An intensive schedule of technical diving awaited me at Global Dive (http://www.globaldive.net/) in Westhaven Auckland on my arrival back to New Zealand. As my first introduction to technical diving I was unsure what to expect, but I soon learnt this would change the way I plan and carry out each dive. The great team at Global Dive took me through advanced nitrox and decompression training. While the first few days in the water were somewhat frustrating, after fine tuning my gear and getting my head around six different kicking techniques, I found the diving to be very rewarding.
Initially starting with various skills in the Lake Pupuke, which provided great silt-out opportunities to really test the buoyancy and navigation, we progressed to the beautiful Poor Knights marine reserve. Dive Tutukaka took us out for two full days diving the reserve (http://diving.co.nz/). I could not think of a better place to complete further training whilst enjoying the awesome fish life. Pleased to already be diving with two tanks, a third was added into the mix as instructor Tom Crisp took me through the relevant skills, whilst simulating potential dive issues for me to remedy. Tom is a passionate cave diver who spends all his free time exploring New Zealand’s caving systems. It is worth mentioning a sample taken on one of his caving trips in 2013 led to the identification of a new species, which goes to show there is still so much exploration to be done!
An added bonus to the trip was the release of a rehabilitated Grey-headed Mollymawk – one of the albatross species found around New Zealand.
With the technical training under my belt it was time to head South on a Lust 4 Rust diving expedition. Pete Mesley, the driving force behind Lust 4 Rust, is an avid technical diver and explorer with many years of experience. Fortunately, Pete also coordinates scholars within New Zealand and kindly offered a crew position on this trip. Our destination, the Mikhail Lermontov, a 576ft ocean liner owned by the Baltic shipping company, lies in 12-35m in the Marlborough Sounds. After striking rocks in 5.5m of water and failing to repair the damage, passengers abandoned the ship with the aid of local rescue vessels.
I thought I was travelling with a lot of luggage around the globe, but this trip brought things to a whole new level!
Today the sunken vessel provides a popular diving destination for beginner to advanced divers. Many of the remains make for interesting penetrations, allowing for divers to experience several locations onboard, including the engine room, movie theatre, Bolshoi lounge, Leningrad restaurant and so much more. As my first introduction to wreck penetration, orientation became my biggest challenge. My previous training with Global Dive came in extremely useful, with the site providing very silty conditions.
As a kiwi it was great to finally experience some diving in the South Island and take my skill set to the next level. A huge thank you to Global Dive, Dive Tutukaka and Pete Mesley for making these trips possible, I look forward to diving with you all in the years to come.
