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"MORE THAN JUST A DIVE SHOP" Award winning Dive Zone Whitianga

We were honored to receive both the Community Contribution Award and the People's Choice Award at the Hauraki Thames Coromandel Business Awards on October 23, 2024.A heartfelt thank you to everyone who voted for us, to our amazing crew, and congratulations to all the other category winners!The judges described Dive Zone Whitianga as "more than just a business; it is a community hub where everyone who passes through is treated like family." They noted our commitment to sponsorships, supporting sc...

3 Key Benefits of becoming a qualified PADI Freediver!

Better time under the water!"If you think freediving is just like snorkeling (but going really deep) - think again. Freediving is an entirely different way to experience the underwater world. You’ll dive deeper, stay down longer, and feel part of the ocean itself" (PADI, 2024).Better safety"Though freediving appears to be relatively simple, there is a lot to know about safety and physiology. A non-trained freediver risks ear, sinus, and lung injuries, blackouts, and could potentially drown. An...

Whitianga Oceans Festival 2023

Our Dive Zone team has held a stall at what was originally called the "Whitianga Scallop Festival" for many years now. This year it was renamed the Oceans Festival due to the Rahui in place in order to protect the scallop numbers for future generations. The festival is about celebrating all things ocean! https://oceansfestival.co.nz/The day was filled with celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, live music from New Zealand bands, award winning beverages and a tasty assortment of food on offe...

3 Reasons why you should become a PADI Qualified Scuba Diver...

The days of being taught to dive by a friend or family member are over!Diving Instructors are highly trained to teach you the skills you need to keep yourself safe while diving in any situation. Once you complete your PADI Open Water Course and are a PADI Open Water qualified diver you can rest assured that you have learnt all you need to keep yourself safe in the ocean with a world wide recognized qualification.You can now scuba dive all over the world - you can hire scuba diving equipment...

10 REASONS TO BECOME A PADI OPEN WATER DIVE INSTRUCTOR IN WHITIANGA

Awesome Facility Here at Dive Zone Whitianga we are so lucky to be situated so close to the marina, a 2-minute walk and you're on our boats ready to get in to it! Our facility has well equipped class rooms, a large retail area, and a student area where customers and students can hang out and chat with a hot drink in hand or study on the computers with our free Wifi. We also have a large outdoor area for washing gear, secure gear storage, a wide range of well-maintained hire equipment, ...

Surf Ears- Benefits for divers and all in and out of the water

Quite different to Swimmer’s Ear (which is generally caused by warmer waters & foreign body entering the ear drum causing bacteria build up), Surfer’s Ear involves the growth of bone (exostosis) in the ear canal caused by exposure to cold water and/or wind. This leads to a narrowing of the ear canal, making it more likely that the water will get trapped and leave you at a higher risk of ear infection. Some divers are more susceptible to Surfer’s Ear than others, so there is no specifie...

Mercury Bay, Whitianga- History.

Crowned as New Zealand’s best beach destination, Whitianga, on the Coromandel Peninsula.The beautiful Mercury Bay was named by British explorer Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery to mark the place where his expedition observed the transit of the planet Mercury in 1769.Whanganui A Hei (Cathedral Cove) and its Marine Reserve is part of the area first claimed by Hei, a tohunga (priest) on Te Arawa waka at the time of the Polynesian migration to New Zealand, around 1350 AD...

Sustainability

Dive Zone Whitianga teaches people how to dive and takes certified divers out exploring our beautiful underwater world. We aim to advocate to our customers and students how to care for our oceans and the wildlife within it.When diving if we see rubbish we collect and dispose of it, and we encourage divers to consider what they take from the ocean. It is important to us to teach fellow divers the importance of leaving a larger ocean breeding stock for future generations.We incorporate reduced cra...

PADI Dive Course Prep!

Keen to learn how to scuba dive? Jump into an underwater journey with the experts at Dive Zone Whitianga. Get top diving tips, a PADI open-water diver qualification and the inside guide to the best dive spots the Coromandel has to offer. If you've booked a ‘learn to dive’ course or are considering one, here's a handy guide on what to expect.But first, why Dive Zone Whitianga?Get your PADI open-water qualification with one of the best dive facilities in New Zealand based in the beautiful Coro...

Best-Diving-Coromandel

Crowned as New Zealand’s best beach destination, the Coromandel Peninsula is just as beautiful underwater with fabulous dive sites and teaming marine life. With a long coast of sheltered coves and 100 offshore islands, the Coromandel is the best learn to dive region for beginners and a piscine paradise for seasoned divers. So grab your flippers, wriggle into that wetsuit and check out the five best diving spots Coromandel boasts in glorious Mercury Bay. Best offshore diving: The Mercury Island...

The WWII Wrecks of Truk (Chuuk) Lagoon

Truk Lagoon was high on my bucket list of must do dives.  I’d pondered taking a group there but was under the impression that the dives were more for those into tech diving.  So, when the opportunity presented itself for me to join an educational trip, I grabbed it and discovered there is plenty for the Recreational diver to dive on.  We spent 6 days diving all sorts of wrecks including passenger liners, cargo ships, flying boat, Bomber aircraft.  We dived these wrecks in ...

Diving in the Philippines

Diving the regions around the busy island of Cebu proved rewarding for the group of 17 of us that travelled to the Philippines for the first week in June.  Air Philippines operate a direct flight to Manila where you catch your connecting flight to Cebu.  Kasai Village Resort welcomed us after a very late arrival with comfy air conditioned mini bus transfer, beautiful tropical bananas and chilled water (flight delays and horrendous traffic in Cebu being a Friday rush hour arrival).&nbs...

Fiordland - Diving NZ's Remotest Coastline

It was 12 very excited blokes who departed Auckland to head off for one of those “bucket list” trips that we all really really want to do one day – Fiordland!  Probably the remotest, most untampered with part of New Zealand.  Extraordinary scenic beauty – both above and below the waves.  Peaceful like no other part of New Zealand.  A true step back in time We arrived in Queenstown and set off in our chartered bus to Te Anau.  A stunning drive itself with the Rema...

Tuia 250 - Celebration of Cooks Visit 1769

This year remember to mark 18 - 20 October in your calendar to acknowledge and celebrate the official Tuia 250 commemoration on the Coromandel with Te Pōwhiri, which recognises the welcome from local iwi Ngati Hei and Ngati Whanaunga to Captain Cook and his crew’s arrival 250 years ago. Te Pōwhiri is being held at Wharekaho, Simpsons Beach, in October and celebrates the movement from conflict to resolution harking back to Cook’s first voyage, where Ngati Hei welcomed the navigator and his ...

Taveuni Island, Fiji with Dive Zone Whitianga

Dive Holidays with a group of other keen divers has always proved to us to be a great holiday.  This year's trip was no exception.  Having taken a number of other trips to different parts of Fiji and found that Fiji always offers up a great holiday and dive destination, we were very excited to be venturing up to Taveuni to dive the infamous Rainbow Reef. We decided to book with Taveuni Dive Resort based on their location being a very short run out to the reef and it being a fairly new ...

Diving the Philippines

Dive holidays are always great and it was an amazing opportunity that presented itself – to be taken and shown some of the epic diving to be had in the Philippines!  Ian of Allways Dive Expeditions, Australia invited us to join this trip with a number of dive shop owners from throughout NZ. Darrell couldnt make it so someone had to go - me. Heading off early May, just as things were cooling down back here in NZ, we flew direct from Auckland into 30 odd degree, sun...

Summer Is Coming!!!

And it is that time of year to get in nice and early and arrange for your yearly servicing of any equipment. If left until summer time it’s likely to experience delays due to increased demand in the service department. So get into it now! Your BCD’s & regulators are equipped with numerous parts that will deteriorate over a period of time, regardless of whether they've been used or not.  So, keeping them in good working condition is a huge important part about your safety when diving. BC...

Pest Free Great Mercury Island

I was lucky enough to be invited to join the Moehau Environment Group (a long established group who work with predator control in the northern Coromandel Peninsula) on one of their walks across part of Great Mercury Island along with Pete Corson of Department of Conservation and Andy Hopping – the resident Ranger on the island.  The purpose of the walk was to see and talk about the effects since the pests were eradicated on the island in 2014 – and enjoy the absolutely stunning scenery ...