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The warm sunny summer days are but a distant memory as winter starts to settle in. This is the time of year to start thinking about the warm turquoise waters of the tropical South Pacific, where manta rays, humpback whales, shark action, school of big fish and some awesome wreck dives are all waiting for you. The good news is it’s never been cheaper to get there. In the 18 years Dive Fish Snow Travel has been sending divers to the tropics, we have never had so many deals on airfares. Right now you can fly to most of the South Pacific from $420 - $495 per person. Combine this with a very strong NZ dollar, some fantastic deals we have negotiated with the dive resorts, and it all adds up to some awesome value dive holidays to take advantage of all these specials. All you have to do is give the Experts a call. Auckland PHONE: 479 2210 - TOLL FREE: 0508 348 334 So this winter you can either stay cold, or act now! So just sit back and relax - we hope you enjoy our new look newsletter. We welcome your comments.
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| WIN A $1000 TRAVEL VOUCHER - it's So Easy to Enter..... Go to www.divefishsnow.co.nz/1000travel.htm - Complete your details and your favourite travel buddy’s details in the online form. To be eligible for the NZ$1000 Travel Voucher Prize (NZ$500 each) - we must have both names before 31 JULY 2004. Get Your Dive Travel Buddy's permission FIRST before you fill in their details. Dive Fish Snow Travel Ltd will not be held responsible for any unsolicited Buddy Names. The winning "buddys" will be contacted Thursday 5 August! The Travel Voucher is valid for use on any Dive Fish Sow Travel product until 30 April 05. |
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| This is the most commonly asked question. The answer depends on the time of year you want to travel, your budget and what you’re looking for in a dive holiday, ie full on dive experience or family holiday with some dives. There is great diving to be had in PNG, Vanuatu, Solomons, Fiji, Tonga, Rarotonga, Niue, Great Barrier Reef, Indonesia, Maldives, Philippines, South America and Micronesia. Been there, dived that. Ask us for more information on what suits you. VERY IMPORTANT |
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The little island of Niue was just about blown off the map early this year by Cyclone Heta. Ian and Annie from Niue Dive just about lost everything they owned as their home and dive operation were swept from the 50 metre high cliff into the sea. For those of you who have dived Niue you would find it hard to believe that seas could get that big. The Niue Hotel was demolished and 2 of Namakulu Motel’s units were also destroyed. But that’s all behind them now. The rebuilding of homes, lives and businesses is all but done, the lush tropical jungle and the stunning topograghy of this beautiful island remain unchanged and few signs of the January devastation remain. The good news: Niue’s main dive attractions are still there: amazing viz 60 –70 metres, caves and canyon dives, dolphins. Plus, the humpback whales are due to arrive in Niuean waters for calving in the next few weeks. They’ll stay and play there til early – mid October. If you want to swim with humpback whales, Niue
is the place to go, and this winter is the time. |
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Port Vila Most Saturday to Sunday day trips ex Auckland start from approximately
$1,100 for air, basic accommodation (upgrades
available), insurance and 6 dives. |
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Santo Most Saturday to Sunday trips start ex Auckland from approximately $1,900. NB: Discount flights are limited. The sooner you
book the cheaper it is. |
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| It’s close and affordable. Most Saturday to Sunday trips ex Auckland cost from approximately
$2300 for air, accommodation, insurance
and 12 dives. |
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The travel warnings were lifted in February, Solomon Airlines will soon be flying directly into Auckland and we have a special introductory airfare, along with some dive operators specials.
What makes the Solomons so popular with divers is it’s diversity. Big wall and drift dives, loads of large pelagic including the razor gang (sharks), a kaleidoscope of colourful fish, the soft coral and fans forming some of the most pristine reefs in the world. Now, if that’s not enough to tempt you, add in some big wrecks like the 550” (170 mtr) “Toa Maru” and the USS Destroyer “Aaron Ward” which sank with all guns blazing. Both wrecks are fully intact. Plus there is the biggest 4 engined float plane dive I’ve ever dived, submarines, freighters, submarine tenders…. All these wrecks are now artificial reefs and home for millions of colourful fish and corals. Add in the natural beauty of high mountainous islands with picture postcard beaches fringed with cobalt blue lagoons, a lovely 28-30° heat, loads of blue sky days, peace and tranquility with no crowds or rush, and it’s a natural paradise. Having said that, don’t go to the Solomons if you’re
looking for 4 star accommodation with a bar on the beach, tennis
courts and golf courses, because you wont find any. But if you are
looking for amazing diving and basic, comfortable accommodation
and good service, Solomon Islands is the place for you this
winter. |
Prior
to the ethnic tension in 2001, the Solomon Islands were our
biggest and best dive destination, with
hundreds of NZ divers visiting there each year. It was the highest
repeat location as dives went back there to dive their favourite
spots, and explore some new and exciting dive sites.| Tulagi |
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| Uepi
Island OK, so that’s more than 2 words. But we
do highly recommend Uepi Island Dive Resort. It’s worth a
3-7 day visit with a 6 – 10 dive package. |
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| Gizo Gizo and Uepi are easy to combine. But if you want full
on wreck diving, do 3-4 days at both Tulagi and Gizo. |
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| MV Bilikiki
Liveaboard dive cruise For many clients booked on these charters, this is the 3rd or 4th time they have done this trip. After announcing the charters last Sept, the first one was full within 3 days. So we arranged a 2nd charter and that was full 4 days later. Such is the great reputation of the diving, the liveaboard experience and the cruise. What more can I say? The amount of repeat clients says it all. Don’t miss out. There’s only 6 places left at a cost of $4255 ex Auckland, all inclusive of air, accommodation, meals and insurance, plus up to 26 awesome dives. Contact Christine for details: christine.blake@divefishsnow.co.nz |
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| Win a trip to the Solomon Islands. With Solomon Airlines starting to fly back into Auckland, the Tourist Office, Airline and Dive Fish Snow Travel are looking at doing a presentation in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch, between 9-13 August. This will be a chance for you to meet some of the dive operators, resort owners, airline and tourist office staff, plus Ron Blake, director of Dive Fish Snow Travel. They also plan to bring 10 Solomon Island pan pipe dancers down to entertain us and we will be providing free drinks and nibbles. If we get a good response from you, our valued clients, and can make the trip here worthwhile for the Solomon operators, Dive Fish Snow Travel will arrange a door prize of a trip for 2 divers to the Solomon Islands. Let me know as soon as possible if you, your dive club or your dive buddies are interested in attending a presentation in your town so we can plan the meetings and arrange venues. It should be fun. Contact Ron for details: ron@divefishsnow.co.nz or call on DDI (09) 918 5519. |
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Christine and I have had the privilege of diving some truly world class dive locations over the years, such as PNG, the outer islands and reefs of Fiji, Philippines, Maldives, Solomons and Micronesia. But there are three locations in the World that truly stand out as the best of the best; the sort of dive locations that most divers mostly dream about, but do dive as a once in a lifetime holiday. Truk Lagoon, Micronesia. The fantastic exchange rate we have against the USD has reduced the cost on average from $6500 to $5200 for an all inclusive liveaboard dive trip ex Auckland. This trip runs weekly so you can go any time, or you can join one of our small groups departing 05 August. August – November is a good time to dive Truk. Galapagos Islands. If you’re into wildlife, nature and exciting diving, then consider the Galapagos. You know you’re in for a good day’s diving when you can see 100 hammerheads, 10-12 whales, 30-40 manta rays and 3-4 turtles just on 1 dive! It just doesn’t get any better than this! Most 3 week trips to the Galapagos cost around $10,000 ex NZ. Yes, that’s a lot of money, but you get 10 days of liveaboard diving, 20 wildlife tours with a naturalist, flights to/from Ecuador and Galapagos, approximately 7 days sightseeing, tours and accommodation in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. If this of interest to you, give Christine or Ron a call. We have taken 2 groups there in the past, but it’s easy to get there if you want to travel by yourself. Predators and Pelagics, Cocos
Islands. 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: Trip details: 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. ©Dive Fish SNow Travel 2004 www.divefishsnow.co.nz - all rights reserved |
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