Bounty Divers diving Norfolk Island again

HOME SWEET HOME

We have been back on Norfolk Island for a week now and we were back in the Bounty Divers shop a couple of days after that. And we have been back in the beautiful Norfolk Island waters again already.

We started with a shore dive from Cascade pier, which is one of the two piers that we have on Norfolk. The peirs are used to launch all boats on Norfolk, however we have found that the areas surrounding the Cascade pier are phenominal underwater and make for a very nice shore dive.

Cascade did not dissapoint as the vis was an amazing +40m. And the coral! It really is good to be home and see amazingly healthy and hearty coral that is not effected by the global bleaching that is going on. I hope that the pollution free lifestyle that we lead here on Norfolk Island will continue to allow the marine environment to thrive and that the bad habits and bad practices from the larger nations do not come to haunt us.

Then straight into the boat yesterday for some more Advanced Open Water Course training dives. First stop was "the kings chair" which was amazing as usual, for some reason this dive site has coral that seems to be even more pristine than most of the other dives sites, if that is even possible. Then the second dive was at "little organ" with the huge arch and several small caves and swim throughs, this site never fails to impress visitors and locals alike. Huge schools of drummer congregate around the entrance to the main arch. We did not see the two resident boar fish today but I am sure that we will see them next time. And the ever faithfull banded shrimp stuck there head out for yet another photo shoot of them.

Our visitors to Norfolk Island were very impressed and praised the dives as some of the best they have ever had! They even thought the water was nice and warm in comparison to Melbourne diving!

So all in all a great day diving, but for me, just great to be back in the pristine Norfolk Island waters again and good to be back at the Bounty Divers shop.

Cant wait to get in again, bring on the weekend! 

Bounty Divers in Thailand

Bounty Divers in Thailand

Recently we took a trip to Thailand and the diving "Mecca's" of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.

Luckily for Norfolk Island and Bounty Divers, like most things that have been built up to be wonderous and beyond belief, the mythical diving in the Gulf of Thailand is just that,

a MYTH!!!

Dont get me wrong, the diving in the Gulf of Thailand is quite good. BUT it does not hold a candle to the diving here on Norfolk Island.

Norfolk Island really does have dive sites that are world class. Other features such as minimal divers and maximum sites, amazing visibility and some of the most healthy coral reefs in the world, are just bonuses. And Bounty Divers is very lucky to be able to offer diving services on Norfolk.

During my time in Koh Phangan I was able to dive a site called Sail Rock. This is a very good dive site. A little crowded with at least 9 large dive boats on the site when I was there. However Sail Rock was a very good yard stick when comparing the Gulf of Thailand's "best dive site" against diving on Norfolk Island.

Whilst I was in Koh Tao, an island that is responsible for a major percentage of the worlds annual dive certifications, I was able to complete a number of very good courses. These included Technical diving, Emergency First Responder and Underwater Videography filming techniques, editing and post production. All of which will become valuable tools for Bounty Divers and the services that we are able to offer on Norfolk lsland.

Diving in Koh Tao is not as good as the diving in Koh Phangan, even though they are very close and very similar. And as I have mentioned repeatedly neither of them is anywhere near as good as Norfolk Island anyway.

So we have returned home to Norfolk Island now and even though my wife and kids are glad to be home, I am sure they are not as happy as I am at the moment, as I am really really really looking forward to getting on the Bounty Divers boat and getting in the water as soon as possible.

It has been a great axperience to travel to one of the most famous dive areas in the world, and I hope to have many more experiences like it. However it has made me realise the following things

- Bounty Divers has come a long way in the past 3 1/2 years since we took over, but we can always find ways to improve

- Bounty Divers is becoming a world class dive centre in its own right and we are definately on the right track

- Norfolk Island has some of the best diving in the world

- Norfolk Island has an almost unlimited potential for the diving industry, a potential that we havent even begun to realise yet

I am looking forward to more dive adventures around the world in the future and visiting more and more of the worlds most famous dive sites. But I love the fact that when all is said and done, when I come home to Norfolk Island, I have worldclass diving right here anyway.

Hope to see you here on Norfolk Island sometime soon and in the Bounty Divers office so that we can show you how good it really is here.