISHING 

T A N N A IS L A N D 

P E N T E C O S T I S L A N D 

E S P I RI T O S A N T O 

generated at BeQRious.com 


Puffer fish on the Star Photo: Anne Simmons 

tuna, dolphins or dugongs. 

Most morning dives are two tanks 

getting you back on shore late 

morning, with an afternoon dive 

possible later in the day. Night 

dives are always on and where 

a whole new world with a new 

cast of players awaits. Some are 

actively hunting, like the sea kraits 

or lionfish, always worth watching 

to see how they seek out their prey. 

Others may snuggle up in their 

sleep sacs in the shelter of the reef, 

allowing you much closer access 

than during the daylight hours. 

Night is also of course when the 

weirder stuff come out to play from 

remaining hidden during the day. 

Leaf Scorpion fish, ghost pipefish, 

painted crayfish, banded shrimp 

and many, many more all waiting 

to be found. 

Most operators offer dive training, 

and Port Vila is the perfect place 

to learn to dive, or expand your 

skills. Warm water, plenty to see, 

the option of doing all your theory 

online before you arrive, it’s hard 

to beat as a place to go diving, and 

with plenty of time to take in all 

the other activities Port Vila has to 

offer. 

At night the town comes alive with 

restaurants and bars - you can find 

a restaurant to suit any cuisine 

choice. Most resorts have a show 

of some sort too, whether Island 

Nights, or a Vanua Fire Dance! Make 

sure you get to experience all of it. 

Perfect for finishing a great day’s 

diving. 

Sea Star out at night Photo: Anne Simmons 


Creature Feature – species in depth 

Alien mind? 

Story and images by Dave Abbott, Liquid action films 

Octopus are also able to 

change their texture as well 

as their colour! 

One of the most widespread 

and easily encountered 

marine creatures in New 

Zealand also happens to be 

one of the most extraordinary 

animals on the planet …once you 

know a little more about it. 

Without a doubt this is one of my 

favorite creatures to meet on a 

dive - they are insatiably curious, 

have a voracious appetite and 

their dens are easy to spot, 

always being surrounded by a 

thick ring of empty shells. And 

they will interact with you one 

tentacle at a time. Of course 

I’m talking about the enigmatic 

octopus. 

We have 42 species of octopus 

in New Zealand waters, and at 

least three of them are fairly 

common, especially where there 

are plenty of shellfish and crabs. 

Octopuses are found in all the 

world’s oceans, belonging to the 

larger family of cephalopods 

which includes squid, cuttlefish, 

nautilus and Argonauta (paper 

Nautilus). 

They can vary in size from the 

tiny Octopus wolfi at 1.5cm and 

weighing less than a gram, up 

to the Giant Pacific Octopus in 

Canada which typically grow five 

metres long and weigh around 

50kg. The biggest recorded was 

a whopping 270kg with a 9m 

arm-span! I was privileged to 

work on an octopus documentary 

off Vancouver Island a couple of 

…What makes the octopus special is an ‘alien-like’ 

physiology and a list of ‘superpowers’ that would put most 

Marvel characters to shame… 

Octopus have large and complex eyes 

years ago filming Giant Octopus 

in their natural habitat, an unforgettable 

experience. 


Species in depth 

A meeting of minds 

White colouration is a 

sign of fear in octopus 

Unfortunately octopuses have a 

short lifecycle, anywhere from 

six months up to five years 

for the Giant Pacific Octopus. 

Females lay their eggs in dens 

then spend several months 

without eating while they waft 

streams of oxygen and nutrient-rich 

water over them. When 

they hatch, the mother dies. 

What makes the octopus special 

is an ‘alien-like’ physiology and 

list of ‘superpowers’ that would 

put most Marvel characters to 

shame. But let’s take a quick run 

through the octopus’s anatomy 

and super-abilities, then you 

decide… 

Super powers 

Eight arms and suckers 

Octopus have approximately 

Deadly Blue ringed octopus 

displaying warning 

colouration 

240-280 suction cups on each of 

their eight arms depending on 

their species. Each sucker can 

exert a force of around 15kg,so 

an average sized octopus could 

in theory lift a car! If it wasn’t a 

soft-bodied mollusc of course. If 

an octopus should lose an arm it 

can re-grow it, and if that’s not 

amazing enough, they can also 

“taste” with their suckers. 

Nine brains 

The octopus has a central brain 

that controls its nervous system 

and a further eight ‘small brains’ 

in each arm to coordinate the 

movement of their eight limbs. 

With this system they can move 

their arms independently of 

each other while still working 

cohesively toward a single goal, 

which is something that takes 

real brainpower. 

…They also have the largest genome of any invertebrate, 

around 10,000 more genes than humans… 

The octopus’s beak is in the cetre of its 

arms - the last view a crab will see! 

Jet propulsion 

Octopus can propel themselves 

surprisingly quickly by drawing 

water into their body cavity or 

mantle, and forcing it out under 

pressure through their siphon, 

which is a small tube under 

their head. Like a jet boat they 

can change direction and speed 

to capture prey or evade predators 

by swiveling this siphon in 

different directions. 

Three hearts 

Octopuses have two hearts that 

pump blood to the gills and a 

larger heart that circulates blood 


Giant Pacific Octopus off Vancouver island 

around their organs. While an 

octopus is swimming though, 

the heart delivering blood 

to the organs stops beating, 

which exhausts the octopus. 

Consequently octopuses prefer 

to crawl most of the time rather 

than swim. 

Blue blood 

Octopus have a copper-rich 

protein in their blood called 

hemocyanin that gives their 

blood a blue tint and improves 

its ability to transport oxygen in 

cold water. Blue blood is only a 

quarter as efficient as red blood 

relative to volume though, which 

is another factor that makes 

octopus tire quickly. 

Toxic ink 

Octopuses have glands that 

produce a toxic ink which is 

then stored in large sacs. When 

an octopus is alarmed it can 

squirt out a powerful jet of ink, 

effectively clouding the water to 

confuse a predator while it flees 

the scene. This ink also contains 

a secretion called tyrosinase 

that dulls the attacker’s sense of 

smell and taste. 

A horny beak and a spiky 

tongue 

Octopus grasp and bite their 

prey with a chitonous beak 

much like a parrot’s in shape. 

They also have a radula, which 

is basically a tongue with teeth 

which they use to rasp food, or 

drill into shells to get at the snail 

inside. All octopuses have some 

Large octopus at night 


Species in depth 

Argonauta (Paper Nautilus), 

actually a species of pelagic octopus 

Small Huttoni octopus female guarding her eggs 

level of venom in their bite, but 

not enough to harm a human… 

with the exception of the tiny 

Blue-ringed octopus, which can 

paralyze and even kill an adult 

human in minutes. 

Next level camouflage 

Octopus are able to change 

their colour and even texture to 

camouflage themselves, in the 

blink of an eye. In fact in just 

three-tenths of a second! They 

achieve this amazing feat with 

a complex system of muscles, 

nerves and specialized pigment 

sacs called chromatophores. 

What is even more incredible 

is that by doing this they not 

only blend into their general 

surroundings they also mimic 

specific objects, like clumps of 

seaweed, rocks or even other 

marine creatures. The Mimic 

octopus and Wonderpus are 

masters of this ability and have 

been seen to imitate everything 

from lionfish to flounder. 

than us. They can also see polarized 

light. 

Intelligence 

Octopus are well-known for 

their intelligence and they are 

counted among the elite group of 

animals that have been observed 

using tools. They have individual 

personalities too; they make 

decisions, they play, and they 

have memory…not bad for a 

mollusc! 

They also have the largest genome 

of any invertebrate, around 10,000 

more genes than humans! 

So if you can’t afford a trip to 

see whale sharks in Ningaloo or 

Humpbacks in Tonga this year, 

just head out to your nearest 

bit of coast and find yourself an 

octopus to play with… they’re 

just as fascinating and right on 

our doorstep. 

Typical Octopus den surrounded by scallop shells 

Complex eyes 

Octopus have camera-like eyes 

with a lens, iris and retina that 

work similarly to our own. They 

have a slightly different visual 

system though, with a moveable 

lens that allows them to focus 

on an object much more quickly 


Walking sharks and other 

wonders of Madang 

By Nigel Marsh and Helen Rose 

www.nigelmarshphotography.com 

The reefs and wrecks of Madang in the north of Papua New Guinea are home to a diverse 

variety of marine life but far and away the most interesting animal found there is a little 

shark that walks on its fins, the hooded epaulette shark. 

Pretty nudibranchs are common at Madang 

www.nigelmarshphotography.com 

Madang is often overlooked by divers travelling 

to this exotic and wild country but it’s located 

on the shores of a huge lagoon dotted with reefs and 

palm tree covered islands where there is a wealth 

of wonderful dive sites. We stayed at the lovely 

Madang Resort where Niugini Dive Adventures are 

based and each day for a week we ventured out to 

explore sites inside and outside the Madang Lagoon. 

Plane wreck 

Inside the lagoon we dived a World War II wreck 

of a B25 Bomber shot down in 1943. This American 

plane rests in 15m to 22m, one of the best-preserved 

plane wrecks in PNG. At Langsom we explored a 

limestone reef covered in gorgonians, soft corals, 

whip corals, sea whips and sponges and inhabited 


the amazing Planet Rock. Rising 

from 600m to 5m, this huge 

mound is covered in hard corals 

buzzing with schools of barracuda, 

trevally, mackerel, tuna, 

rainbow runners, gropers, batfish 

and a grey reef shark. 

Our favourite dive site outside 

the lagoon turned out to be 

Barracuda Point, an incredible 

place that lived up to its name. 

At this colourful wall we again 

encountered schools of trevally, 

barracuda, batfish, bumphead 

parrotfish, fusiliers, snappers 

and sweetlips as well as seeing 

crocodilefish, banded sea kraits, 

moray eels and reef sharks. 

Helen explores the B25 Bomber 

…Madang’s most famous dive is on a sea mount three km 

offshore, the amazing Planet Rock… 

by reef sharks, stingrays and a 

tawny nurse shark. Wonderful 

corals also colour the wreck of 

the Henry Leith, a small cargo 

ship scuttled in 20m for divers to 

enjoy. 

There’s also muck diving in the 

lagoon. One of the best spots 

actually, is the Madang Resort 

Jetty. Each afternoon we jumped 

in to find seahorses, pipefish, 

cockatoo waspfish, emperor 

shrimps, mantis shrimps, 

nudibranchs, demon stingers and 

juvenile batfish. 

Three channels 

Three channels drain the lagoon 

with the best two being the 

Magic Passage and Sek Passage. 

Both have walls covered in 

beautiful corals and masses 

of fish including barracuda, 

trevally, reef sharks, fusiliers, 

sweetlips and snappers. We 

missed seeing the hammerhead 

our guide spotted though they 

are often in the area. 

Madang’s most famous dive is on 

a sea mount three km offshore, 

At night 

But our most memorable dives 

were at night looking for a unique 

little shark. We headed to Leper 

Island to a place called The Hood 

in the hope of finding the hooded 

epaulette shark which are only 

found in this part of PNG, where 

they hide in the coral by day 

and emerge at night to feed. But 

they are very shy, and nervous 

creatures. 

We were lucky. We actually 

encountered a dozen of them. 

But most hid under a ledge or 

quickly disappeared into a hole 

when we came close. Fortunately, 

a few were brave enough to go 

about their business. We watched 

and photographed them as 

Madang Resort 

www.madangresort.com 

Niugini Dive Adventures 

www.niuginidive.com 


A banded sea krait at Barracuda Point 

they ‘walked’ over the coral on their fins 

- they are also known as walking sharks 

because of this. Besides these wonderful 

little animals, at night we also encountered 

cuttlefish, octopus, moray eels, crabs, 

shrimps, basket stars and a conger eel. 

We had a brilliant time in Madang, 

enjoying 12m to 30m visibility and very 

pleasant 29°C water and cannot understand 

why more divers haven’t discovered this 

overlooked gem. 

A dense cloud of barracuda and trevally at 

Barracuda Point 

The reefs off Madang are the only place you will see 

the hooded epaulette shark 


Maritime archaeology 

Adopt-a-wreck initiative gaining pace 

Citizen scientists urged to join forces to save the past 

By Kim Triegaardt 

As the old saying goes, if 

we each do a little, we 

can all do a lot; it’s the driving 

idea behind a PhD project of 

Australian maritime archaeologist 

Andrew Viduka who is the 

Assistant Director Maritime and 

Commonwealth Heritage with 

the Australian Government. 

Andy is bringing his diving 

experience and expertise 

to a new project, Gathering 

Information by Recreational and 

Technical Scientific Divers, or 

GIRT. 

…Monitoring the 9,500 known wrecks around Australia and 

New Zealand is a mammoth undertaking, and impossible for 

the small number of maritime archaeologists available… 

This is a citizen science project 

piloted in South Australia in 2018 

to observe shipwreck heritage 

using systematic observation and 

measurement, with volunteer 

divers doing the data collection. 

As Andy says, “There are not 

enough maritime archaeologists 

globally, let alone in Australasia, 

to monitor the number of wrecks 

around our coastline and at the 

bottom of our oceans.” 

Conservators absent 

The situation is even worse 

when it comes to the specialist 

maritime archaeological conservators 

who know about looking 

after wet archaeological artefacts 

from the marine environment. “It 

is harrowingly low,” Andy says. 

“In Australia there are around 

10 individuals with significant 

experience in this specialist 

field, while New Zealand has 

three people. In New Zealand, 

I know of only one very small 

dedicated conservation lab for 

wet maritime archaeological 

materials run by the Maritime 

Archaeological Association of 

New Zealand.” 

Monitoring the 9,500 known 

wrecks around Australia and 

New Zealand is a mammoth 

undertaking, and impossible for 

the small number of maritime 

archaeologists available. So Andy 

says, it’s time to rethink the 

model. 

“We need to do more with less,” 

he says. The obvious answer? 

Crowd sourced data collection 

which will meet divers’ desire 

to dive with a purpose and get 

them to take a more active role in 

maritime archaeology. 

No impact citizen science 

Citizen Science as a concept 

is increasingly popular. 

Collaborations between scientists 

and volunteers are presenting 

opportunities for collecting 

scientific data around the world. 

As the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

describes it, “these are projects 

in which volunteers partner with 

scientists to answer real-world 

questions.” 

Under Andy’s GIRT programme, 

divers can sign up to “adopt-awreck” 

they are interested in, 

and monitor what is happening 

to its physical condition in its 

environment once a year, using 

the GIRT methodology. 

“This is absolutely no-impact 

citizen science. It is observational 

only,” he says. “Divers are shown 

how to systematically document 

the physical condition of a 

shipwreck or submerged aircraft 

and monitor the movement of 

sediment over or near the site. 

We’re not asking people to do 

anything to the wreck apart from 

take photos and make observations.” 

Andy says “the best person to 

understand and lead the preservation 

and monitoring of local 

heritage is a local!” 

Training 

Divers who want to participate 

in the study receive a one day 

workshop training in the GIRT 

method which covers survey 

methods, creating mud maps 

of sites, condition photography, 

photogrammetry and collecting 

subjective and objective data. 

GIRT members are also encouraged 

to undertake the two-day 

Australasian Institute for 

Maritime Archaeology/Nautical 

Archaeology Society’s (AIMA/ 

NAS) Introduction to Foreshore 

and Underwater Archaeology 

course. 

Stern end engine room access 


Archaeology kit 

Andy supplies a kit list for divers to create 

a really basic GIRT survey kit, and tips on 

how to use it. Scales for photography/photogrammetry, 

a 30M tape, slate and pencil, and 

a camera in an underwater housing. GIRT 

members draw a basic sketch or mud-map of 

their site and identify up to 10 locations on the 

mud-map to use as longitudinal monitoring 

points. These locations are selected to show 

the condition of the wreck and movement 

of sediment on the site. Photo scales are 

laid on the sea floor near any wreck. Photos 

are always taken from the same position. 

The diver answers a series of questions that 

include observations about sediment build 

up, any evidence of structural collapse, storm 

exposure, how to take lots and lots of photos, 

and doing 3D photogrammetry of sites or 

features. 

“The more photos the better,” says Viduka who 

will help GIRT divers put the photos through 

photogrammetry software to create 3D images 

of the site. 

Sharing the data 

GIRT members agree to share the data they 

collect with other divers and can choose 

to attach their data to the Australasian 

Underwater Cultural Heritage. By getting 

members to provide the information in these 

databases, everyone will be able to see what 

is physically happening to our unique non-renewable 

underwater heritage, not just those 

few individuals tasked with managing sites. 

Craig Johnston from Paihia Dive records measurements 

from the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior in Matauri Bay 

Once a year 

“If a diver dives on their ‘adopted’ wreck once a year 

and feeds back information on its condition, then 

archaeologists and underwater cultural heritage 

resource managers are in a position to make more 

informed science-based decisions on the wreck,” 

Andy says. “The data collected by GIRT members 

allows that member to allocate a threat-risk rating 

to their site that in turn will inform what actions 

need to be prioritised by archaeologists. 

…the best person to understand and lead 

the preservation and monitoring of local 

heritage is a local!… 

“The threat-risk rating uses a typical risk analysis 

approach and is moderated prior to being loaded 

onto the GIRT website.” 

People know about wreck sites such as HMS Pandora, 

HMSC Mermaid or the Mikhail Lermontov because of 

the stories around them. Andy says citizen science 

divers can play a huge role in telling the stories of 

their adopted sites. Doing this will ensure other 

people understand the site’s value. More attention 

helps drive funding that can be used to better 

conserve and to protect the wrecks. 

Tracking motivation 

As part of his ethics approved PhD research at the 

University of New England, Andy will be tracking 

the motivation of divers through the project. 

“It’s important to understand divers’ attitudes 

and thoughts on the benefit, or not, of protecting 

shipwrecks and maritime heritage and participating 

in citizen science,” he says. 

More information is at http://www.girtsd.org/ 

The next GIRT training sessions are: 

• 15-16 February at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum 

(includes AIMA NAS Part 1 training) 

• 22 February at Heritage New Zealand Christchurch 

(64 Gloucester St) 

For more information on courses see 

www.facebook.com/GIRTscientificdivers/ 


SOUNDINGS 

NEWS 

Colourful life thriving under Antarctic ice 

All photos by Peter Marriott 

The rich diversity of marine life near Scott Base in 

Antarctica has stunned scientists diving under the 

ice to set up environmental monitoring sites. 

Five of NIWA’s specialist divers working on behalf of 

Antarctica New Zealand recently set up three sites 

there to monitor the coastal marine environment and 

assess tidal currents. Using diver held cameras as 

well as remotely operated vehicles they established 

transects to let them check how these animal communities 

change over time. 

Project leader Dr Drew Lohrer said the trip was to 

establish sites in the marine environment close to 

Scott Base that could be sampled repeatedly over the 

next few years as the Scott Base rebuild progresses. 

“We saw some amazing animals; the environment 

was dominated by organisms that stay in one place 

capturing material in the water. There were a lot of 

sponges, soft corals, and hydroids along with animals 

The soft coral, Gersemia Antarctica, stands tall 

filtering the current for any passing food 

capable of motion such as echinoderms, bivalves, and 

sea spiders. The diversity of the sponges was the most 

astounding thing about this trip. Some of them were 

up to a metre wide.” 

The team also set up some specialised equipment to 

provide information on the speed and direction of 

tidal currents near Scott Base. These Acoustic Doppler 

Current Profilers (ADCPs) were deployed underwater at 

two sites on either side of Scott Base in November 2019 

and later melted out of the sea ice and retrieved. 

Diving under the ice requires extra safety precautions 

such as tethers to help divers communicate up 

top. Divers also carry two air tanks and a back up 

regulator. 

“It is very cold and challenging and you’re wearing a 

lot of gear. But there is always the thrill of the sights 

you get to see and the almost unlimited visibility. The 

diverse life under the ice is quite astounding,” says 

specialist diver Peter Marriott. 

The divers also saw anchor ice formations – 

plate-like ice crystals of ice that seed and grow 

on the bottom of the sea bed – in water so cold 

that ice blankets crystalline structures in a 

nearshore environment. 

An Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler is 

suspended under the ice to measure currents 

from the surface to the seabed near Scott Base 


A lush cover of sponges, anemones and soft corals show the richness 

and diversity of life beneath in the frozen over sea. Pillows of platelet 

ice infused with microalgae are on the roof above. Bright tide cracks in 

the frozen roof radiate out from the shore 

Z-330 

In the cool water under the ice in Antarctica, an Emerald notothen 

Trematomus bernacchii passes time resting on a matrix of anchor ice 

crystals 

D-200 

S-2000 

seatech.co.nz 

Large anemonies, Isotealia Antarctica, nestled amongst the anchor ice 

wait for passing jellyfish, urchins and starfish to grab and feed on 

Distributed by 

Sea Tech Ltd 

09 521 0684 

info@seatech.co.nz 

www.seatech.co.nz 

Available from your professional 

dive store. Trade enquiries welcome 


It’s the little things... 

The Wakatobi resort 

Photo Kim Triegaardt 

By Kim Triegaardt 

Silvia Fossaluzza looks just like 

an excited school teacher, but 

she’s in an underwater classroom. 

Her looping handwriting fills 

her small whiteboard. Her metal 

pointer jabs at what she wants 

us to see. Her eyes are alive and 

she’s making an excited squealing 

sound. If her mouth wasn’t hidden 

by a regulator, I know I would see a 

beaming grin. 

Among the dive 

masters and instructors 

at Wakatobi 

Dive Resort Silvia is 

known as the Queen 

of the Critters. Tiny 

pygmy seahorses, she’ll spot them; 

a stone fish we all swam past so 

she had to call us back with an 

urgent tap of the pointer on her 

A big Phyllidia – a nudibranch or seaslug 

tank; a virtually invisible ghost 

pipefish; a juvenile blue scorpion 

fish the size of a pinkie fingernail; 

predatory jawfish peering from a 

sandy hole; countless scorpion fish 

camouflaged as seaweed, rocks, or 

coral. She sees them all. 

Silvia’s miraculous find that has 

got her so excited is a Lembeh Sea 

Dragon, a rare Kyonemichthys 

…I can’t believe it,” Silvia says as we sit on the wharf and 

recount our day’s diving in the sun’s fading rays. “Those 

are so rare. I hardly ever see them…To see two in one day. 

Oh my… 

rumengani, a species discovered 

only recently. It floats past looking 

like a piece of tangled cotton 

thread with eyes. Urged by Silvia 

to look closer, 

we see fins, a 

little snout and a 

tail it’s using to 

sashay through 

the ocean with 

Napoleonic 

arrogance. A mere 

pinprick of life 

and, unbelievably, 

we saw another 

one later that 

same day. 

“I can’t believe it,” 

says Silvia as we 

sit on the wharf 

and recount our 

day’s diving in the sun’s fading 

rays. “Those are so rare. I hardly 

ever see them.” Her singing Italian 

accent heightens the joy in her 

voice. “To see two in one day. Oh 

my.” 

Story of hope 

It’s a story of hope among ocean 

tragedies: depleted fish stocks, 

plastic poisoning, coral bleaching. 

In this 

corner of the 

world, a 25 

year-old-decision 

to protect 

the marine 

environment 

in partnership with the 

local community is paying huge 

dividends. 

In 1994 Swiss brothers Lorenz and 

Valentin Mäder travelled to the 

isolated Southeast of the island 

of Sulawesi in Central Indonesia 

and set up their dive resort. It was 

so remote divers had to take over 

36 hours from Bali. It’s now just 

a two-hour plane ride on a twice 

weekly charter flight. 

Two decades ago, local villagers 

would scour the depleted reef for 

what they could pick off the rocks 

at low tide. The Sea Gypsies, a 

community who live on the sea, 

regularly used dynamite and 

cyanide to kill bigger fish. After 

talks with local village chiefs, the 


Wakatobi 

The impossibly hard to spot Lembeh Sea Dragon 

(Kyonemichthys rumengani) Photo Christian Gloor 

Mäders agreed to lease certain 

stretches of the reef, as well as 

provide employment for the locals. 

In exchange, the community would 

stop fishing certain areas and end 

destructive fishing methods. 

The arrangement has since grown 

into the Wakatobi Collaborative 

Reef Conservation Programme and, 

as well as receiving lease fees, the 

nearby village also gets electricity 

and fresh water from the resort’s 

generators and desalination plant. 

The Wakatobi resort 

employs around 300 

people and has expanded 

its relationships to all 17 

villages in the district. 

Thanks to the incredible 

diversity of its now 

protected and flourishing 

fish and coral life, 

Wakatobi has been designated 

a UNESCO Marine 

Biosphere Reserve, at the world’s 

epicentre of coral reef biodiversity. 

…In quick succession Silvia points out a well camouflaged 

crocodile fish, a cuttlefish, a huge gorgonian sea fan, Blue 

faced Angel fish, and a myriad of colourful shrimps and 

nudibranchs… 

A crocodile fish lies in wait for its prey. 

Photo Kim Triegaardt 

40 dive sites 

Visiting divers are spoilt for 

choice. There are more than 40 

sites around the resort which are 

home to over 940 fish and 750 coral 

species. Our favourite reef is The 

Zoo, a pinnacle rising from 15 up 

to 5m. 

There are fish everywhere. We get 

surprised by a school of around 20 

Black Tipped Reef sharks which 

shoot past in single file on their 

way to something obviously very 

important. Baby Fusiliers move in 

huge silver, sweeping waves like 

a starling murmuration. Stately 

batfish glide by. 

Two pygmy seahorses on a gorgonian sea fan. Photo Dr Richard Smith 

Then there are the turtles, not 

in a hurry to go anywhere. There 

are so many of them; languidly 

chewing on seaweed, asleep in a 

cave, or just hanging in the deep 

infinite blue. On one dive I rounded 

the corner of a reef wall and came 

face to face with a turtle who just 


A diver above coral roses on Roma Reef 

stared back, his black eyes inches 

from mine, absorbing all stress, 

exuding tranquillity. I expelled a 

long, contented breath and relaxed. 

All’s well in the world. 

The soft current pushes us slowly 

along the reef wall. Goodbye to the 

turtle, but in quick succession 

Silvia points out a well camouflaged 

crocodile fish, a cuttlefish, 

a huge gorgonian sea fan, 

Blue faced Angel fish, and a 

myriad of colourful shrimps 

and nudibranchs, the ornately 

decorated slugs of the sea. 

At Roma reef we hang above 

massive coral roses more 

than 300 years old, fringed 

with squishy white and cream 

coloured anemones and 

home to dozens of energetic 

and bossy clown fish. Come 

too close, and they dash 

out, gnashing tiny teeth and 

threatening death. Ferocity is 

inversely proportional to size 

in this underwater world. 

to take good photos. The little 

Olympus I’ve hired does a great 

job. However, it’s hard not to feel 

intimidated by the photographic 

kit some Texans are lugging 

around. Their pictures are worth it 

though. Wakatobi is a macro-photographers 

paradise, and in the 

evenings we get to see the big 

picture versions of the tiny critters 

we couldn’t always be sure we 

had seen. “So, that WAS a Pygmy 

Seahorse among the fronds of the 

purple sea fan – I thought it was 

just a weird tiny coral knob.” 

Photographers’ paradise 

The shallowness of most 

of the reefs makes it easy 

Silvia Fossaluzza with her whiteboard and pointer leads a search for critters 

on The Zoo reef at Wakatobi. Photo Kim Triegaardt 


Wakatobi 

A scorpion fish lies on top of a pile of coral confident that some 

little fish won’t see him. Photo Kim Triegaardt 

Green turtle just chilling. Photo Kim Triegaardt 

Dining out, under the stars 

Despite the laid-back atmosphere 

of the resort, days are surprisingly 

busy. Up early for breakfast, out on 

the boats for two dives, back for 

lunch, then out for the third dive of 

the day. 

Come sunset and the Jetty bar 

on the wharf becomes home to 

dozens of divers collapsed in 

chairs clutching ice-cold beers 

or cocktails sharing the best 

moments of the day. We’re a mix 

of Australians, Texans, South 

Africans, and Swiss who can talk 

of nothing but diving, and the 

wonders we’ve seen. Kudos to the 

hardy souls who manage to fit in a 

night dive. 

Then dinner. Wakatobi might 

be a dive resort in the middle of 

nowhere, but its restaurant holds 

its own among the world’s fine 

dining establishments. Except that 

here, under the moonlight and 

a million stars, wearing shorts 

and jandals with salt in our hair, 

we feast on roasted duck, seared 

tuna, Thai beef salads and sautéed 

shrimp, tingling with the promise 

of doing it all over again tomorrow. 

Where is Wakatobi? 

Wakatobi is in the Southeast of 

Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, 

a small archipelago of four 

islands called Wangiwangi, 

Kaledupa, Tomea, and Binongko, 

two and half hours from Bali’s 

Denpasar International airport. 

How to get there: 

Flights to Wakatobi Dive 

Resort leave Bali’s Denpasar 

International airport every 

Friday and Monday morning. 

Seven or ten day dive packages 

are booked through wakatobi. 

com. Snorkelling is available. 

Divers relaxing with sundowners watch a boat filled with night divers head out for a dive. Photo Kim Triegaardt 


GEARBAG 

Hollis offers more flexible sidemount option 

Low profile, modular and more streamlined 

Hollis’ new SMS Katana 2 is designed for the dedicated sidemount 

diver looking for every configuration, from warm water to cold, wet to 

dry, open circuit to sidemount CCR. 

It has both single and dual bladder options, the former ideal for 

recreational or use with a drysuit; the latter ideal for technical dives 

using a wetsuit. The key benefit is claimed to be people can make all 

the adjustments and decisions for themselves. 

More at www.hollis.com/sidemounts/ 

Spinlock lifejackets gain Maritime NZ tick 

Spinlock inflatable lifejackets have gained Maritime NZ approval for use on 

both commercial and recreational vessels. They are popular with boaties and 

fishers partly because the recreational and non-Solas commercial models 

need only be serviced once every two years rather than annually as for most 

inflatable lifejackets. They also fit around the shoulders rather than the neck 

like other lifejackets, lightweight and low profile with a single crotch strap with 

recessed clip to reduce the risk of snagging, have 170N buoyancy and one 

size fits all. They come with a 5-year warranty. 

www.lusty-blundell.co.nz 

Lithium batteries in the dock 

Be aware that Li-ion batteries can catch fire if they 

come into contact with water, and be very difficult to 

extinguish. Use a CO2, ABC dry chemical, powdered 

graphite, copper powder, sodium carbonate or foam 

extinguisher. Never leave a Li-ion battery charging 

unattended at night. 

Another danger lurking in a drawer 

Common 9v batteries have endless applications, but 

even they can cause a fire. Unprotected terminals 

that come into contact with metal can cause the 

batteries to both overheat and ignite. So never put an 

unprotected 9v battery in your pocket or throw it loose 

in a drawer where metal awaits. Keep batteries in their 

packaging and dispose of them sensibly after use. 

Electric outboard great for small inflatables, tenders 

Haswing’s Ultima electric outboard is great for small inflatables, 

tenders or even small yachts. 

Its brush-less electric motor delivers up to 110lbs thrust of 

step-less speed control, equivalent to a 4hp petrol outboard. But at 

15.9kgs, it’s a lot lighter. The Ultima boasts a max speed of 5 knots 

and a range up to 18 nautical miles (34 km) on a single charge. And 

its ultra-quiet. It has 7 tilting positions, and a launch price of $2499. 

www.lusty-blundell.co.nz 

New Hollis canister light for exploration dives 

Hollis has expanded its range with the LED1200 Canister Light claimed to be the ultimate primary light for cave, 

wreck or ocean dives. 

• High performance LED OSRAM Emitter with superior robustness and long lifetime 

• 1200 Lumens output @ 6,000 Kelvin and 6-degree MR11 reflector for a tight beam when signaling 

• Powered by a 5.2aH (57.5wH) Li-Ion battery pack with runtime of 300 minutes and charge time of 3 hours 

• Protective toggle switch with durable rubber boot and redundant sealing 

• Charging ports sealed during charging and terminals sealed from water during dives LED1200 

www.hollis.com/led1200-canister-light/ 


GEARBAG 

General Marine comes full circle as it establishes a new 

shop and workshop 

“When we first started the company we were 

based here then moved many times over the 

years as General Marine changed and developed. 

So now it feels like coming home,” says General 

Marine director Roy Chalton. 

The company has evolved over the years into 

a specialist marine engineering company with 

expertise in engines, generators, compressors 

and propulsion offering customers a complete 

service. Services include fabrication, installation, 

machining, repairs and maintenance. 

He says that General Marine’s staff and company 

culture have been a key aspect of its success. The 

company employs a team of around 30. 

Their systems experience enables them to work 

on, repair, service and diagnose fuel, exhaust, 

bilge, sanitation, generation, water-making, 

ballast, HP compressors, stabilisers, hydraulics, 

HVAC and propulsion systems. They all take real 

pride in their workmanship and delivering top 

customer service,” he says. 

A number of our staff are certified Bauer technicians 

and we are one of a number of Bauer 

breathing air compressor approved distributors 

so we carry all consumables and a large range of 

spare parts for Bauer compressors. 

General Marine also offers a retail arm, which 

sells a large range of highly respected plant and 

equipment. Brands include Scania, Cummins 

Onan, Bauer compressors, Hamilton Jet and 

Gianneschi. Roy says that all products are fully 

backed by the General Marine service department. 

Dive compressor supply and service 

• New BAUER compressors 

We can advise the best model to suit your needs. 

• Preowned BAUER compressors 

Late model, low hours, fully serviced 

in ‘as new’ condition. 

• Service and spare parts 

Regular maintenance to ensure best performance, 

plus supplies including oil and consumables. 

For more info visit: www.generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED BAUER AGENTS 

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156 Beaumont St · Westhaven · Auckland · Ph 09 309 0048 · sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

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GEARBAG 

Quality optics: the INON UWL-H100 & Dome Lens Unit II 

When you’re holding a really high-quality item, you can just tell: the heft, the balance, the clarity, the 

construction, the smoothness of operation. Never is it more apparent than with lenses. Quality lenses are a 

thing of beauty. 

When you opened the box the first thing that you notice is, this lens is beautiful. Secondly, these are high 

quality optics. Third, probably related to the second, this lens is heavy for its size. It fits snugly in your hand 

but weighs a bit more than a 500gm of butter! (556gm to be exact). 

Some lens specs. 

• Designed for dual use: topside as well as underwater 

• Highly refractive optical elements provide larger effective diameter of the rear optical element 

• Wide-angle macro shooting 

• The UW FOV is 100.8°, but if you add the Dome Lens Unit II, it widens to 144.8° 

• M67 screw – use a step-up adapter if you’ve got a smaller diameter port 

The Type2 recommended particularly with Olympus Tough (any version) and housings (with step up 

adapter) but let us know if you’re interested in using these lenses with a different housing/camera combo 

– they’re quite versatile. 

NEW! Bigblue AL1200NP II Camo! 

The classic AL1200P II Li-ion rechargeable LED light now available in camo! 

• NEW Special Edition Camouflage Color Options! 

• Narrow 10° Beam Angle 

• 4-level push-button on/off switch with battery level indicator 

• Powered by a rechargeable 18650 lithium-ion battery 

• Rated waterproof to 100M (300FT) 

• Comes with a dry bag – seriously these dry bags are great! 

Trade enquiries welcome. 

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Visit www.seatech.co.nz for information and specifications. 

Available from your professional dive store. Trade enquiries welcome. 


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BACK IN THE DAY 

‘The third era in the New Zealand 

Underwater World: Diving for Science’ 

With Dave Moran 

The late Wade Doak was 

thinking way ahead of 

his time in the mid 1960’s. 

As many of you know 

Citizen Science is what many 

divers are getting involved 

in these days and in this 

context Wade’s editorial 

in his DIVE South Pacific 

Underwater Magazine caught 

my eye. 

Though, for some reason 

Wade never included the 

date for when his A5 size 

magazine was published 

- it only had the volume 

number and the Issue 

number - the magazine 

with the above Editorial 

heading was in Vol 6 No 2. 

Approximately 54 years 

ago! 

At a guess I think it was 

published in the mid 1960’s 

when spearfishing was 

king! 

Wade’s comments, slightly 

edited, back then were: 

Last year a fine National 

Diving Instruction System 

was launched, which has now 

achieved excellent results and 

affects club life in almost every 

New Zealand club. 

The last NZUA (New Zealand 

Underwater Association) AGM 

in Auckland saw us adopt 

rules for an International style 

National Species Spearfishing 

Competition to be held at 

Kapiti Island in the first 

weekend next February. 

Thus, I feel the time is ripe 

for the Third Era in the New 

Zealand Underwater World: 

With an assured supply of 

well trained divers, and with 

spearfisherman engaged in 

species competitions, we have 

both ability and the motivation 

to apply our skindiving to 

SCIENCE. 

This magazine does not wish 

to see Marine Biology groups 

break away from clubs. 

All these activities are centripetal 

(moving towards a goal), 

and should, if approached 

maturely, draw a club together, 

providing new interests for 

veteran spearfishmen, a 

purpose for the scuba divers, 

and a fresh influx of divers 

over the years. 

A separate science group might 

stagnate in membership and 

lose impetus or unpleasant 

rivalry might develop. 

The late Wade Doak 

For example, (spearfishmen) 

alone can provide information 

about fish-feeding habits 

(stomach contents). 

As the sport of skindiving 

moves into the Inner Space 

Age, divers will win greater 

esteem in the community. 

Our case for imports of gear 

will be strengthened when 

wearing it for science! 

Underwater House 

Preliminary investigations 

are now being made into the 

feasibility of establishing a 

permanent, movable, Undersea 

Laboratory in Northland 

waters, with a view to developing 

Fish Farming techniques. 

We are working in conjunction 

with Marine Scientists and feel 

hopeful of obtaining overseas 

backing for the project. 

Meanwhile I want my readers 

to know that DIVING FOR 

SCIENCE has a very wonderful 

future. Australia and NZ may 

not have a share in the race to 

the Moon, but we will take part 

in the Inner Space Era. 

Note: Man landed on the 

moon July 29, 1969 


P A C I F I C 

• Dive Features • News • Destinations • Tech • 

• Incident Reports • Reviews • Products • 

Featuring stunning photography from dive 

destinations around the globe 

ISSUE 167 - $9.90 inc GST 

December / January 2019 

Juvenile flying 

fish checks 

out diver 



P A C I F I C 


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DIVE NZ D167.indd 1 20/11/18 5:50 PM 


SPECIESFOCUS 

Kina 

~Evechinus chloroticus 

Kina is a species of sea urchin 

endemic to New Zealand. They 

are seen throughout recreational 

diving depths but are far more 

abundant in the top 10 metres. 

By Paul Caiger 

These successful animals share 

a common ancestry with other 

echinoderms such as starfish, sea 

cucumbers and feather stars; all 

of them have a unique feeding 

apparatus called the Aristotle’s 

lantern named for Aristotle who 

first described it. This apparatus 

has continually growing teeth and 

is used for anything from grazing 

large kelp to scraping microalgae 

off rocks. Some species even 

excavate rock or coral to hide in. 

Kina has been a valued kaimoana 

for centuries. A commercial fishery 

started in the late 1980s and the 

species was added to the quota 

management system in 2002. 

The edible gonads (roe) are at 

their best in the months leading 

up to spawning that occurs in 

late summer, hence the colloquial 

saying in New Zealand that 

it is best to eat kina when the 

Pohutukawa’s are in bloom. 

Male and female kina are known 

to aggregate on boulders, rocky 

outcrops or higher ground when 

ready to spawn. They simultaneously 

release their eggs and sperm 

into the water column, giving their 

gametes the best chance of fertilisation 

and reaching the surface. 

Kina have received much attention 

in the last few decades due 

to their role in kelp forest ecology 

and trophic cascades. In areas 

where fishing pressure is heavy, 

the main predators on adult kina 

- large snapper and crayfish - are 

scarce so kina proliferate more 

than at their natural levels. Being 

herbivores, legions of kina can 

graze the kelp forests down to bare 

rock, resulting in urchin barrens. 

In areas where predators are more 

plentiful and grow to larger sizes, 

kina numbers are reduced, and 

when they are present lush kelp 

forests thrive. 

Moreover, research has shown the 

morphology and even the behavior 

of kina alters in marine reserves 

where snapper and crayfish 

are large and abundant. Their 

shells grow thicker, and small 

to medium-sized kina which are 

vulnerable to predation, hide in 

cracks awaiting drift algae rather 

than roaming out in the open. 

Dive communities in other parts of 

the world that experience similar 

trophic cascades, such as in British 

Columbia, are teaming up and 

readily smashing urchins on dives 

in barrens. The aim is for divers to 

fulfil the role of urchin predators 

by helping stem the proliferation 

of sea urchins, and in that way 

restore the kelp forests. 

from higher ground. 

1 Kina is one of nearly 1000 species of sea urchin. 

2 The name urchin was an old word for 6 

“hedgehog”. 

3 Closely related to starfish and sea cucumbers. 7 

4 The mouth is a distinctive 5-sided structure 

called Aristotle’s lantern. 

8 

5 Kina gather to broadcast spawn their gametes 

~Evechinus chloroticus 

The male and female gonads (roe) are an edible 

delicacy. 

The roe is best eaten when “the Pohutukawa’s 

are in bloom”. 

The main predators of adult kina are large 

snapper and crayfish. 


INCIDENTINSIGHTS WITH THE DIVERS ALERT NETWORK (DANAP] 

By DAN World 

Keep your head 

Situational awareness and safety fundamentals 

can save the day 

By DAN’s Patty Seery, MHS 

When conditions took an 

abrupt and unexpected 

turn during an exotic warm 

water dive, our dive leader 

decided to abort. His awareness 

of the group’s abilities, 

worsening weather conditions 

and the intensifying 

sea state led him to make the 

first of several good decisions 

that were made that day. 

As a group we began to swim 

away from the reef where we 

had been diving at about 9m 

and headed toward the boat. 

I was at the back of the group 

when I realised I was often 

equalising my ears. When I 

checked my depth gauge I 

saw I had descended to 15m; 

in response I began finning 

harder and added a little air 

to my buoyancy compensator. 

When my dive buddy looked 

back and gave me an OK sign, 

I responded with an OK. 

I continued my efforts to 

ascend, keeping my eyes on 

the group, but I still needed to 

equalise frequently. I added 

more air to my BC and kicked 

harder, but I had dropped to 

20m. I was caught in a down 

current and couldn’t break 

free of it. 

When my dive buddy checked 

on me again, I let him know 

there was a problem, so he 

came to my aid. We linked 

arms and together kicked our 

way out of the down current, 

eventually joining the group 

during their safety stop. Later 

he said he was concerned 

we may have ascended too 

fast, but his dive computer 

confirmed what I already 

knew — getting to a 

shallower depth took work. 

The whole event tool place in 

about two and a half minutes. 

Several elements contributed 

to the positive outcome. 

First, I recognised there was 

a problem and took action. By 

finning harder and adding air 

to my BC, I resisted the pull 

of the down current. While 

my training and experience 

suggested that I move closer 

to the reef to get some relief 

from the strong current, the 

circumstances did not offer 

that option because we were 

in open water. 

Second, when my efforts were 

not getting the desired result, 

I asked for help. Together, 

my dive buddy and I had the 

strength to break free from 

the down current. 

Third, my dive buddy 

remained close by and was 

paying attention, so he was 

able to provide the assistance 

I needed. Diving without a 

buddy, or being separated 

from the group could have 

led to a disastrous outcome in 

this situation. 

Staying calm and considering 

options are significant parts 

of any problem resolution. 

By the time my buddy came 

to my assistance, I still had 

time to drop my weights. I 

was not low on air, and I had 

not reached a critical depth 

for the nitrox mix I was 

breathing. Timely actions 

broke the chain of events and 

prevented escalation of the 

problem. 

Situational awareness is the 

overarching skill required 

to dive safely and respond 

quickly. In this event, both 

my rescuer and I were paying 

attention and were therefore 

able to avert an incident. 

…I had dropped to 20m. I was caught in a down current 

and couldn’t break free of it… 

Rescue skills do not just 

involve helping other divers. 

Self-rescue capabilities, as 

well as knowing when you 

need help and being willing 

to ask for it, are just as 

important. 

Call DAN 

Connecting with DAN at the 

earliest possible opportunity 

helps ensure you get the best 

available medical care 

By Bill Ziefle 

popular theory states that 

A it takes 10,000 hours of 

practice to become an expert 

in a field. Since its inception 

in 1980, the DAN Emergency 

Hotline has served the 

diving community for more 

than 300,000 consecutive 

hours and counting. Divers 

facing a medical emergency 

know they can call the DAN 

Emergency Hotline any 


time, day or night. This service has helped 

thousands of injured divers — members and 

nonmembers alike. Regardless of where you 

are in the world, when something goes wrong, 

call DAN. 

If you find yourself in a situation where you 

need to dial that emergency number, here is 

what you can expect 

The operator who answers your call will 

record basic information such as your name, 

location and a call-back number; then your 

call will be transferred to a DAN medical 

information specialist, who has the experience 

and training to handle your concerns 

with sensitivity and professionalism. 

Depending on the time of day, there may be 

a short delay while the operator transfers the 

call. If the call is disconnected, someone from 

DAN will return your call promptly. 

The medic who takes the call will confirm 

the information provided by the operator and 

request additional information about your 

emergency. It may be necessary to contact one 

of our attending physicians or access other 

resources such as DAN TravelAssist® to get 

you the help you need. It is not uncommon 

for certain situations to require multiple calls 

as events unfold. It is therefore extremely 

important that you try to provide DAN with 

accurate and multiple points of contact. 

Connecting with DAN at the earliest possible 

opportunity helps ensure you get the best 

available medical care. Once you are at a local 

medical facility, DAN can provide critical 

support to the attending physician and 

on-site medical personnel. With 39 years of 

accruing experience and building affiliations 

with the top dive-medicine physicians in the 

world, DAN offers a wealth of resources that 

would otherwise be unavailable to many local 

doctors. 

If medically necessary or if there is a need 

for additional chamber treatments, DAN may 

arrange evacuation to a facility that can offer 

a higher standard of care. Organising medical 

transportation or an air ambulance is a 

complex process; it often takes several hours 

to secure arrangements and execute transfer, 

so the earlier DAN can evaluate the situation 

and initiate the process, the sooner you will 

have the medical attention you require. 

DAN knows that when you’re facing a medical 

emergency your loved ones back home will 

want to hear how you’re doing. DAN can help 

when you don’t have the time or ability to 

provide regular updates; with your consent 

we can notify family members and give them 

information about your condition. 

DAN’s Emergency Hotline is the cornerstone 

of our service to DAN members and the entire 

diving community. Whatever the situation, no 

matter where you are in the world, help is just 

a phone call away. Just call DAN. 

DAN 24/7 Hotline Number: +61-8-8212 9242 

DANAP.org 

YOUR LEADER IN 

GLOBAL DIVE SAFETY. 

+ 39 Years 

Divers Helping Divers 

+ 24/7 

Emergency Medical Services 

+ 150,000 

Emergency Calls Managed 

+ 2,000,000 

Members Served Worldwide 

For more diving health and safety 

articles DANinsider.org for weekly 

posts discussing recent incidents, 

and diving health and safety content. 

Visit: daninsider.org and follow us on 

Facebook by searching DAN World. 

Need more information? Send DAN 

World an email (info@danap.org) or 

call +61-3-9886 9166 

Experience Matters. 

Join DAN 

DANAP.org 


DIVEMEDICINE 

Why can’t I dive? Part II 

By Professor Simon Mitchell, University of Auckland 

To provide an appropriate context for this article it is necessary to repeat some of the 

commentary that opened the last one. As a diving physician, one of the commonest 

questions I hear is “why can’t I dive”; commonly put in relation to a medical condition. The 

answer is often a nuanced evaluation of risk versus benefit. There are very few medical 

conditions that represent such a significant risk that diving should probably never be 

contemplated. I discussed one of those in the last issue and I discuss another below. 

The approach to most conditions 

involves carefully 

assessing the potential risk 

implied by a particular medical 

condition, how that risk can be 

minimised, and whether the 

potential risks outweigh the 

benefit of diving. These are often 

quite complex evaluations that 

require the doctor to have knowledge 

of both medicine and diving, 

and they should involve the 

diving candidate as an informed 

evaluator of risk versus benefit. 

There are hundreds of medical 

conditions and potential severities 

of those conditions that a 

diving candidate might “bring” 

to a diving medical consultation, 

and it is impossible to have a set 

of established rules that cover 

each diagnosis. Instead, it is 

common for diving physicians to 

apply a generic three analytical 

question paradigm in evaluating 

the potential interaction of any 

medical condition and diving. 

First, we ask ourselves “will 

this condition be made worse by 

diving”? 

Second, we ask “will this condition 

make a diving disorder more 

likely”? 

Finally, we ask “could this condition 

impair physical performance 

or consciousness in the water”? 

If the answer to any of these 

questions is yes, then careful 

consideration of the advisability 

of diving must be undertaken. 

Medical conditions are common, 

and the above approach to 

analysing their impact in diving 

often identifies potential risk, but 

this does not necessarily mean 

that the candidate cannot dive. 

Indeed, if the associated risk 

seems low, or can be managed, 

then it is typically a matter 

of explaining that risk to the 

candidate, describing how the 

risk might be minimised, and 

allowing the candidate to make 

an informed risk-acceptance 

decision to dive (or not). 

There are many medical conditions 

that may increase risk in 

diving, but many of them pose a 

relatively small risk, or they can 

be treated so that the risk they 

represent in diving is reduced 

to a point where diving may be 

feasible. 

There are, however, several 

medical conditions that represent 

what are sometimes described as 

“absolute contra-indications” to 

diving. That is to say, if you have 

them, then diving is generally 

considered too risky to contemplate. 

I am often asked about 

them, and so I thought it would 

be useful to briefly address them 

in these articles. In the last issue 

I discussed spontaneous pneumothorax 

and in this issue I will 

discuss epilepsy. 

EPILEPSY 

Epilepsy is a disorder in which 

the brain cells (neurons) 

occasionally activate or 

“discharge” abnormally in groups 

thus altering brain function. The 

most dramatic manifestation of 

this is loss of consciousness and 

twitching or convulsing involving 

many muscle groups. Such events 

are often referred to as generalised 

or “grand mal” seizures. 

There may be more subtle forms 

that don’t affect consciousness, 

but may affect (for example) one 

limb, or certain brain functions. 

In diving, we are interested 

in all forms, but most importantly 

the form leading to loss of 

consciousness and generalised 

seizures. Epileptic seizures are 

often self-limiting, but sometimes 

require drug treatment to stop 

them, and occasionally are resistant 

to drug therapy; such events 

can be life threatening. 

Many people (perhaps as high as 

10%) experience a seizure at some 

point in their lives, usually in 

response to some clearly identifiable 

stimulus. For example, 

children sometimes experience 

seizures when suffering from 

a high fever (so-called “febrile 

seizures”). Such events which 

do not recur do not render the 

patient “epileptic”. True epilepsy 

is a recurrent problem that is 

thought to arise from some sort 

of congenital abnormality in 

neuron connectivity in the brain, 

or following a brain injury of 

some sort. Such injuries might 

be trauma, infection, surgery, or 

drug mediated. True epilepsy is 

less common, but perhaps more 

so than many might believe; 

affecting about 1% of the population 

in New Zealand. 

In order to properly understand 

the concerns about epilepsy and 

diving, let’s apply the three-question 

paradigm mentioned earlier 

to evaluate the risks it imposes. 

First, will epilepsy be made 

worse by diving? This is one of 

the most troublesome aspects in 


discussions of epilepsy and diving. In short, the answer 

is a big yes – theoretically. I say theoretically because it 

is very hard to prove definitively. However, we know that 

in diving there are a number of things that can provoke 

epilepsy-like activity in the brain; these include high 

inspired oxygen partial pressure (particularly in nitrox 

and technical diving), high arterial carbon dioxide levels, 

and strange sensory phenomena like inverted orientations. 

We know that the combination of high inspired oxygen 

pressure and high arterial carbon dioxide levels can 

cause generalised seizures in divers without epilepsy, 

and it stands to reason that the risk may be higher in an 

epileptic. 

Advocates for diving by epileptics often point to the fact 

that successfully treated epileptics who are seizure-free 

for over a year are allowed to drive so why should they 

not dive? This argument overlooks the fact that in diving 

the patients would be exposed to those epileptogenic 

stimuli mentioned above that they have never before 

been exposed to. There is no way of knowing how they 

will respond in terms of seizure risk, and underwater is 

probably not the best place to find out. 

Second, will epilepsy make a diving disorder more 

likely? Probably not directly, but potentially indirectly. 

For example, if a diver were to have a seizure underwater, 

drowning is likely, and if they were brought to the surface 

quickly (as they should be), there would be a risk of decompression 

sickness or pulmonary barotrauma and arterial 

gas embolism. 

Third, could epilepsy impair physical performance 

or consciousness in the water? Since seizures involve 

loss of consciousness, then the answer to this question is 

clearly yes. 

For these reasons, diving physicians (even relatively liberal 

ones like myself) continue to see epilepsy as a contraindication 

to diving. 

In this age of appropriate attempts to avoid unnecessary 

discrimination and to be facilitative for people unlucky 

enough to suffer such problems, there continues to be 

advocacy for diving by some patients with epilepsy. 

In some international jurisdictions epileptics who have 

been seizure-free for at least five years without medication 

have been allowed to dive. I know of no data describing 

their outcomes. 

My stance remains that epilepsy is a condition that should 

be considered to disqualify from diving – even when 

seemingly well controlled. However, if someone were to 

make an informed risk acceptance decision to dive (for 

example after five years seizure free off medication), 

then I would recommend diving with an informed buddy, 

avoiding high inspired oxygen pressures, decompression 

diving and overhead environments. 

YOUR LEADER IN 

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+ 39 Years Divers Helping Divers 

+ 24/7 Emergency Medical Services 

+ 150,000 Emergency Calls Managed 

+ 2,000,000 Members Served Worldwide 

Experience Matters. 

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DANAP.org 


SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

Travelling kiwis get up close 

with marine life 

By Dave Moran 

It never ceases to amaze me where divers travel to. 

New Zealand divers can be found all over the globe! 

Our winning underwater photographic enthusiasts 

in this Issue’s competition have been explor-ing 

locations in Indonesia, Philippines and the Caribbean! 

Close up photography is proving very popular. A couple 

of stunning images in the Advanced Category. 

Once again, the judges are suggesting using Post 

Editing programs such as Lightroom and Photoshop to 

improve the images a little. This editing could make 

the difference between winning and receiving highly 

commended. 

In the Novice Category the judges could not separate 

the two main contenders for first place. 

It was decided, to be fair to both entrants, Dawn 

Seddon and Steven Grant, that they both share the 

Winner & Highly Commended positions in this 

fun competition. Plus, they both share the two Gift 

Vouchers receiving $62.50 each. 

The judges and the team at Dive New Zealand/Dive 

Pacific magazine look forward to receiving your 

personal masterpieces. 

See: www.divenewzealand.com click on Photo 

Competition. It’s free to enter. You can view galleries 

of all the entries over www.seatech.co.nz/blogs/ 

shades-of-colour-photo-competition 

Thanks for taking the time to enter! 

Advanced Category Winner: 

Congratulations Sarah Ford, 

New Zealand. 

WOW, what an amazing image. 

Talk about aliens from outer 

space! 

Sarah spotted this Broadclub 

Cuttlefish while diving Raja 

Ampat. 

Sarah receives a Gift Voucher for 

NZ$100. 

Judges’ comments: 

This is a gorgeous image and 

deserved to win. We love the 

colour, the shapes and the black 

background. 

Cuttlefish are masters of camouflage. 

If the image had shown the 

marine landscape (back-ground) 

that the cuttlefish was in, it would 

not have had the dramatic impact 

as showing it suspended in BLACK 

space! Well done! 

‘A conversation’; Raja Ampat, Indonesia: Sealife DC2000 housing – f/2.2, 1/200, ISO125 

58 58 Dive Dive New New Zealand Zealand | | Dive Dive Pacific Pacific

Advanced --- 

Highly Commended: 

Congratulations Mark .... 

Blomfield, New Zealand .. . 

Mark was checking out 

the little critters living in 

the waters surrounding 

Komodo Island when he 

spotted this Whip Goby. 

Mark must have sharp eyes 

to spot this little guy! 

Mark receives a Gift 

Voucher for NZ$75. 


A beautiful and sharp 

image with very interesting 

composition. A couple of 

suggestions, both resulting 

in slightly different images! 

1) Cropped slightly more to 

reduce the black negative 

space. 

‘Whip Goby’; Komodo Island, Indonesia: Nikon D7200, Sea & Sea housing, 

60mm lens 2x YS-30 strobes – f/25, 1/320, ISO100 

2) If it was possible when taking the image, you were 

able to frame the Goby showing the anemone’s tentacles 

on both left and right side of the Goby. We can 

see on the left just a peek of the anemone’s extended 

tentacles. Easy for us to comment! Hindsight is a 

wonderful thing! 

‘King Turtle’; Philippines: Canon Powershot G7 X MkII, Nauticam NA-G7XII housing – f/4, 1/500, ISO160 

Novice Category Winner & Highly Commended: 

Congratulations, Steven Grant, New Zealand. 

While checking out the diving in the Philippines Steve 

came across this majestic, proud Green Sea turtle. 

Steven receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$62.50. 

Judges comments: 

Very good composition and sharp focused image. 

Suggestion: If the image had been cropped in from the 

top right-hand corner it would have reduced the blue 

negative space background. This would have effectively 

improved the composition. 

www.divenewzealand.com 59

SHADES OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION 

‘Parrot fish sleeping’; Boss Reef, Grenada, Caribbean: Nikon 1 J5, Sea & Sea housing, 

YS-03 strobe, Seadragon video light – f/5.6, 1/60, ISO160 

Novice Category Winner & Highly Commended: 

Congratulations, Dawn Seddon, New Zealand. 

Dawn must have been on a diving adventure in the 

Caribbean. She snapped this image of Par-rot fish 

sleeping while diving Boss Reef off Grenada. 

Sarah receives a Gift Voucher for NZ$62.50. 


A beautiful sharp and colourful image. If the foreground 

beneath the fish had been dark-ened slightly using 

a post editing program such as Lightroom the image 

would have even more impact! 

Would it be possible that the fanworm above the fish’s 

head is the invasive Med-iterranean fanworm? 

Thanks 

to all those 

who entered this fun 

competition. The judges, 

Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher 

and the team at Dive New Zealand/ 

Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces 

in February for the April/May 

2020 issue of the magazine. 

See: www.seatech.co.nz 

click on Photo Competition. 

It’s free to enter. 

The judges, Iain Anderson and Andy Belcher and 

the team at Dive Pacific magazines look forward to 

receiving your photographic masterpieces in October 

for the December - January 2020 issue. 

Sea Tech is the official New Zealand distributor of Ikelite, Fantasea, 

Recsea, Inon, Bigblue, Nauticam and other leading brands of underwater 

photographic equipment. 

Visit: www.seatech.co.nz or for personal service email: info@seatech.co.nz 


A selection of notable photos entered for this edition's competition 

(A) David Haintz 

(A) SDan Westerkamp 

(A) Sarah Ford 

(A) David Haintz 

(A) Dave Baxter 

(A) Dave Weeks 

(A) Dan Westerkamp 

www.divenewzealand.com 61

DIGITALIMAGING 

Hans Weichselbaum www.digital-image.co.nz 

Mastering the basics of digital image editing 

There is no shortage of image editing programs out 

there for the amateur and professional photographer, 

ranging from free (eg the excellent GIMP) to Adobe’s 

superlative Photoshop and Lightroom. All of them 

come with powerful tools and myriads of filters to 

manipulate your photos to your heart’s delight. But 

sometimes it is good to step back and take a look at the 

basics again, and this is what this article is all about. 

Keep in mind any change you make to your photo, 

even a simple lighting adjustment, will degrade 

your image. If you lighten an image too much and 

decide to tone it down again later, its quality will have 

deteriorated and you won’t get it back to the original. 

So it is always a good idea to keep a copy of the 

original before doing any changes. 

Choice of size and quality 

The first step is done in the camera 

when you decide on your output 

format, the resolution of your 

images and the quality setting. 

Most of today’s cameras (even 

phone cameras) let you output your 

shots as RAW files. These contain 

all the information gathered by the 

sensor and will give you the best 

quality. But they require post-processing 

on a computer. Because 

of their larger size they can slow 

down your camera, which might 

be a drawback when high speed is 

of prime importance, such as for 

sport photography. 

The other option, also offered by 

every camera, are JPEG files. This is 

today’s standard image file format, 

equivalent to the mp3 format in 

the audio world. As mp3 files are 

compressed so are JPEGs. But it’s a 

lossy compression, meaning that 

image information is thrown away. 

However the algorithm used is 

very cleverly designed and you can 

easily achieve a compression ratio 

of 1:20 without noticing any image 

degradation. 

Image 1 shows an example of 

a 20 MPixel (5472 x 3648 pixels) 

camera. For JPEGs this camera 

offers full size output (retaining 

all pixels) under L, which stands 

for large. The medium setting (M) 

will discard some resolution and 

not record all the pixels captured 

by the sensor, and the S setting 

will only record 2736 x 1824 pixels 

(5 MPixels), a setting that makes 

sense if your images are destined 

for a website. 

I recommend you use the L setting 

(full resolution) as it will give you 

more leeway if you need to crop 

your images. Downsizing images is 

always easy and most applications, 

such as Facebook, do this automatically. 

The smooth curve next to the 

letters (Image 1) indicates best 

quality, which means low JPEG 

compression. The staircase warns 

you that the camera applies a 

stronger compression resulting 

in lower image quality. The only 

advantage of a higher compression 

is the smaller file size. This was 

important in the old days when 

we fed our cameras with 4 GByte 

memory cards. With today’s high 

capacity cards, file size is not an 

issue anymore and I recommend 

that you always use the highest 

quality setting. 

Image 1 - Camera Settings for JPEG 

Output Resolution and Quality 

While you are in the camera 

settings, also make sure that the 

camera automatically corrects for 

lens flaws, in particular for lens 

distortion and chromatic aberrations. 

Correcting for exposure 

and contrast 

Ideally the correct exposure 

should have been nailed while you 

took that shot. If the subject was 

back-lit then the scene should have 

been overexposed by the necessary 

amount. In real life we often find 

it necessary to lighten up a shot. 

Even the simplest photo editor 

will give you two sliders to adjust 

brightness and contrast (Image 2). 

Image 2 - Brightness/Contrast Controls 

in Photoshop 

Snapseed, a free app for both 

Android and iOS mobile devices 

brightens your photo by swiping to 

the right (Image 3). 

Every image editor worth its salt 

will also offer you Curves, which 

will take you a step further. Image 

4 shows you the Curves interface 

in GIMP, a free image editor. If you 

grab the curve (the diagonal line) 

and pull it up, the image will get 

lighter. But there‘s more! Pull up 

the top part of the curve and push 

down the bottom part and you’ll 

increase the contrast. That gives 

you much better control than a 

simple slider. You can even display 

individual colour channels in 

Curves and use them to do all your 

colour corrections. 


Image 3 - Lighting the Shadows with Snapseed 

Image 4 - The Curves Interface in GIMP 

Colour corrections 

Today’s cameras are all doing an 

excellent job in faithfully reproducing 

the colours of the original 

scene. However we often find 

ourselves in a situation where 

we want to make a scene more 

pleasing to the eye, for example by 

removing excessive blue from an 

underwater photo or adding more 

warmth to a portrait shot. 

Again, every photo editor offers a 

colour balance tool (Image 5). With 

this it is important to remember 

you cannot simply add red to a 

portrait shot to make it warmer. 

You need to shift the colour 

balance from cyan to red. Image 5 

shows you the colour range of the 

three colours of the RGB colour 

space (red, green and blue). 

Alternatively you can apply 

a colour filter, for example a 

warming filter will add red and 

yellow while reducing cyan and 

blue. 

On the subject of colour I also want 

to mention the working colour 

space. In most cases you’ll want 

to use the sRGB space (which you 

can set in your camera) and all 

of the internet and most desktop 

applications use this colour space. 

I am a great fan of the Adobe 1998 

RGB colour space which includes 

a wider colour range than sRGB 

(shades of colours which your 

Image 5 - Colour Balance Interface in Photoshop 

camera can capture and some 

printers can reproduce). However 

you should only use a colour space 

other than sRGB if you know what 

you are doing lest you end up with 

washed out colours! 

Digital sharpening 

The sharpness of a photo is determined 

by the contrast between 

adjacent pixels. Every image editor 

has sharpening tools (commonly 

the Unsharp Mask tool) which 

enhances contrast along edges in 

your image. If you shoot in JPEG 

then your camera will apply some 

sharpening and let you select a 

certain level of sharpening. It is 

very important that you don’t over 

sharpen your photos as they then 

could look ugly and the damage 

cannot be undone. 

On the other hand a photo can be 

sharpened in stages and 

it’s always easy to further 

sharpen an image. Every 

photo needs an additional 

sharpening step for best 

print quality. 

I have only covered some of 

the basics important to digital 

imaging here. All these topics 

deserve more detail and we 

are going to do just that in 

future articles. 


Chapter 4: 

Back to the Basics 

A Practical Guide for Beginners by Alexey Zaytsev 

Exclusively for Dive Pacific magazine. 

(All photo's by Alexey Zaytsev) 

Exposure, White Balance and more ... Pt II 

Alexey Zaytsev is well known 

amongst Russia’s dive and 

underwater photography 

community, and has undertaken 

professional photographic 

assignments in many 

places around the world, 

including many visits to Egypt, 

Sudan, Bali and elsewhere. To 

illustrate the book, and also 

his own credentials, Alexey is 

making available a selection of 

his fine photographic work for 

this series. 

Histograms: Don’t panic! 

A histogram is not as intimidating 

and confusing as it might seem. 

Moreover, you won’t have to study 

histology to be able to interpret 

it. It is merely a graph showing 

the distribution of bright and 

dark shades in your image, ie the 

dynamic range. 

The left side of the histogram is 

the absolute black colour while the 

right side is the overexposure or 

absolute white colour (or a white 

‘hole’). The height of ‘hill peaks’ 

shows how many sensor pixels 

captured light of a certain dynamic 

range. 

Our task is to choose the exposure 

required so that the histogram is 

not skewed toward its right edge. 

If this happens then some areas of 

your image are going to be overexposed. 

Ideally, there should be 

some gap between the peaks and 

the right edge of the histogram. 

The histogram shift to the left does 

not necessarily indicate that the 

image is too dark. Most underwater 

photos taken with a fisheye or 

another wide-angle lens will have 

a histogram that looks just like 

that if your image has the water 

column and is taken at a relatively 

deep depth. 

What’s better? Dark, or 

an overexposed shot? 

Neither! Overexposure, apart from 

the sun disk, is a flaw that cannot 

be fixed. An image that is too dark 

can be lightened up at the expense 

of colour noise. Of course, there are 

special plug-ins for photo editing 

programs that reduce noise, but 

it can only be done to a certain 

extend and at the expense of the 

image quality. An over processed 

image with removed noise looks 

unnatural, almost plastic-like, 

which is why we should try to 

select a correct exposure while 

shooting so as not to waste time 

fixing mistakes in Photoshop, 

which will lead to a loss of quality 

anyway. 

Do we really need the 

exposure meter? 

Generally speaking, no, you don’t, 

if you shoot with a modern digital 

camera. As soon as you learn 

how to assess the correctness 

of exposure with the help of the 

histogram or the highlights screen, 

the exposure meter will become 

a weak link and no longer will 

there be a need to use it. Moreover, 

when you constantly shoot in 

the M (manual) mode, you will 

soon gain practical experience 

in setting correct exposures. You 

will set required shooting parameters 

automatically without using 

the camera’s metering system. 

However, it does require some 

training, so start shooting now! 


Christmas trees on hard coral. 

Koh Tao, Gulf of Thailand, Thailand. 

Nikon D700 15 mm F2.8 and Magic filter (f8; 1/500 ñ; 

ISO200) Ikelite housing 

Mirrorless happiness 

Mirrorless cameras can show you 

what the exposed picture will 

be like before you click a button. 

You can configure the camera so 

that it shows you overexposed 

areas and areas where there is no 

information in the shadows, that 

is, completely black. This feature 

works in all modes, including 

manual. In this way, you can 

choose a combination of shutter 

speed and aperture, even before 

you make a frame, that is perfectly 

accurate. 

White balance (WB) 

Numerous sources of light have 

different colour tints or colour 

temperature. Some have more red 

while others have more yellow 

or blue. For example, fluorescent 

lamps produce light with a slight 

green tint, while incandescent 

lamps have a yellow tint. The 

colour temperature is measured 

in Kelvins and marked with a «K». 

The colour temperature of sunlight 

is 5500K, while the colour temperature 

of incandescent light is 3000K. 

The lower the colour temperature, 

the warmer the colour tint. 

In both cases people see white light 

because our eyes and brain can 

adjust colours. For the camera to 

correctly show the white and other 

colours of photographed subjects, 

it must be ‘informed’ about that 

combination of red, green and blue 

should be considered pure white. 

“Canyon” Dahab, Red Sea, Egypt. 

Nikon D700 15 mm F2.8 (f11; 

1/200 ñ; ISO400) Ikelite housing 

Simply put, you must set white 

balance. 

Four ways to set white 

balance 

1) Rely on the camera’s 

automatics. It works very well in 

the majority of modern (mid and 

high level) cameras. But with a 


small caveat: Underwater, white 

balance can ‘drift away’, so I would 

recommend using one of the 

following methods. 

2) Use white balance presets. I 

personally almost always use this 

method. If you shoot during the 

day (with or without strobes), set 

your white balance to ‘Cloudy’. 

Why? Because clouds are water 

vapour which absorb sunlight 

just like water does, ‘cutting off’ 

warm parts of the spectrum first. 

If you shoot at night and your main 

source of light is a strobe, set your 

white balance to ‘Flash’. That’s it! 

3) Manually measure white 

balance. To do so you will need 

an object neutral gray or white 

in colour. For example, a slate for 

writing underwater or a special 

palette for setting white balance 

that you can buy in a photo store 

would work. Usually, this method 

is not used, but if you decided to 

photograph underwater with a 

‘magic filter’ it will be the only 

right way to set white balance. 

4) Shoot RAW and don’t bother 

setting white balance. This is 

the simplest and right way to do 

it! Since most of the time you 

shoot RAW, you can always set 

the desired white balance during 

RAW file conversion. This is what I 

usually do. But since I always shoot 

in two formats (RAW+JPEG), I use 

method #2. Not only do presets 

affect JPEG files, they also allow 

us to see more or less acceptable 

colours when reviewing our 

images. 

“Whale shark” Sail Rock, Gulf of Thailand, Koh Phangan, Thailand. 

NIKON D700 15 mm F2.8 and Magic filter (f8; 1/60; ISO800) 

Ikelite housing 

RAW 

A RAW file contains all the information 

recorded by the sensor 

without compressions and therefore 

without the loss of quality. 

Only with RAW files you would be 

able to use the whole potential of a 

photo in post-processing and get a 

high quality image. 

The size of RAW files is very large 

and of course a memory card can 

record fewer RAW files than JPEGs. 

But don’t be greedy! Memory cards 

are becoming cheaper year after 

year and unlike photo film, we 

don’t have to buy them all the 

time. Don’t try to save on memory 

cards or their size. Shoot with 

the highest quality possible! Most 

likely you will not be able to travel 

back to the other hemisphere and 

retake a photo of a whale shark 

anytime soon…. So, shoot with the 

highest possible quality so that 

you don’t regret about unexplored 

opportunities later on. 

Usually RAW converters cannot 

be used for printing purposes; for 


this RAW files would have to be converted into one of 

the standard graphic formats (ie JPEG or TIFF). Every 

camera manufacturer offers proprietary RAW conversion 

software. They can be used to correct wrong 

exposure, get rid of lens vignetting, adjust chromatic 

aberrations, remove color noise, improve sharpness 

and a lot of other things. 

What’s important is that all these adjustments have 

almost no impact on the quality of images! A converter 

allows us to change such important shooting parameters 

as exposure (within certain limits) and white 

balance, similarly to what you can do while shooting. 

Independent software developers also make software 

for RAW file conversion. For example, I use Adobe 

Camera RAW plug-in for Photoshop CS. Why? Firstly, 

because it is an excellent software for image post-processing 

and, secondly, there is a wealth of excellent 

training materials and books on this converter written 

specifically for us, photographers. 

JPEG 

JPEG (named for the company that created it, Joint 

Photographic Experts Group) is a graphic format 

used to store photographs. To record information 

about an image in this format, a camera’s microprocessor 

compresses data using a special mathematical 

algorithm. Some information is cast aside, which leads 

to a loss of image quality. The level of JPEG compression 

can be regulated, and if you prefer shooting in 

this format, set the largest file size. In this way you 

will lose little quality. 

RAW + JPEG 

I always recommend shooting 

RAW+JPEG. What for? JPEG does not 

take up much space on a memory 

card and you will not have to waste 

time converting RAW files, if you 

decided to share a photo with your 

buddy or post it on the Internet. 

A few words about 

memory cards 

Buy several smaller capacity memory 

cards instead of one large capacity 

one. Don’t keep all your eggs in one 

basket. As any ‘piece of metal’, a 

memory card can break down. It’s 

better to have four 16 GB memory 

cards than two 32 GB ones. 

One more important piece of advice 

for those who shoot RAW: always 

leave some space on the memory 

card for several more shots just in 

case. The size of RAW files could 

differ so the camera will show an 

approximate number of remaining 

shots. If you have less space than the 

size of your image, any attempt to 

record it will result in your memory 

card breaking down: it will be 

blocked or completely broken down. 

Once I ‘killed’ a memory card, when 

I got carried away shooting sharks 

in the Maldives. I ended up losing all 

the images I shot that day… 

Next time: Let’s get started underwater! 

First place in the category of “Wide 

Angle” White Sea Cup 2006 Russia 

Nikon D70 10,5 mm F2.8 (f3,5; 

1/80 ñ; ISO400) Aquatica housing 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL 

By region. To list your dive/sports stores contact Dive New Zealand for information. 

More information on Dive Stores, Clubs & Travel at www.DiveNewZealand.com 

NORTHLAND 

NEW ZEALAND 

A to Z Diving & Cylinder Services IANZ accredited 

SCUBA, LPG & Industrial cylinder testing. Certified 

in servicing all brands of dive gear. Supplier of 

compressor consumables: carbon, molecular sieve, 

felt pads, oil, O-rings etc. Certifiers of Air & LPG 

Fillers. All major gases available onsite. 

235 Wiroa Rd, Kerikeri. P: 021 508 707 

www.atozdiving.co.nz 

E: andre@atozdiving.co.nz 

Dive Zone Bay of Islands Far North’s only 

PADI 5 Star IDC facility. Open Water to Instructor 

courses. Freedive and spearfishing training & trips. 

Dive trips,On-site equipment servicing & cylinder 

testing. Aqualung, Mares, Scubapro, Beuchat. 

Open 7 days! 5 Klinac Lane, State Highway 10 

Waipapa. 09 407 9986. 

www.divezoneboi.co.nz, 

info@divezoneboi.co.nz 

Paihia Dive Dive training, charter and retail in Paihia. 

Dive the Rainbow Warrior, frigate Canterbury and 

the Bay of Islands. PADI courses: Open water to 

Instructor. Quality scuba brands: Aqualung, Tusa, 

Faber, Luxfer and Wettie spearfishing. Open 7 days. 

Williams Rd, Paihia, P: Craig or Lisa 09-402 7551 

E: info@divenz.com www.divenz.com 

Northland Dive World Class Diving package – Great 

diving mixed with even better accommodation, meals 

and hospitality. Dive with the team that instigated the 

sinking of the Canterbury Frigate. Full Gear available 

incl NITROX – PADI /TDI/ SDI training “Unbelievable 

value for money”. 3851 Russell Road, Whangaruru, 

Bay of Islands, P: 09 433 6633, 

E: info@northlanddive.com 

www.info@northlanddive.com 

DIVE COMPRESSOR 

sales and servicing 

High Pressure 

Equipment NZ Ltd 

ph 09-444 0804 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Master Agents 

for Bauer 

Kompressoren in 

New Zealand and 

have been for the 

past 20 years. 

Servicing & repairs of all compressor brands: 

Bauer, Poseidon, Coltri, Bristol, Brownie. 

and most other brands. 

High pressure regulators. 

High pressure pumps. 

Compressor consumables and spare parts. 

Customised filling panels. 

Breathing air equipment. 

New Zealand Master 

Agents for: 

BAUER KOMPRESSOREN 

compressors/spare parts 

BAUER-POSEIDON 

compressors and spare parts 

DNZ163 

Contact us at: ph 09 444 0804, fax 09 443 1121 

32 Parkway Drive, Mairangi Bay, Auckland. 

Email info@highpressure.co.nz 

www.highpressure.co.nz 

DIVE NOW For all your SCUBA Freediving 

and Spearfishing needs. Onsite servicing, 

cylinder testing, Air and Nitrox fills, wetsuit 

repairs, gear hire and full retail store stocking 

most major brands. 5 Star PADI Tec Rec dive 

training facility and breath holding courses with 

onsite training pool. Located at the gateway to 

the beautiful Poor Knights Islands and Bay of 

Islands. 

41 Clyde Street Whangarei 

Freephone: 0800 102 102 or 

P: 09 438 1075 E: info@divenow.co.nz 

www.divenow.co.nz 

Dive! Tutukaka The Poor Knights Islands experts – 

professional, fun and safe – “It’s what we do” – With 

5 boats, catering for all abilities; Adventure Audited, 

Qualmark endorsed, PADI 5 star IDC; air fills, nitrox, 

gear hire. Shed 7 with salt-water pool and training 

facilities – Behind Schnappa Rock. Marina Rd. 

Tutukaka, Whangarei. Open 7 days, 7am-7pm. 

Always someone at the end of the phone 0800 288 

882. Phone: 09 4343 867 

E: info@diving.co.nz www.diving.co.nz 

AUCKLAND / DISTRICTS 

New Zealand Diving Charters to the Hauraki Gulf 

incl marine reserves, Little & Great Barrier Islands. 

Also overseas trips. NZ’s leading SDI & TDI 5 star IDC 

& PADI with a wide selection of courses. Qualmark 

endorsed. Nitrox, 300bar fills, servicing & rental hire. 

Full selection of gear for sports & tec divers. 

22 Whitaker Rd, Warkworth. 

P: 0800 NZDIVING. E: Neil@NZDiving.co.nz 

www.NZDiving.co.nz (DNZ164) 

Auckland Scuba on Auckland’s north shore. 

PADI 5 STAR IDC diver training specialists. PADI 

dive courses beginner to instructor and tec 

rec. Part time/full time tertiary (student loan 

approved), NZQA credits. Dive trips, air/nitrox fills, 

cylinder testing, equipment servicing. Top quality 

equipment! 

Unit I, 121 Rosedale Rd, Albany. 

P: 09 478 2814 E: info@aucklandscuba.co.nz 

www.aucklandscuba.co.nz 

KIWI DIVERS SSI, TDI/SDI, RAID dive centre. 

Recreational and Technical dive courses 

(rebreather friendly). Regular trips from our 

own boat. Equipment sales, servicing and hire. 

Cylinder testing, air/nitrox trimix/oxygen fills. 

Open 7 days. 8 Keith Hay Court, Silverdale 

(just 20 mins north of Akld) P: 09 426 9834 

E: info@kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

www.kiwiscubadivers.co.nz 

Performance Diver NZ’s diving superstore! Massive 

stocks of all lines at unbelievable prices. PADI 5 star 

Instructor Development Centre offering training from 

beginner to Instructor. Local & national dive charters, 

overseas trips, servicing, air fills and rental. Open 7 

days! 

74 Barrys Point Road, Takapuna 

(behind Avanti bikes). 09 489 7782 

www.performancediver.co.nz 

Global Dive NZ’s favourite technical and recreational 

dive store. All top brands stocked and serviced. Our 

active dive club meets monthly with guest speakers and 

BBQ. Experts in photography and tech diving. Quality 

rental gear, including technical and drysuits. Nitrox fills. 

132 Beaumont St, Westhaven, P: 09 9205200 

www.globaldive.net E: info@globaldive.net 

Dive Doctor Mt Wellington New Zealand’s specialist 

dive servicing company, regulator servicing, drysuit & 

wetsuit repairs, compressor servicing, cylinder testing, 

NITROX, O2, Helium, 300 BAR air fills. A full selection 

Dive HQ Westhaven in Auckland's CBD. PADI 

5 Star Instructor Development Centre. Become 

a PADI Dive Instructor with us. NZQA approved 

Part Time and Full Course available. Still Your 

Local Dive Shop for all your SCUBA dive, 

freediving, spear-fishing and gear-servicing 

needs. Mares, Atomic, Oceanic, Pinnacle, 

Beuchat, and Zeagle. Fully equipped dive 

equipmentservice centre and dive cylinder 

testing facility onsite. 

Corner (101) Beaumont & Gaunt Sts, 

Westhaven, Auckland. P: (09) 307 3590, 

E: info@divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

www.divehqwesthaven.co.nz 

of quality products as well as hard to find items for the 

technical, recreational and commercial diver. 

20R Sylvia Park Rd, Mt Wellington 

www.divedoctor.co.nz P: 09 5308117 

E: info@divedoctor.co.nz 

DNZ164 

Manufacturing Quality 

Wetsuits in New 

Zealand 

for New Zealand 

conditions. 

www.seaquel.co.nz 

15G Porana Rd, Glenfield, Auckland 

wetsuits@seaquel.co.nz Tel: 09 443 2771 

DNZ163 


dnz164 


COROMANDEL / BAY OF PLENTY 

TUTUKĀKĀ 

NEW ZEALAND 

Dive Zone Whitianga Far North’s only PADI 5 

Star IDC facility. Open Only PADI 5 Star IDC facility 

on the Coromandel Peninsula. PADI courses from 

Open Water to Instructor. Dive trips from boat, 

shore and kayak, to many amazing dive sites. Full 

gear service and extensive retail store. Open 7 

days. 

10 Campbell Street, Whitianga, P: 07-867 1580, 

E: info@divethecoromandel.co.nz 

www.divezonewhitianga.co.nz 

Auckland’s newest diving charter 

is ready to take people diving! 

FREE 

PHONE 

SIMPLY 

AWESOME! 

0800 288 882 

www.diving.co.nz 

3-5 Rona Place, Tutukaka, Whangarei, SOUTH PACIFIC 

• New BAUER compressors 

• Late model, low hours, 

preowned BAUER 

compressors 

• Service, spare parts, oil 

and consumables 

AVAILABLE NOW FROM 

General Marine Services 

65 & 90 Gaunt St, Westhaven, 

Auckland. Phone 09 309 6317 

www.generalmarine.co.nz 

sales@generalmarine.co.nz 

service@generalmarine.co.nz 

APPROVED 

BAUER 

AGENTS 

Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel Half day 

trips – everyday through the summer at 9.30am 

& 1.30pm. Marine reserve or outer reef diving 

for new and experienced divers. Full gear hire. 

Individuals & groups welcome. Check out our 

website for a full list of dive sites and prices, or 

link onto our facebook page for an up-to-date 

weather/sea/dive report in the Hahei & Mercury 

Bay areas. 48 Hahei Beach Rd, Hahei 

Phone 0800 CCDIVE (0800 223 483) 

www.hahei.co.nz/diving 

CENTRAL NORTH ISLAND 

Dive & Gas Gisborne's Mares and Atlantis dive gear 

stockist. A great product range, as well as other Scuba 

and Snorkel gear in-store. Plus we test and fill all 

Scuba Tanks. Kevin & Tracey Halverson, 

cnr Carnarvon St, and Childers Rd, Gisborne. 

P: 06 867 9662 E: diveandgas@gmail.com 

Dive Zone Tauranga is Tauranga’s only 

PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Centre 

offering everything from Open Water courses 

to Specialty Instructor training. Gear sales for 

all scuba, spearfishing & snorkelling needs. 

Hire equipment, gear servicing, air fills, dive 

charters, cylinder testing and more! See us at 

213 Cameron Road, Tauranga, 

P: (07) 578 4050 

E: info@divezonetauranga.co.nz 

www.divezonetauranga.co.nz 

WELLINGTON / DISTRICTS 

Dive Wellington Become a Padi Dive 

Instructor with our fulltime Diploma course. NZQA 

approved and eligible for student loans and 

allowances. Contact us for a course prospectus. 

Dive Wellington is an audited and approved sub 

contractor of Academy of Diving Trust 

E: dive@divewellington.co.nz 

P: 04 939 3483 www.divewellington.co.nz 

NZ Sea Adventures PADI 5 Star Instructor 

Development Centre – also TDI Technical diver training 

including CCR. Open 7 days. Dive courses – beginner 

to Instructor. Club dives and trips in NZ and overseas. 

Dive retail, fills, gear hire & servicing. 

9 Marina View, Mana, Porirua. 

P: 04 233-8238 E: nzsa@scubadiving.co.nz 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

Dive & Ski HQ Wellington PADI dive courses 

– beginner to professional qualifications. Dive 

club with regular local, national & overseas trips. 

Wide range of diving/ spearfishing equipment 

and accessories. Equipment servicing/tank 

testing. Open 7 days. 

14 Waione St, Petone. New Zealand 

P: (04)568 5028 mob 0210369996 

www.diveski.co.nz E: diveskihq@xtra.co.nz 

snow ski and board rental available 

www.facebook.com/DiveSkiHQ 

• Trips start from $100 per person 

• Trips every weekend, weather permitting 

• Plenty of space for up to 18 people 

• Fast stable boat, cruises at 25 knots 

• Comprehensive safety equipment 

• Hot fresh water shower & Full flush toilet 

• Galley for hot refreshments 

0800-D I V E C AT 021 737 378 

www.divecat.co.nz 

Island Bay Divers New Zealand’s oldest dive retail & 

training business. Off street parking. Full retail range, 

equipment hire, large gear range for snorkel trail divers, 

scuba, Freedivers. Scuba and Snorkel guided tours, 

24 hour turn around on tank testing, repairs on most 

equipment brands, full range of diver training since 

1985. Corner Reef St & the Parade, Island Bay. 

Open 9am to 6pm. 7 days in summer, but 5 days 

(closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays) in winter. 

P: 04-383-6778 E: tim@ibdivers.co.nz 

www.ibdivers.co.nz 

Oceandry suits 

35 Station Road.Wellsford 

www.oceandry.co.nz 

Call Paul on 021 425706 

Email: info@oceandry.co.nz 

MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

Colin Gestro - Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


DIVE STORES / TRAVEL / PRODUCTS / SERVICES 

Dive HQ Christchurch 30 years industry 

experience, Christchurch’s only PADI 5 Star 

Instructor Development Centre and Adventure 

Activities Certified for SCUBA diving and 

snorkelling. Busy retail store selling the world’s 

leading brands and offering PADI recreational 

and tertiary SCUBA qualifications. Full range 

of spearfishing equipment including breath 

hold courses. Quality gear hire, service centre, 

Enriched Air training and filling station, local and 

international dive and spearfishing trips.103 

Durham St Sth. Sydenham, Christchurch. 

Freephone 0800-DIVEHQ. 

P: (03)379- 5804 www.diveskiworld.co.nz 

E: sales@diveskiworld.co.nz 

Waikawa Dive Centre located at Waikawa Marina, 

Picton. Offering dive training and trips through the 

Marlborough Sounds. Fully-certified dive cylinder 

filling/testing, dive gear servicing/repairs, hire gear. 

Carrying a multi-brand range of diving equipment. 

Open 7 days during summer. Ready to take care of all 

your diving needs. 

P: 03-573-5939, F: 03-573-8241 

waikawadive@xtra.co.nz 

www.waikawadivecentre.co.nz 

www.facebook.com/WaikawaDiveCentre 

Deep Blue Diving Making diving affordable for all 

divers. The Deep Blue brand is well known for its 

value for money and has a strong company reputation 

for delivering quality and excellent service. Visit our 

website or come in and see us for a huge range of dive 

gear, equipment servicing, tank filling, gear hire and 

Padi training. 

15B Byron St, Sydenham, Christchurch 8025. 

P: 03 332 0898 E: sales@deepbluediving.co.nz 

www.deepbluediving.co.nz 

INTERNATIONAL DIVE 

OPERATORS AND RESORTS 

AUSTRALIA 

Pro Dive Cairns Offers the highest quality, best value 

PADI dive courses and 3-day liveaboard Outer Great 

Barrier Reef dive trips in Cairns. We have 16 exclusive 

dive sites across 4 different reefs to choose from and 

departures 6 days/week. 

Check out www.prodivecairns.com 

or call us on +617 4031 5255 

or E: info@prodivecairns.com 

Spirit of Freedom visits the remote dive destinations 

of Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs, and Coral Sea. The 37m 

vessel offers spacious en-suite cabins, every comfort 

on board, and exceptional service. Marine encounters 

include the potato cod feed, Minke whales in season, 

and the shark dive at Osprey Reef. 

E: info@spiritoffreedom.com.au 

www.spiritoffreedom.com.au 

Tusa Dive Cairns local day dive operators with over 

30 years experience diving the Great Barrier Reef. 

Tusa’s fast modern catamaran the Tusa 6 will visit two 

unique sites where you can enjoy up to three dives 

in the day. Tusa Dive also offer a great day out for 

snorkellers. P: 00617 4047 9100 

E: info@tusadive.com www.tusadive.com 

DNZ161 

Book an ad space today! 

For Editorial or Classified ads call 

Colin Gestro 

Affinity Ads 

M: 027 256 8014 


MINI ADS - GREAT RATES 

HDS Australia-Pacific 

PO Box: 347 Dingley Village Victoria 3172, 

Australia. www.classicdiver.org 

COOK ISLANDS 

Dive Aitutaki with Bubbles Below Explore Aitutaki’s 

underwater world with Bubbles Below. Only 40 

minutes from mainland Rarotonga to the picturesque 

island of Aitutaki.PADI dive courses Beginner to 

Dive Master. Manned boats during dives! Safety and 

enjoyment paramount! ‘Take only Memories & Leave 

only Bubbles Dive Safe, Dive Rite, Dive Bubbles 

Below!’ www.diveaitutaki.com 

E: bubblesbelow@aitutaki.net.ck 

The Dive Centre – The Big Fish PADI 5-star dive 

operator. Services: intro/lagoon dives, dive trips 

twice a day, courses, retail and rental gear. 2 

boats, boats are manned with an instructor, 7 days, 

night dives. Aroa Beach by the Rarotongan Resort. 

P: 682 20238 or 682 55238 

E: info@thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

www.thedivecentre-rarotonga.com 

dnz164 


ecompression facilities. 


FIJI 

VANUATU 

Subsurface Fiji Visit Fiji for fun, relaxing 

tropical diving. Subsurface Fiji PADI 5-Star Dive 

shops are located in the beautiful Mamanuca 

Islands, offering daily trips and courses to some 

of the best dive spots in Fiji. Subsurface provides 

full diving services from Musket Cove, Plantation, 

Malolo, Likuliku, Tropica, Lomani, Funky Fish, 

Namotu, Tavarua, Wadigi & Navini Island Resorts. 

E: info@subsurfacefiji.com 

www.subsurfacefiji.com (DNZ159) 

Captain Cook Cruises Reef Endeavour and Tivua 

Island are 5 star PADI operations – Discover Scuba – 

Scuba Dive – Open water dive – Advance Wreck Dive, 

MV Raiyawa at Tivua Island. Fiji P: +679 6701 823 E: 

fiji@captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

www.captaincookcruisesfiji.com 

Mantaray Island Resort Yasawa Islands – Fiji – Over 

40 dive sites ; vibrant reefs, stunning coral gardens, 

caves, swim throughs, wall dives, drop offs, shark 

dives, turtles, and a stunning house reef. Fiji’s only 

accredited free-diving school, Mantaray swimming 

May–Oct. Small group diving in a safe and enjoyable 

environment visit us at 

www.mantarayisland.com 

Volivoli Beach Resort offers you relaxed, unspoilt 

white sandy beaches in a spectacular part of Fiji. Ra 

Divers operates from the resort giving you a water 

wonderland on the worlds best soft coral dive sites. 

The Fiji Siren is a livaboard boat offering you 7 and 10 

night dive packages. www.volivoli.com 

E: info@volivoli.com P: +679 9920942 

SOLOMONS 

Raiders Hotel and Dive Wreck and Reef diving, 

Accommodation, Bar and dining, Snorkelling 

Hiking and more. Located 1 hour from Honiara on 

the waterfront of the historic Tulagi harbour. Dive - 

Discover – Relax. www.raidershotel.com 

email raidershotel@solomon.com.sb 

ph +677 7594185 / 7938017 

SIDE Dive Munda – Dive the unexplored 

Experience Magical Munda at Agnes Gateway Hotel. 

Award winning service and pristine diving. SSI 

Instructor Training Centre. WWII wrecks, caves and 

reefs – untouched and unspoilt. 

www.divemunda.com 

divemunda@dive-solomon.com 

Find us on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram 

SIDE TAKA Dive See more of the Solomon Islands by 

liveaboard! Save $700 on a 7 night booking on board 

MV Taka: 7 Nights Accommodation; 3 gourmet meals 

daily; 24 Dives – sharks, WWII wrecks, manta rays, 

night dives; Round trip airport transfers. Conditions 

apply. For more information or to make a reservations: 

book@dive-solomon.com 

Tulagi Dive Solomon Islands An underwater paradise 

for marine life and explore the many ships and aircraft 

wrecks at the famous Iron Bottom Sound. We offer 

the PADI and TDI courses. Phone (+677) 25700 

www.tulagidive.com dive@tulagidive.com 

THIS SPACE 

COULD BE YOURS 

Nautilus Watersports Vanuatu’s longest running 

dive operation in Port Vila with 30+ years’ experience. 

Nautilus offers 4 dives a day (double dive both 

morning and afternoon). We also offer PADI course 

from Discover Scuba right through to Dive Master. For 

dive groups we can also offer diving/accommodation 

packages. P: Peter or Leanne +678 22 398 

www.nautilus.com.vu 

E: nautilus@vanuatu.com.vu 

TRIPS/CHARTERS 

CRUISE FIORDLAND 

fish • hunt • dive • cruise 

Fish, Hunt, Dive or Cruise aboard the fully 

refurbished MV Cindy Hardy. Fiordland or 

Stewart Island, our scenic cruises will provide 

you with a once in a lifetime experience. 

Everything is provided regardless of how 

short or long your time on board with us is. 

Cruise options available on our website. 

www.cruisefiordland.com 

info@cruisefiordland.com 

+6421 088 14530 

(DNZ156) 

DIVE HOLIDAY 

Travelandco 

At travel&co (previously Dive Fish Snow 

Holidays) we’ve been crafting tailor-made active 

travel trips and experiences for over 30 years. 

Our team of active travel experts share your 

passion for adventure and can help book an 

exceptional active travel experience that goes 

beyond the ordinary. From wreck or reef diving, 

learning to dive, to liveaboard adventures - for 

insider tips on the best dive locations and 

tailormade diving experiences let your active 

travel journey start with us. 

t: 09 479 2210 Toll free NZ: 0800 555 035 

e: enquire@travelandco.nz 

www.travelandco.nz/dive 

Outer Gulf Charters 

One hour north of Auckland CBD 

Providing divers with the ultimate diving day 

out with diver lift, fast/comfortable travel, hot 

water shower, and all the tea and coffee you 

want. 

Recommended Dive Sites: Goat Island Marine 

Reserve, Mokohinau Islands, Great/Little 

Barrier, Sail Rock/Hen & Chickens in style. Trip 

schedule and info 

www.outergulfcharters.co.nz 

or phone Julie 021 827 855 

On the seafront downtown Port Vila. 

• Certified dives • Snorkel Tours • Training to 

Instructor Level • Full gear hire available • 

Very friendly, professional & experienced 

local Instructors & Dive Masters. 

20 dive sites (10 to 20 minutes) including 5 wrecks 

(including 4 engine QANTAS Sandringham flying 

boat and 150 year old sailing ship Star of Russia) 

Temp 24-28°c. Viz 10m to 

40m. Free pickup from 

Resorts in town. 

P: +678 27518 or email: 

dive@bigbluevanuatu.com 

www.bigbluevanuatu.com 

For your safety Vanuatu has 

recompression facilities. 

SPEAKERS/LECTURERS 

Available for talks to dive clubs etc. You can find full 

details on these speakers/lectures at 

www.DiveNewZealand.co.nz/dive-in-nz/dive-shops/ 

Terry Brailsford Wreck diving for gold & treasure. Incl 

the Rothschild jewellery, search for General Grant. 

0274 958816, theadmiral@xtra.co.nz 

Tony Howell History and entertainment with lots of 

rare historical photos and illustrations – 12 powerpoints 

in total. 45 mins –1 hr each. 

Contact me for topics. 04 233-8238, 

www.scubadiving.co.nz 

tony@scubadiving.co.nz 

Darren Shields Spearfishing titles,uw cameraman, 

author. Motivating/compelling/innovative/inspiring/ 

entertaining P: 09-4794231, 021839118, 

darren@wettie.co.nz 

Jamie Obern Technical instructor/cave diver, 20+ 

years exp. globally. Photos/video: uw caves in 

Mexico, USA, UK, NZ, Australia. Techdive NZ/GUE NZ 

instructor. P: 021 614 023, 

www.techdivenz.com jamie@techdivenz.com 

Dave Moran Ching Dynasty porcelain from the Tek 

Sing. P: Dive New Zealand 09-521 0684, 

E: divenz@DiveNewZealand.co.nz 

• C 

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PLACE AN AD WITH US 

Enquiries to: Colin Gestro 

Affinity Ads M: 027 256 8014 


Samara Nicholas M.O.N.Z -Programme Director: 

Experiencing Marine Reserves – Te Kura Moana: 

samara@emr.org.nz 

www.emr.org.nz www.facebook.com/emr.mtsct 

P: 09 4338205 or 0210362019 (field only) 

ADVERTISERS’ 

INDEX 

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DAN 55&57 

Dive Pacific subs ad 72 

Dive Whitianga IBC 

General Marine Services 49 

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PADI 17 

Saltaway 23 

SeaTech 43&50 

SIDE Dive Munda 25 

Underwater Tour IFC 

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Whitianga Dive Festival 

to turn on the fun 

Divers from far and wide will be 

gathering at Dive Zone Whitianga 

this April 17-19th for a great long 

weekend of competitions, games 

and social evenings. 

Feature events include: 

• Fancy dress up dinner on 

Saturday night. Vikings is the 

theme 

• Fun competitions 

• Huge pool of awesome prizes 

Go to www.divefestival.co.nz 

(what a great programme!) then 

do the paper work. You can enter 

one event or several. But to go 

in the draw to join the crew on a 

fantastic dive trip for two staying 

at Beqa Lagoon Resort in Fiji diving 

Beqa Lagoon you have to enter all 

events. 

Huge thanks to our sponsors! 

We have a prize pool loaded with 

goodies, from Mares mask and 

snorkel sets, dive computers, regs, 

BCD’s, Mission Kayak, Beuchat 

Freediving gear, subs to Dive Pacific 

magazine, all the way through 

to our GRAND PRIZE DRAW of a 

dive trip for two to join us diving 

the famous shark dives of Beqa 

Lagoon, staying at Bega Lagoon 

Resort, flying Fiji Airways. 

Feature events include the 

Underwater Photography 

Competition, Spear Fishing comp., 

treasure hunt for the kids on the 

beach and in the water for the 

adults, and The Dive Zone Scuba 

Olympic challenge. Prizes for all 

categories. Casual social at Dive 

Zone Whitianga on the Friday ( no 

charge) and the dress up dinner on 

the Saturday night. 

For more contact Linda at Dive 

Zone Whitianga on 0274-827273 or 

go to www.divefestival.co.nz 


1/2/3rd 

• Sidemount, CCR, Drysuit, 

Twin Backmount, Full Facemask and 

Scooter trydives 

• Boat and River Drift Dives 

• 

Presentations on Cave 

Diving and Wreck Diving 

• Equipment Exhibitions 

• 

New for 2020: 

- new venue at Suncourt Hotel 

and Conference Centre 

- new foreshore venue 

Brilliant prizes including overseas trips 

You don’t have to be a technical diver to join in the 

action - come along and see how it is to Go Tec. 

Order your ticket online now at www.tecfestnz.com 

E: info@tecfestnz.co.nz M: 0274 344 874 

or ask at your local dive shop 

Pre-festival ticket purchase required, no entry tickets sold at event 

is sponsored by 


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74 Dive New Zealand | Dive Pacific 

P A C I F I C

Dive Pacific 173 Feb March 2020

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