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Our Store
97 Wairau Road
Wairau Valley,
North Shore,
Auckland 0627
New Zealand
Ph: +64 9 444 7698
We were very proud to recently receive the shop award from PADI Asia Pacific in recognition of "Outstanding Contribution to the Diving Industry".
Jen Clent PADI Regional Manager for New Zealand presents the award to Malcolm Kidd - MD Dive Centre Ltd.
At the same time Jen also presented Matt Shortall, Dive Centre's long serving Instructor with the "Outstanding Contribution to Diver Training Award" due to his consistent excellent work and issuing almost 200 certifications last year!
Jen Clent PADI Regional Manager for New Zealand presents the award to Matthew Shortall - Dive Centre Ltd Master Instructor.
We also became New Zealand's first PADI Tec Rec Training Centre! Offering a wide range of Technical, Deep, Mixed Gas and Solo Dive courses - Phone Matt Shortall for more info on 09 444 7698 now!
Go deeper and longer than you ever have before!
Read the trip report below!
Galapagos Trip Report: Once in a Lifetime Dive Trip!
Text & Images by Malcolm & Barbara Kidd
The two days flying and sitting around airports with barely any sleep are forgotten...
The earthquake we experienced in the Santiago Airport is but a distant memory…
The 17 hour crossing on our liveaboard dive boat from the main island to get here is not even in my mind...
I’m sitting just 14m underwater on a shelf on the southern side of Wolf Island in the Galapagos looking at something I’ve waited my whole life to see... schooling Hammerheads... not just a few... hundreds!
Apart from the hundreds of Hammerhead’s parading in front of us, there are curious Galapagos sharks (looking more intimidating than the hammerheads), schools of the biggest eagle rays we’ve ever seen circling so close we could touch them, cruising turtles, and so many fish that they photo bomb the photos we’re trying to take of the sharks. This really is a diver’s dream and enough to make even decades-experienced divers beam with joy and wax lyrical about all they saw once back on board the boat.I eventually stop taking pictures on my new camera system, stop shooting video through the GoPro attached on top, and I just let myself take it all in... I’m underwater in the Galapagos Islands and they’re here! It was the start of an amazing 8 days of diving and land tours that we’d planned for almost two years and saved for just as long.
Galapagos isn’t easy – it’s one of the hardest dive sights to get to, and the conditions are not perfect flat calm diving like your normal tropical destinations. But all that is forgotten when you hit the water – and for a kiwi diver it feels familiar and even looks similar to many Hauraki Gulf Islands both above and below the water (apart from the inhabitants!)
The reason it’s such good diving is that there are seven different oceanic currents that hit the Galapagos, but the main one is the largest upwelling system in the world, called the “Humboldt” cold water current. This is the most productive on earth with almost 20% of all fish caught on the planet bathed by its flow! This, combined with warm tropical currents, is why there’s so much life here and why we have to be prepared for temperature ranges of 14 – 25 degrees underwater!
We visit an island to see Land Iguana’s and are amazed at how close we can get without startling them – great pictures are almost embarrassingly easy! Sea Lions lie ignoring you on the sand while you take pictures of “Blue Footed Boobies” (yes, that is their real name!) performing mating rituals and making nests and tending to eggs while Frigate birds with huge red waddles try and attract mates in front of beaming people glued to their cameras! We look out to sea and watch acres of dolphin leap and play in the water surrounding the island – this place is just so full of life you don’t know where to look or point the camera!
Then we’re back to the main boat to travel another 6-7 hours north to Darwin Island and more importantly Darwin’s Arch. For me, this is the focus of the trip – it can make or break the whole two weeks if they’re not there!
I shouldn’t have worried... 4 minutes into the first dive – the guide suddenly frantically signals and points before disappearing as fast as he can into the blue. We follow, kicking as fast as we can – all scared we won’t see her... But there she is – a 15m pregnant Whale Shark – she’s huge (even for a Whale Shark!). And we get closer than I thought we would – I get so close I’m being pulled along in her slipstream, and I can slow my kicking right down and glide with her like I’m a remora. One of the coolest moments I’ve ever had underwater!
I look to my buddies and they’re all having a blast, I look to the huge schools of big eye Trevalley, the Hammerhead and Galapagos Sharks in the distance, the Turtle posing for pictures, and the millions of other fish that surround us all at once and think... This is what diving is all about!
We end up seeing a total of 14 Whale Sharks during our dives at Darwin’s Arch and on the last dive – like most trip organisers before me – I have a quiet sigh of relief that it’s all been so amazing... then I turn back to my camera before I miss the next shot. You can never have too many Whale Shark pictures!
We're back from the Galapagos Islands now and it was the best dive trip we've ever done! There is something we got wrong though... “Once in a Lifetime” isn’t correct - we are so going back!
Click here to check out our Open Water Course!
Weekend Courses: Theory Saturday/Sunday (Pool/Theory) 9:00am till approx. 3-4:00pm - Open Water Dives Saturday/Sunday (Two Sea dives each day) 7:00am till approx 3-4:00pm
JANUARY
W-1A-18 - Sat 6, Sun 7, Sat 13, Sun 14 - FULL
W-1B-18 - Sat 13, Sun 14, Sat 20, Sun 21 - FULL
FEBRUARY
W-2-18 - Sat 10, Sun 11, Sat 17, Sun 18 - FULL
MARCH
W-3-18 - Sat 10, Sun 11, Sat 17, Sun 18 - FULL
APRIL
W-4-18 - Sat 21, Sun 22, Sat 28, Sun 29 - FULL
MAY
W-5-18 - Sat 12 Sun 13, Sat 19, Sun 20 - Full
JUNE
W-6-18 - Sat 9, Sun 10, Sat 16, Sun 17
JULY
W-7-18 - Sat 7, Sun 8, Sat 14, Sun 15
AUGUST
W-8-18 - Sat 4, Sun 5, Sat 11, Sun 12
OCTOBER
W-10-18 - Sat 6, Sun 7, Sat 13, Sun 14
NOVEMBER
W-11A-18 - Sat 3, Sun 4, Sat 10, Sun 11
W-11B-18- Sat 17, Sun 18, Sat 24, Sun 25
DECEMBER
W-12A-18 - Sat 1, Sun 2, Sat 8, Sun 9
W-12B-18 - Sat 8, Sun 9, Sat 15, Sun 16
Click here to check out our Open Water Course!
Daytime Courses: Monday & Tuesday (Pool/Theory) 9:00am till approx. 3-4:00pm - Wednesday & Thursday (Two Sea dives each day) 7:00am till approx. 3-4:00pm
DECEMBER
D-12A-17 - Mon 4, Tues 5, Wed 6, Thurs 7
D-12B-17 - Mon 11, Tues 12, Wed 13, Thurs 14
JANUARY
D-1A-18 - Mon 8, Tues 9, Wed 10, Thurs 11
D-1B-18 - Mon 22, Tues 23, Wed 24, Thurs 25
FEBRUARY
D-2-18 - Mon 12, Tues 13, Wed 14, Thurs 15
MARCH
D-3-18 - Mon 19, Tues 20, Wed 21, Thurs 22
APRIL
D-4-18- Mon 16, Tue 17, Wed 18, Thurs 19
MAY
D-5-18 - Mon 14, Tues 15, Wed 16, Thurs 17
JUNE
D-6-18 - Mon 18, Tues 19, Wed 20, Thurs 21
JULY
D-7-18 - Mon 9, Tues 10, Wed 11, Thurs 12
OCTOBER
D-10-18 - Mon 1, Tues 2, Wed 3, Thurs 4
NOVEMBER
D-11-18 - Mon 12, Tues 13, Wed 14, Thurs 15
DECEMBER
D-12-18 - Mon 10, Tues 11, Wed 12, Thurs 13
Evening Courses: Mon evenings (Theory) 6:30pm-8:00pm Wed evenings (Pool) 6:30pm-9:30pm - Each Saturday (Two Sea dives each day) 7:00am till approx. 3-5:00pm
DECEMBER only!
2018
E-12-18 Mon 3, Wed 5, Fri 7, Mon 10, Wed 12, Fri 14, Sat 15, Sun 16
While every effort is made to ensure all information is correct, details are subject to change without notice.
Please phone us on (09) 444 7698, or email us now, for availablility and confirmation of course dates.
Click here to check out our ADVANCED OPEN WATER course!
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 16 - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 20, Sun 21 January - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 20 - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 24, Sun 25 February - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 20 - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 24, Sun 25 March - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 17 - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 21, Sun 22 April - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 22 - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 26, Sun 27 May - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 23 October - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 27, Sun 28 October - Bay of Islands
THEORY SESSION - (Evening 6.30pm - 8.30pm) Tues 20 November - WEEKEND DIVING - Sat 24, Sun 25 - Bay of Islands
Please phone us on (09) 444 7698, or email us now, for availablility and confirmation of course dates.
Click here to check out our Rescue & EFR Course!
FEB 2018
EFR-2-18 Mon 19 (6.30pm - 9.30pm)
R-2-18 Sat 24 (9am - Approx. 4pm) - Sun 25 (9am - Approx. 3pm) - FULL
April 2018
EFR-4-18 Mon 23 (6.30pm - 9.30pm)
R-4-18 Sat 28 (9am - Approx. 4pm) - Sun 29 (9am - Approx. 3pm)
July 2018
EFR-7-18 Mon 23 (6.30pm - 9.30pm)
R-7-18 Sat 28 (9am - Approx. 4pm) - Sun 29 (9am - Approx. 3pm)
November 2018
EFR-11-18 Mon 12 (6.30pm - 9.30pm)
R-11-18 Sat 17 (9am - Approx. 4pm) - Sun 18 (9am - Approx. 3pm)
Please phone us on (09) 444 7698, or email us now, for availablility and confirmation of course dates.
Click here to check out our Divemaster course!
The Dive Master program is able to be started whenever you want!
It is a personal course and fits around your and our schedule so just ask about starting your PADI Dive Master Program today!
Please phone us on (09) 444 7698, or email us now, for availablility and confirmation of course dates.
Asisitant Instructor Course October - Friday 20th, Saturday 21st, Sunday 22nd all 7.30am to 5.30pm
Emergency First Response Instructor Course – two evenings mid-week to suit candidates timetable
Open Water Scuba Instructor Course Thursday 26th, Friday 27th, Saturday 28th, Sunday 29th all 7.30am to 5.30pm
Instructor Examination Saturday 4th, Sunday 5th November
While every effort is made to ensure all information is correct, details are subject to change without notice.
Please phone us on (09) 444 7698, or email us now, for availablility and confirmation of course dates.