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Winter is well and truly upon us. Those long sunny summer days and warm cobalt blue waters are still months away – or are they? White sandy beaches, tropical sunsets, warm nights and stunning diving are only 3 hours away.

You don’t have to put up with Winter any more. Just pick up the phone, check out our website www.divefishsnow.co.nz or drop us an email and you’re off to the colourful tropical reefs in no time. And, it’s never been cheaper or easier to get the sunshine.

Auckland PHONE: (09) 479 2210 - TOLL FREE: 0508 348 334

Here’s a helpful guide:

Humpback whales

Niue, Tonga
(until end of Sept only)


Peace and tranquility

Uepi – Solomons
Niue
Taveuni – Fiji


Sharks + big fish

Beqa – Fiji
Walindi – PNG
Uepi – Solomons
“MV Taka” – Cairns

Wrecks

Santo – Vanuatu
Tulagi – Solomons
Rabaul – PNG
Truk Lagoon - Micronesia


Family fun

(School holidays 18 Sept – 03 Oct)
Hideaway – Vanuatu
Plantation – Fiji

Pristine soft corals

Taveuni – Fiji
Wananavu – Fiji
Uepi Island – Solomons
Walindi Resort - PNG


Party hard
Beachcomber – Fiji

We know that many travel agents are offering what sound like incredible deals, such as an airfare to Fiji for $239. When you enquire further you find that this is a one way airfare and does not include tax.

Dive Fish Snow Travel have all these same fares, but we prefer to promote the real cost of a trip, including all the compulsory extras, so you know from the start exactly what your holiday will cost.

It’s our job to get you the very best dive experience for your dollars. If you are getting a quote from someone else, please also ask us for a quote, and ensure you “compare apples with apples”, as there are a lot of lemons out there!

And remember – we know all our dive destinations well so we can help you select the best destination to suit your requirements and can give you advice and sound knowledge that most other travel agencies lack.

Here is a guide that will help you with your planning. Please use this as a guide only. Our specialist dive consultants, Christine and Steve, will be only too happy to give you a firm quote.

Return Airfares: Price range Taxes
Fiji $450 - $650 $70
Vanuatu $499 - $599 $70
Tonga $450 - $650 $45
Niue $650 - $700 $40
Solomons $850 - $1050 $50 - $100
Cairns $600 - $750 $120
PNG via Brisbane $1100 - $1200 $200

Overseas domestic air $150 - $300
(as most good dive locations are remote, you will need to add a domestic airfare within all countries except Niue and to Hideaway Island, Tulagi and Cairns)

Airport transfers (return) $20 - $100

Accommodation, per night, per person, share twin:
Divers dorm $25 - $40
2 star hotel $45 – 55
3 star hotel $60 - $75
4 star hotel $80 - $120

Dive Fish Snow Special:
At most resorts we can offer 1 or 2 nights FREE when you pay for 5 or 6 nights.

Diving: including tanks, weight belts, airfills and dive guide
6 dives $350 - $390
10 dives $500 - $600
12 dives $550 - $650

Liveaboard boats: includes all meals 4-5 dives daily, night diving, cabins cleaned daily, airport transfers, and fantastic service and the best dive sites.
4 share cabin $250 - $350 per person per day
2 share cabin $300 - $400 per person per day
2 share deluxe cabin $350 - $450 per person per day

Most liveaboard trips are approximately 1 week long. In Cairns they are 3-7 days long, Solomons and PNG 7-10 days and Vanuatu 6-9 days.

Less than four months to go!
Why not trade in the hustle and bustle for the peace and tranquillity of the Silent World.
Shout yourself a great Christmas present this year. Give us a call for options that best suit you.
But don’t delay as the cheap airfares go first and flights, resorts and liveaboards are always full 24 Dec to 10 Jan.

Singles:
Join one of our groups and share the accommodation cost with other like minded divers.

Contact us for more information on any of these fabulous group departures.

Group departures:
In the next few months we have groups going to:
Liveaboards Solomons, Vanuatu
Sept/Oct
Santo Vanuatu
09 Oct
Hideaway Is Vanuatu
04 Sept
Maldives 08 Oct
Costa Rica Nov 2005
Tulagi

Solomons
July 2005

Auckland PHONE: (09) 479 2210 - TOLL FREE: 0508 348 334

This year Dive Fish Snow Travel’s 3 special liveaboard cruises sold out within 8 weeks of being advertised last October. Such is the popularity of our special liveaboard cruises.

Tentative trips planned for 2005 are:
“MV Bilikiki” Solomon Islands in July/Aug
“MV Chertan” Milne Bay PNG in Aug
“MV Silentworld” Vanuatu in Sept

Special charter to North Queensland:
In Sept or Oct 2005 we are planning a Far North Queensland liveaboard trip for 16 days of exploration and adventure. The trip departs Cairns or Cooktown and travels north for 8 days diving before you fly back to Cairns for another 8 day trip southbound, before returning to Cairns/Cooktown. Approximate cost $4000 plus airfare to/from Cairns.

If this sounds like your type of adventure, let us know and we’ll keep you posted.

Ron dived this area 15 years ago and the Marine life, big fish action and pristine reefs all added up to an awesome adventure.

They only way to get to these remote reefs is by this special type of charter. So yes, this is a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

We hope to get to Raine Island, Pandora Entrance, Boot Reef and Flinders Reef.

Predators and Pelagics, Cocos Islands.
Predators and Pelagics Tour departs 05 November 2005.

Join Ron and Christine Blake, directors of Dive Fish Snow Travel, as they explore this amazing Pelagic Predators’ Playground.

For the ultimate in big fish diving anywhere in the world, you won’t get any better than the big fish action in the Cocos Islands.

The island is about the size of Little Barrier, lying 290km off the coast of Costa Rica, Central America. The only way to get there is by boat – normally a smooth sailing as Cocos lie just off the Equator, in the doldrums. As the crow flies, Cocos is only 600km north of the Galapagos Islands, and is blessed with 2 warm tropical currents plus a deepwater colder current that hits Cocos, creating upwellings which bring all the food and nutrients with it. It is this vast natural supermarket that all the big fish of the ocean come to feast.

Cocos is a marine reserve. Here you learn to expect the unexpected, where the “eat or be eaten” ecosystem is taken to the limits. On my last trip here I dived with thousands of manta rays, hundreds of yellow fin tuna and big schools of hammerheads and oceanic silver tip sharks, marlin and sail fish. You literally have to kick the harmless white tip reef sharks off the bottom as you explore the rocky reefs in search of other smaller critters. That is, if you can’t stop looking at all the big fish action that always seems to be non stop. Here, you often drop into a “work up”: birds, tuna, sail fish, marlin, whales and dolphins all eating a huge school of baitfish.

Cocos is not for the faint hearted. It’s not a dangerous or difficult place to dive by NZ standards, but you need to be a confident diver and not afraid of the “razor gang” as there are always lots of sharks around. At Cocos you definitely get your daily dose of adrenalin as you play in this Predators’ Playground.

Check out the Undersea Hunter Liveaboards of the Cocos at - www.divefishsnow.co.nz/dive/underseahunter.htm

Our tour:
On our tour we’ll spend 10 days on the amazing liveaboard “MV Undersea Explorer”, with great dive guides/team, yummy food and it’s very very comfortable. Plus, we will spend 6-8 days exploring the scenic national Parks, volcanoes and other scenic wonders of Costa Rica, which has made the country the eco capital of Central America.

Trip details:
Departure: 05 November 2005
Length of trip: 14 days for flights and the 10 day liveaboard dive trip.
Add additional 6-8 days for Costa Rica sightseeing.
Approximate Cost: For 14 days air and liveaboard tip $8750 per person
For 20 – 22 days including Costa Rica add on, $10,000 per person

We are still in the planning stages, but the boat is booked, there are only 18 spaces available and we have already tentatively sold 5 of these. If you are interested in joining this once in a lifetime dive trip, give Ron or Christine a call on (0508) 346 334 (tollfree), (09) 479 2210 or email christine.blake@divefishsnow.co.nz .

We have a video on our last trip which will give you a good idea of the action you’ll be in for. We’d love to have you on our Pelagic Predators Tour.

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Regards - "THE DIVE TEAM" - Dive Fish Snow Travel
Auckland PHONE: (09) 479 2210 - TOLL FREE: 0508 348 334
EMAIL: divetravel@divefishsnow.co.nz

©Dive Fish SNow Travel 2004 www.divefishsnow.co.nz - all rights reserved