Well, big ups to Splash Gordon, who were savvy enough to stay open over the season break and draw in punters wanting to dive the F69. All in all I got in about four dives with their dive club, and three separate snorkel trips for the local seafood. And damn good seafood at that. So not too bad a break, all things considered. Caught a cold from all that time in the water, but, sweet as.
Truth be told, I just gave up the fight to stay on top of the niggle of a sore throat and just gave in. You can only let your core temperature drop way too low a few times over a few days before a cold is just plain inevitable. Experience has me getting a cold pretty much within days of any extended period of diving. Post-Cairns? Cold. Post-Port Philip? Cold.
But there's nothing to complain about really! The diving was entirely worth it, and hasn't impeded the wider experience of being paid to lounge about. A paid holiday... who would have thunk it...
The recent trip north had pretty much discharged any obligation to see family, although there remained the threat of a further trip to Auckland on the cards. I scurrilously avoided this, and instead hung out at home, made myself a big feed, and killed a few beers when the flatmates got home from respective families. Not too bad a day all in all, with no extended stories about 'the War', no comparisons to life back in the day, and no awkward moments. Just a series of long phone conversations and chat. I'd recommend it to anyone.
With the weather being suspiciously pleasant, there was always going to be the chance that I'd be doing some diving off Wellington's South Coast post-Boxing Day. And sure enough, I was soon in the water diving the Mermaid's Garden, a rocky stretch of coast just in front of the dive shop. Pretty straight forward set-up really, you just kind of get your gear on and get into the water. Before you know it you're seeing conga eel, noticing nudibranchs (I've seen two separate varieties so far), and being surrounded by curious and slightly tame Blue Cod. The flora is also amazing, with a huge variety of seaweeds, white sand, and this weird kind of pink weed that hangs onto the rocks. Makes for a great contrast. No crayfish but. It's only a matter of time though, those tasty suckers are just asking to be caught.
After three days of good weather I was lucky enough to score a place on the boat that heads out to the F69, and was treated to some mighty fine diving. We dropped 9m onto the stern first, and swam the length of the wreck to the bow, where we dropped 20m down to seabed. There we got to stand back and look up 12m as the wreck loomed up above us. We swam back up, and were able to get into and out of the bridge, to swim along the top, and then drop skydiver-style onto the helipad from where the smokestacks once were.
If that wasn't enough, the second dive involved dropping onto the bow, swimming past the gun turret, down the side, and into the wreck itself. The holes cut in the wreck for its sinking meaning it can be entered and exited very easily, and that the interior is very well lit. We swam through the engine rooms, around the upper decks, and out again to descend and check out some Red Cod living near the rudder. Very, very cool diving. Great visibility, no sediment as yet, and lots of natural light preventing the divers worst enemy, the heebie-geebies.
The wreck is also already covered in life, with millions of sprats darting about the place in huge schools (probably from those Red Cod getting straight on the job). There is already kelp growing on the north side, and the whole wreck is looking like becoming a fantastic reef in next to no time. I'm looking forward to getting back out there later in the year and comparing changes.
And all this for the very reasonable price of $45!! (Plus gear hire). No two and a half-hour trip to the reef (Cairns), no having to dive strictly at slack water (Melbourne).
The snorkelling is a simple story. I heard there was paua off the South Coast, and waddya know, they were right. It took three trips to get a large enough amount, but it was worth it, with three very different locations being checked out. There are a lot of paua out there still. Good old New Zealand, now if we can just drop the legal size to 120mm...
The trade off is a cold that has me sneezing and snorting. God... so, much, freaking, mucus... For all things there is a price though, and for five flour-dusted paua gently fried in a light oil to feed six people, the price is well worthwhile.