A Weekend in Byron Bay

by Erin Welch

About five years ago, on a dive to Flinders reef, I thought “these Australians are funny lot.” Back then the water was a balmy 18 degrees and everyone on board was complaining about the cold. Fast forward five years and I can now understand the Australians; on the trip to Byron Bay a few weeks ago the water temperature reached a “refreshing” 17 degrees– must be acclimatising. Saturday morning, we left Brisbane for a weekend of diving with Sharks at Byron Bay. The itinerary included two dives on the Saturday, dinner at the pub, two dives on Sunday with a visit to the lighthouse in the afternoon.

Even though Sascha’s camera housing was still in the US for maintenance and he could not take any photos (feels very strange – diving without a camera), he thought it would be a good idea to have a photo competition as most of the other divers in the group did have a camera.

The overall winner of the inaugural Byron Bay Photo Competition is Heng Tan with this great shot of a porcupine fish that seems to come straight at you. As each dive made for some great shots, the other photos displayed are from myself, Frank, and Tyson. We had a great weekend in Byron Bay, let’s go again soon – maybe when the water is a bit warmer!

A Birthday Celebration

Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us! Hip Hip Hooray! What a success for our first ever Snorkel Safari birthday party and our 24th birthday as the dive store down from the XXXX Brewery.

A massive thank you to everyone that attended. Our lovely guest Tracey from Dive Adventures gave an awesome presentation on our newest dive trips for next year and some for 2014. We had trips mentioned such as Kavieng, Volivoli (Fiji) and a couple of amazing trips on the luxury Siren Fleet. These 5 star liveaboards include a Philippines Palau combo and the Fiji Siren combo- definitely not to be missed. We had a deal or no deal style raffle with many prizes won on the day, ranging from mask tamers and stubby coolers to Hot-Shot fins, Slingshot fins and dive trips on Nemo.

Thierry, a store regular, won himself the major prize of a double dive to Flinders Reef on Nemo, a double dive to Cook Island, a brand new pair of Slingshots, Mask Tamer, Stubby cooler and an SSI towel!

As we gear up and get ready for Christmas, the store is looking as brilliant as ever and we can’t wait to celebrate on Nemo.

A big thank you to all again— don’t stop blowing bubbles!

Tonga Trip Report -- September 2012

by Frank Deans

It's almost midnight as we arrive in Tonga and check into the luxurious Hotel Tonga for a brief six hour respite before arriving at the airport for our short 10 minute island hop in our tiny 12 seater plane. Arriving at our very “rustic” Hideaway Resort on the Island of ‘Eua, we settle into our rooms then stroll down the undulating path to the thatched ocean lookout or sandy beach to view the humpback whales frolicking in the watery highway as they pass the resort and whales aplenty there were! Majestic in their size and beauty, regularly breaching in a playful symphony, teaching their calves the art of entertaining the tourists.

The second day was teaming with rain, but our enthusiasm could not be dampened! Our efforts were greatly rewarded with the most spectacular of whale encounters. Staying for well over an hour, a calf, with mum never far away, curiously explored the snorkelers, even showing one of the snorkelers who was boss when they got too close, with a quick slap in the face with its tail.

Our dives included the awe inspiring Cathedral Cave, with huge caverns and ceiling openings that allowed radiant blue light to filter into the centre of the caves; the Cliff and the Bakery, with a myriad of pelagic fish, morays, nudibranchs, and huge reef walls offering up regular surprises.

The adventurous of our group braved the five hour trek through the bush to the beach and into magnificent ancient caves. Others went to church on Sunday to hear the renowned Tongan hymns and visited the local craft shop to purchase indigenous arts and crafts.

The locals were the friendliest people, always making us feel welcome. We were entertained by the local community, from delicious suckling pig dinners and beautiful island dancers, to wood fired pizzas and participation in Tongan traditional dance lessons. The boat crew were always happy and obliging as were the resort staff. The easy going nature of our tour group made for an even more enjoyable adventure. The new dive resort currently being built across from the dive boat will make the next adventure to this paradise even more enjoyable.