Home / 2. Trip Reports /3. New Zealand Dive Sites / Trip Report : Skirts in Scuba
Skirts in Scuba by Claire Byrne
I moved to Auckland from England in February, and I knew that one of the first things I wanted to do in NZ was learn to dive. I started my PADI course straight away, and after a few hiccups (quite literally – for some reason I got really violent hiccups during every pool session!) I passed in May.
The Poor Knights Skirts In Scuba day was my first non-training dive – it was an amazing experience for someone so new to diving!
I was really nervous before we left, especially when I saw how experienced everyone else was – I was worried I’d forget what to do and thought I might struggle to keep up in the water. I needn’t have worried – Noel and Jo from Yukon Dive and Fishing Charters were really nice and good fun, and it was a great bunch of people.
Skirts in Scuba
Our first dive was at Hideaway Bay.
Anna and Jo gave me a hand with my gear (including my brand new Global Dive wetsuit), then Anna took me and another Skirt In Scuba down to 18m. I couldn’t believe how much there was to see even just at the surface – the water was so clear!
On the way down it was a bit of a sensory overload – there was so much to take in!
Straight away we saw male Sandagger’s wrasse, red Diadema sea urchins and moray eels. The fish seemed quite happy for us to be there so we got pretty close. I couldn’t wait to write it all in my log book!
Jo had prepared an amazing spread for lunch so we ate that with the rest of the group and exchanged stories. I was glad to find that I’d been able to see a lot of the same things as the more experienced divers.
On our second dive at Jans Tunnel, Anna took a camera down and got a few snaps of the nudibranchs and of me and Alexandria underwater. I had my first experience of swimming in a surge, and managed to spot a few scorpionfish hiding in the rocks too.
I was pretty tired by the time we got back to the boat but felt very satisfied – I’d had such a great day! I think my favourites were the clown nudibranch – I’d never seen anything like them before. I also really liked watching the blue-eyed triplefins darting about and looking like they were bouncing off the walls! I made a few new friends and new diving buddies, and saw things I’d never have been able to back home. Noel and Jo and everyone at Global Dive were so helpful, and I can’t wait to go diving again! I’m just worried that, having been to one of the best dive sites in the world, I might never match it…!
