-
OK, OK, so despite our best intentions a few months have gone by again without any updates. Whatever!
Our big news for the season is that we're selling up at the end of the summer. We've had the business for 10 years and although we've loved it, we feel it really is time to move on in order to have a bit more of a life and to be able to enjoy the summers (while we still can!). We're staying in Te Anau and both have work lined up that should be slightly less stressful, with a lot shorter hours - we'll even get days off, imagine that.
It's been a truly amazing summer down here, despite what's been going on around the rest of the country. Basically since Christmas we've had a long stretch of fine settled weather. The downside of that was some algae in the water due to the lighter, warmer conditions on the surface of the fiord (no rain means no freshwater layer on the surface), but a good dollop of rain soon sorted that out and the viz is way back up again around 15-20m which is just the way we like it.
Water temp last week was 17 Celcius, but back down to a more normal 14-15 degrees now; no it's not tropical but not too bad in the right gear.
We've had some great underwater seal and dolphin encounters recently and have been seeing spiny sea-dragons regularly at a new site The Triangle (another one of our 'first' dive sites). We knew they were there at around 30m but they've moved up shallower and we've seen them most dives this year at 15m or so, as well as at their regular haunt, Bridget Point.
One unusual occurance last month was being circled by about 30 king fish - that was a first for us and pretty cool.
Well, all the best for 2007 and please feel free to keep in touch with your recent diving adventures.
Happy bubbles, from
Sarah, Dave and Crew
- Friday, March 16, 2007 at 07:18:14 (PDT)
GREETINGS ONCE AGAIN FROM THE TAWAKI TEAM!
As another year rolls by we are amazed to find ourselves looking towards our 10th summer of guiding divers in Milford Sound with enthusiasm.
As usual, October has seen a mixed bag of weather by we've struck lucky as most of our trips so far have been on the fine side. Milford's really turning it on at the moment with snow capped peaks (a lingering remnant from winter) supplying the perfect backdrop to our stunning scenery.
The wildlife, both above and below the waterline, is putting on a good show too. We've been seeing lots of Fiordland Crested Penguins ('tawaki' in Maori), seals and even pods of Bottlenose Dolphin from time to time.
Today's divers saw the first spiny spotted dog-shark of the season (this is normally a deep-water species), a sea-horse (not that common here), a goatfish (a North Island fish!) and four Spiny Sea-Dragons (yes, FOUR!!). This is one of the very few places in the world that these deep water species can be seen at diveable depths as they usually live at about 200m in the open ocean.
Steve has joined us from a busy dive centre in Oxford, UK. He brings plenty of temperature water diving experience as well as diving in many other parts of the world. This experience and his sense of fun will be a great addition to the Tawaki Team.
So, if you're thinking of heading down this way, let us know - email or ring well in advance as we do get quite booked up - and we'll get you diving in one of the world's most spectacular spots.
See you soon!
Cheers -
Sarah and Dave
- Thursday, October 26, 2006 at 02:29:17 (PDT)
OK, OK, so it's been a while since we posted an update, but we'll give you a brief run-down on what's been happening for the last few months in Milford Sound.
We've been seeing a young sea-dragon who's decided to live at only 6m deep. These normally deep-water critters are generally found at 200m below the surface, however they live happily (we hope!) in the fiords at around 15m; we hope this juvenile will find it's way a little deeper as it's unlikely so survive so shallow.
Jamie, one of our guides, saw a black coral tree spawning earlier in the summer - a very rare sight indeed as it all happens very quickly and not usually just as we're passing by.
During December the water temperature soared to 17 Celcius the highest anyone can remember for December, but now it's settled back down to a more 'normal' 15 C. It can often get up to 16 or 17 during February, but 14 is more the norm for December; fortunately none of the marine life seemed so suffer for it's warm water encounter.
We were luckily enough to have Paddy Ryan diving with us for 3 days before Christmas - he's the photographer who took all the pics for our 'bible' Fiordland Underwater. He was great fun and a good time was had by all.
Unusual sightings this season so far have been Goat Fish and Gurnards, which are normally considered to be North Island species. There have also been plenty of dolphin around and lots of underwater seal encounters which are always a buzz.
Give us a call if you'd like to join us in Milford for the day - either diving, snorkelling or simply cruising, we've got something for everyone and we'd love to hear from you.
Cheers and happy diving -
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki Team
- Friday, January 13, 2006 at 18:24:16 (PST)
G'day - another summer season rolls around and we've had pretty mixed weather already, although that's quite normal for October down here. First trip was cancelled due to stormy weather, second trip we drove over the mountains through heavy snowfall but then Milford really turned it on for us and we saw: spiny sea-dragons (3!), spiny spotted dogsharks, dolphins right around the divers, seals, and tawakis (our very funky and rare, Fiordland crested penguins)! This of course all amongst our usual highlights of black corals, nudibranchs, heaps of fish, anemones, etc, etc.
The last two trips this week have had clear blue skies and much warmer temperatures; long may it last. The temperature of the seawater has even increased a little today, up to 14 Celius -it's quite early for that here, but who's complaining.
We've employed a whole team of new staff this year and upped the numbers so we're much more able to run PADI dive courses on demand. Jamie's arrived already - a 6'7'' Northland boy - you can't miss him! Evan and Emily are on their way down from Auckland, having come over from the States. They are both very experienced instructors with heaps of cold water diving/guiding behind them, don't think Fiordland will hold too many surprises for them weather-wise but expect they'll be blown away by the diving, marine life and viz. Watch this space.
Please don't hesitate to contact us (details on every page of the website) if you have any questions and especially if you're heading down this way.
Take care and happy diving from the Tawaki Team,
Sarah, Dave and Jamie
- Monday, October 10, 2005 at 18:42:12 (PDT)
Hi all,
Summer's here and we've been back into the groove for over a month now - hard to believe, and it's been a great October too! Fine, warm weather for the time of year, plus several humpback whales put on an awesome display in the fiord for 3 days - a special treat for locals and visitors alike.
Our friendly dog-sharks have been making their presence felt, with sightings most days; same with the deepwater spiny sea-dragons that live at much shallower depths here in Milford Sound (around 15-20m).
We've taken quite a few non-divers out snorkelling in Milford recently and they've been having a ball too.
Fiordland Crested Penguins (or, in Maori, "Tawaki") have been spotted regularly around the rocky shoreline and we've already had quite a few underwater dolphin and seal encounters - way more than normal.
So, it's all going on down in Milford Sound - come and join us - hope to see you soon!
We've got 2 very experienced instructor/guides working for us this summer, welcome to Richard and Steffi, a great addition to the Tawaki Team.
Hope to hear from you or see you down this way over the summer.
Happy diving!
Sarah, Dave and the Crew
- Thursday, November 04, 2004 at 17:59:31 (PST)
Dear Divers and Non-divers
Winter is upon us and the Tawaki Team have gratefully slipped into slow-mode, which means we're not running our Milford Sound day trips now until 1st October 2004, when season #8 will swing into action.
The 03/04 season was another goodie, only really hampered by the weather which could have been described as a bit wet and blowy at times, but that is after all one of the things that makes Fiordland a totally unique dive environment. Nigel and James served us proud throughout the summer and we thank them for their efforts (and wish them well for the future of course).
The end of season dive-fest, as suggested by the boys, was a great success and even our resident land-lubber, Sarah, (stuck in the office/shop during summer) got into the water and dived hard (with a little assistance from a demo drysuit - thanks Dolphin!). The highlight for the die-hard divers was a dive on 'The Brig' (something of a legend in this part of the world); a spike of rock that rises off the 40m bottom, at the edge of the continental drop, which can be seen from the mouth of the fiord on a good day. With the 30m viz we've been having in the fiord since January, it was certainly an awesome experience.
Our other main event at the end of the season was the filming of spiny sea-dragons for a new TV series called Ocean Zoo, in which a team from Kelly Tarltons studied and collected a couple of 'dragons' for display. Incidentally, this was a process we only agreed to be involved in after checking out their facilities and being happy with their ethics and the care they put into the animals' welfare both during and after collection. This is almost certainly the first time the spiny sea-dragon has ever been filmed as they are actually a very deep water species and Fiordland may well be the only place in the world where they can be seen at diving depths. A sea-dragon expert who came over from an aquarium in Melbourne was quite impressed by the size and colour of 'our' sea-dragons, which pleased us enormously!So, if you're in NZ, check out the new series to be shown in July.
Have a great winter (or summer for you lucky buggers up north!). Dive lots, dive safe, and we look forward to hearing from you or, better still, to seeing you SOON.
Cheers!
Sarah, Dave and Crew
- Wednesday, June 16, 2004 at 20:17:27 (PDT)
Hi All
As usual time has passed too quickly and this news page hasn't been updated for a while, but better late than never eh? We hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year's celebrations where-ever you were.
On the diving front, 2004 has ushered in a gradual rise in water temperature at Milford Sound; it's now up to a heady 18 Celcius. Although it's been a slow increase it's meant that we've been seeing spiny spotted dog-sharks most days but the deep water corals won't be particularly happy as 16C is about the maximum temperature they prefer. We've also had some excellent viz days with clarity in the seawater of up to 20m on and off; not unusual for February but we don't normally get that during December (no complaints though!).
A couple of spiny sea-dragons have moved onto Bridgit Point which is also a great low-tide, inner-fiord dive; good for corals and some huge blue cod ("Viva la Marine Reserve!"). There's a huge black coral tree in particular that clearly demonstrates the excellent symbiosis it shares with our 'lanky' starfish, the snake star. While most of the black coral colony has died off (but still looks amazing as it's now covered in daisy anemones) there is just one 'branch' that is white and healthy as it's tended by a snake star - nature at work!
Incidentally, all the black corals in Milford have just spawned at the last full moon - our truly awesome 4.5m 'tree' at The Triangle was as involved as ever and put on a great display.
Other unusual sightings this summer have been a couple of stargazers, a ling, rays and puffer fish.
So, come on in the water's fine and the marine life's not to be missed either.
All the best for a safe summer of warm diving (or for a safe winter at work for all you northern hemisphere types!) and we hope to see you down this way soon.
Cheers!
Sarah
- Sunday, February 08, 2004 at 15:35:45 (PST)
Hello and welcome back to Milford Sound, Fiordland!
The new summer season has started off with a bang (literally); we've been having a series of small earthquakes and, due to the warm spring weather, lots of avalanches on the Milford Road too; it's all been happening down here!
Hopefully things have now settled down and the road to Milford is open once again, so it's dive, dive, dive (just the way we like it). We're currently enjoying a settled warm, sunny spell and, as we're not expecting either an El Nino or a La Nina spring/summer this time around, it's fingers crossed for a quiet season weather-wise (well, we can hope).
The news from Milford is good viz (10-12m) and decent temperatures for the time of year (about 13C) which should only increase as we move into the warmer summer months. The dog-sharks have already put in a couple of appearances and we've seen a good sized octopus on several dives. Our spiny sea-dragon friends haven't deserted us either and can be reliably seen on certain dive sites, so we look forward to showing people this very rare critter, along with the black and red corals that Fiordland is famous for.
We've got two new instructor/guides, Nigel and James, who'll be running trips and teaching dive courses, along with Dave the old timer. Both are from the south of the South Island here and well used to our climatic idiosyncracies.
Much of the winter was spent developing a new brochure (thanks Electric Hedgehog) with more information and photos to give people a better idea of what they might see down in Milford Sound, and to use as a keepsake in their logbook afterwards.
We've also expanded our range of 'Aqualung' dive gear for the summer, with a wider range of masks in stock for those travelling divers who may decide to invest in their own mask, plus a new range of T-shirts including some styley fitted T's for the girls. Our Tawaki mask strap covers are proving as popular as ever - they make a great, inexpensive memento of a special day's diving and are easy to cart around.
Also included in this expansion is the new Aqualung swim and snorkel range, which has already paid dividends with the new Fiordland Underwater Hockey club just starting up. We're pleased to have supplied most of their gear and are hoping to remain involved at practice sessions throughout the year (we must get Dave some smaller swim fins though; at 6'3" he just about spans the whole pool with his Idea 3 fins on!!).
Finally, we're hoping to attract more people here to learn to dive or further their diving education and experience through the range of PADI courses we offer. Te Anau's a great location for a short summer break, to kick back and relax whilst learning a new skill which will set you up for a lifetime's of diving adventures.
That's about all for now, watch this space for regular (if not frequent!) updates on what's going on down this way. Don't forget to keep in touch if you're a 'Tawaki Diver' from way back - we're always pleased to hear from you.
Take care and all the best for warm waters and clear seas. Cheers from -
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki Team
- Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 16:49:49 (PST)
Hello, hello.
June is upon us and the team here at Tawaki Dive have slipped into winter mode. That means although we aren't taking day trips, we're still involved in maritime and first-aid training, and of course our shop is still open for the local die-hards who generally dive right through the cooler months.
Looking back, the 2002/03 season was another goodie, with our new boat, "Sea Dragon", proving herself a excellent addition to the team; allowing us to take along an extra diver each day, plus a snorkeller or 'non water-baby' to enjoy THE small boat Milford experience.
Our guides, Tim and Alex, have moved on now but we're very grateful for their fantastic contribution this year - they worked really hard and made the season great fun too. You may find them diving somewhere around the world on their travels.
Underwater, we've added "Hollywood" to our list of dive sites - it's a beautiful, pure wall dive with black and red coral aplenty.
One blue shark was spotted this year (more were seen from the boat) and the dog shark gang were regular visitors as usual, checking us out most days (the max we saw in one group was twelve!). Alex spotted a puffer-fish; a first for us in Milford, and Dave saw his first live crab here (well, he was excited anyway....).
OK, that's about it for now. We hope to see you all in the new season, whether you're learning to dive, joining one of our day trips or just calling back through to say Hi - we look forward to it.
Clear seas and good dives -
Sarah and Dave
- Saturday, June 07, 2003 at 17:29:44 (PDT)
Hello again and welcome to our "Irregular Update Page".
Now that the water's come up to 15C it's become rather fashionable amongst our groups to dive without gloves - "SHOCK"! We've just come through a very dry spell which was great for soaking up the sun tho' sadly not so good for the corals; but having just had a wee bit of rain there's now a splendid 3-4 metre freshwater layer on the surface, creating the uniquely Fiordland, clear, green environment that the corals love.
So, 15C with 10-15m viz as we speak.
On a different note, this year's instructor/guides, Alex and Tim, are settling in well. Alex spotted a puffer fish the other day, the first we've ever seen here (in over 8 years!) and although Tim is trying to rename Mitre Peak, we don't believe Anderson Peak has quite the same ring to it.
A new dive site has recently been added to our list, though it's more of a hardcore dive. "Hollywood" (full of stars and urchins) is a beautiful Fiordland wall with black coral, red coral and 90m drop-offs along its length. On entry to the site we follow a spur of rock down to 18m and then cruise along the wall - excellent.
If you've dived with us in the past, "Greetings from the Team"; if you're surfing through the site or checking it out with a view to 'getting down in Milford Sound' then we hope to see you soon for the complete Milford experience.
Take care and good diving adventures all -
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki team
- Friday, January 24, 2003 at 18:34:12 (PST)
Hello and welcome to the first update of this, our sixth season (2002-2003).
Once again we've been busy during winter making improvements to the business. First, and most exciting, is the arrival of our new boat, "Sea Dragon". She's been purpose built to provide greater comfort and protection for our divers and also allows us to take a couple of non-diving passengers on our Milford day trips. With a 4-5 hour cruise of the fiord and the possibility of snorkelling or swimming under a waterfall, it's a great way to experience Milford Sound.
We've also added a wee retail area to the Shed and will be extending our stock lines for visitors, divers, snorkellers and swimmers.
The other main development is a complete revamp of our website which hopefully you're enjoying cruising around right now. Please bear with us if you've experienced any difficulties, but make sure you let us know as we may not find out otherwise!
Once again, we've taken on two dive instructor/guides this season. Tim and Alex will be on hand to run Milford dive trips and assist with training back at base here in Te Anau. The full range of PADI courses are available, along with First Aid and Maritime Training - check out the 'Training' web pages for more info.
As usual our four legged fiends, Scooba and Toby, will be here to meet and greet you, and much less interesting, Sarah should be knocking around the place somewhere too.
As we speak, the sun is shining, the visibility is 15m and the Milford diving scene is cool - the spiny sea-dragons are in their usual possy's and the dog shark gang are hanging out.
So come on and get down in Milford Sound - hope to see you soon!
Cheers,
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki team
- Wednesday, October 16, 2002 at 22:54:36 (PDT)
Gidday!
As the first winter snowflakes fall, it seems a good time to reflect on our fifth and most successful season to date. With the expansion of the business, we've increased the amount of diver training we can do and next year we'll be teaching our full range of PADI courses, from Open Water to Rescue.
We now offer a one-stop-shop of maritime training for commercial vessels under 6m; with Master of a Small Commercial Dive Boat, Master of a Small Commercial Boat, VHF training and examination, and surveying of small commercial boats, available. It's all happening and runs smoothly alongside our regular day trips to Milford Sound.
The season certainly saw it's share of highlights: blue sharks, dolphins, NZ fur seals, kingfish and even 3 different species of whale. On the smaller side, we had more of the big schools of bait fish and a couple of new dive sites where we regularly see spiny sea dragons.
Having two extra guide/instructors this year worked very well, with Andy and Karen being excellent additions to our team. We wish them all the best for the future and hope to see them again next summer. Also, we were delighted to see Ross, our instructor from last year, who came down to dive with us during a break from his great Aussie adventure - he seems to be having an awesome time working on a liveaboard dive boat and playing hard while ashore in Airlie Beach (poor thing).
Next season we'll have a new purpose-built boat (a Stabicraft again) with greater weather protection for divers, space for a couple of extra passengers (one diver, one non-diver) and a 4-stroke engine to further enhance our commitment to the environment.
Talking of which, our stoat trapping programme has gone well and we hope to expand it with the guidance of our friends at the Dept of Conservation and help from other local operators. The aim is to really knock back these terrible predators in the Milford area, to give our unique native bird life a helping hand.
Well, that's about it for now. Hope to see you down this way next summer - after all ..... MILFORD ROCKS!
Safe diving -
Sarah and Dave
- Monday, June 03, 2002 at 21:42:00 (PDT)
Well, hello again.
Just for a change we thought we should pass on comments from one of our visiting divers, and no sooner had we had the idea when this email arrived from Lior:
"As I promised, I'm writing back after getting home.
All counted and done with, my day in Milford Sound with you (in, as opposed to on) was one of my best experiences in NZ, perhaps the single most enjoyable day, for the company no less than the diving. I ended up diving quite a lot around the country (finishing with five days in my last week in the North Island), and Milford remains at the top."
It's always great to hear from people who've been diving with us, either about their day in Fiordland or other diving adventures - so keep in touch you lot!
We've seen a few of the more unusual visitors to the fiord recently, including an eagle ray and an electric ray (best not to touch these!). The viz is up there at around 20m and the water temperature has been up to 18C on and off for several weeks now - we just hope this won't adversely affect the corals as one of the reasons they grow so well here is due to the narrow temperature band that is the norm.
We've been running PADI dive courses all summer from Open Water through to Rescue; course sizes from 1-4 students, so nice personal groups and good fun.
Hope to see you down this way soon. Safe diving -
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki team
- Wednesday, March 06, 2002 at 16:45:00 (PST)
We saw our first blue shark of the season yesterday!
We knew they were around coz we've been seeing them from the boat, but just got our first underwater sighting for this summer. Yes, this means the water's about as warm as it gets here at 16C and the diving's the biz.
Our two newest sites are proving popular: Supermarket is full of fish and is also a good spot for spiny seadragons; while Purple Haze has stunning walls/drop-offs, brachiopods, seadragons, carpet sharks, crays and lots of black coral.
Earlier this week we also saw an eagle ray (not common in the fiords) hanging out in about 2m of water - at around one and a half metres across it made a fabulous sight.
Our new guides are a good crew and now run trips without us, meaning that we can operate every day and allowing us to run dive courses all season. Andy comes to us from a marine science training background at Tauranga Polytech and Karen has been dive guiding in Australia and travelling the world for several years, bringing the staff together in a well rounded way.
Some of our local "Tawaki Divers" were out diving last week and spotted an unusual fish which to date remains unidentified. It was around 20cm long, fat/cylindrical, silvery/white with big black eyes and multi-coloured spines along its back (any ideas?).
That's all for now, hope life is treating you well and you're getting some good diving - drop us a line and tell us about it.
Cheers!
Sarah, Dave and the Tawaki team
- Thursday, January 31, 2002 at 14:37:51 (PST)
GUESS WHAT WE SAW LAST WEEK??!!!!!
Just as we hit the water on 17 October, we heard on the radio that there was a whale in the fiord, so with great haste we shot off and had an awesome encounter with a pilot whale. This was a very special moment for us and just goes to show that it can all happen in Milford Sound.
Later in the day we were diving in 15m visibility at our newest dive site "Purple Haze" with a 'gang' of dog sharks - we see them most days at the moment.
Season #5 is swinging into action, the winter having been spent making ongoing improvements to expand our operation at Tawaki Dive. We are hoping to have two instructors on board this year, which will allow us to continue our daily trips to Milford Sound and in addition be able to run dive courses throughout the summer. To this end we have also bought a second van and nearly doubled our wetsuit range; so it is with great optimism that we move into what we hope will be a busy season.
We look forward to seeing old friends and new over the next few months and hope you'll allow us to show you the very special diving in Milford Sound.
Until then, enjoy your diving where-ever it may be and take care.
Cheers!
Sarah, Dave and the gang
- Wednesday, October 24, 2001 at 14:34:24 (PDT)
Well, we have to agree with a friend who wrote recently to say that he's thinking of contacting the Consumer Affairs Dept, as calling this a 'news' page is pushing it. Apologies to all for the lack of recent info and thanks to Mark for spurring us into action (if only thro fear of litigation). So, on with the 'news', such as it is.
A most unusual summer was had by all; yes, life deep down in Milford Sound tends to keep us on our toes.
First of all, the water temperature has been slow to rise, but as of mid March it 'warmed' up to the dizzying heights of 15C. Fortunately the viz has remained good during this very late temperature increase, staying around 10-15m and more.
The other side of all this is the lack of blue sharks. In previous years they've arrived in the New Year with the warmer water, but have yet to show their faces this season. This, however, has been more than compensated for by the excellent visits we've had from the old dogshark gang who join us most days, and we've also been seeing far more carpet sharks than normal. By the way, if you happen to bump into our guide, Ross, ask him about his first sighting of an electric ray .... it is true that not touching is by far the best policy, eh Ross?!
In addition to this excitement, now that we've started spotting them, we've been seeing spiny sea dragons in more and more locations around the fiord (but have decided against renaming all our dive sites - Dragon Bay One, Dragon Bay Two ....)
A new addition to the fiord is the arrival of the Milford Sound Submarine which will soon be cranking up to take non-diving folk down on an underwater adventure. What with this and the Underwater Observatory, the Milford marine environment is truly getting known as a special place; so come on, GET DOWN IN MILFORD SOUND!
Finally, please don't hesitate to get in touch, we'd love to hear from you whether you're heading down this way or not, and it's especially good to catch up with those of you who've been out with us in the past - let us know what you're up to.
In the meantime, take care, keep on diving and all the best from the team at Tawaki Dive -
Sarah, Dave and Ross
- Tuesday, March 20, 2001 at 22:53:12 (PST)
AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!! WHERE did the time go? We're well into the new season and have had a fantastic start with warm, fine days and lots of divers. Roll on summer, it can only get better.
Ross, our guide/instructor for the season has been with us for three weeks already - a very nice chappy from Canterbury who trained up at Kaikoura and is therefore experienced at diving in New Zealand waters. He seems to have the required 'Tawaki' sense of humour (I just feel sorry for the divers who have to put up with Dave and Ross for the whole day, a pair of nutters but don't say I said so - S) but his dislike of fine coffee is cause for concern.
We've got a couple of new sites to add to the selection this season. "Dragon Bay", so named because of the regular sightings of spiny sea dragons (and occasional sea-horses too), and "Stonehenge" with giant boulders lying on a sandy bottom which we can swim all around and over - a good spot for nudibranchs (we get some cool ones here) and gorgonian fans.
Dogfish are in attendance once again and putting on a good display - if you want to see a shark without scaring yourself silly, this is the one for you! Hopefully the blues will be in again as the water warms up.
We've had a few underwater seal encounters already this season, plus a visit from some bottlenose dolphins - quite unusual to see them while we're underwater, but a common sight topside. Dave was mugged by an octopus earlier this month - escaped unscathed but with renewed respect for our unpredictable locals.
That's about it for now; it looks like it's going to be a busy season so if you'd like to GET DOWN IN MILFORD SOUND with us, get in contact at least a few days before you plan to dive, just to check availability. We've got an enquiry page on this website too which may be useful for you. We're happy to answer any queries you may have about the area.
Look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you down this way soon. Happy diving from the team at Tawaki Dive -
Sarah, Dave and Ross
- Wednesday, November 22, 2000 at 14:46:36 (PST)
As autumn arrives in Milford Sound things start to stabilise in the fiord. The sun rises a little later in the day, so we no longer have to worry about the strong day breezes of the summer months, and typically the water temperature and visibility level out to an average of over 10m and 13 Celcius respectively. The weather is also more predictable, with few of Milford's stormy days to contend with.
Under this calm surface, the dogfish are back in force and keeping a close eye on us, whilst the blue sharks seem to have left for another year. We've discovered a couple of new dive sites which we're quite excited about as they add further diversity to the range we choose from, which now includes kelp covered boulder banks with their associated excitement, through to coral encrusted dropoffs - stunning.
Dave is starting to develop a relationship with some large southern bastard cod - each over 2 feet long - but we won't go into too much detail about that! The Jason mirabilis nudibranchs (the largest aeolid nudibranch in the world), a striking lavender and white species, seem to be around in abundance, however "Where have all the warty nudibranchs gone?" We've noticed a dramatic decline over the years and haven't seen one for over a year now. Can anyone shed any light on this?
So, whether it's large or small, if you enjoy diving in good viz on sunny autumn days, Milford Sound is the place to get down.
Until next time, safe diving and all the best -
Sarah and Dave
- Tuesday, March 07, 2000 at 22:00:37 (PST)
Oops! Long time, no news - sorry, we've been very busy and haven't got around to updating this page recently. There has however been plenty going on in Milford: the dogfish are back again, and blue sharks have just arrived in the fiord for the second year running - mostly seen on the surface from the boat, although a couple have been spotted during dives. They're a very beautiful shark and quite inquisitive, yet not aggressive to us at all - long may it stay that way.
On one of our safety stops recently we were joined by a New Zealand fur seal, which was chased off by a blue shark, which in turn was moved on by a couple of dolphins - one of the very few times we've seen dolphin during a dive - who says safety stops are boring?!
Our second guide this year is Barry Crowe, who has extensive diving experience and has worked for the Department of Conservation on Stewart Island as well as here in Fiordland.
As usual during the spring months, the water temperature and visibility have been fluctuating, but now seem to be settled, for a while at least, at around 14C and upwards of 10m - both should continue to gradually increase throughout summer. The weather's been mixed too, but typically after Christmas time we look forward to a few months of settled summer conditions.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions, or simply to say "Hi" - it's always good to hear of other people's experiences and especially to catch up with old friends who've been on one of our trips.
Wishing you all the best for the year 2000 - hope you had a hassle free transition into the 21st century. Until next time, cheers -
Sarah, Dave and Scooba Doo
- Monday, January 10, 2000 at 00:59:28 (PST)
Hi there and welcome to the 1999/2000 summer season! We've now moved the business into a large "shed" which is making for a much more professional operation. On one large wall in the meeting area, the local school has painted a huge mural of a cartoon-style underwater theme which is a bit of a giggle. Our new address is as per details on this website, and phone/fax/email all remain unchanged.
News in the fiord is that water temperatures are rising after a cool spring, resulting in a temporary invasion of salps (an advanced form of jellyfish). The dogfish are around at this time of year paying us the odd visit, and we had our first seal encounter of the season co-oinciding with the arrival of their summer 'gang'.
Closer to our hearts, this is the season for sightings of Tawaki (Fiordland Crested Penguin) and we look forward to their continued company well into December.
So, all the indicators are for another varied and entertaining summer in Milford. Hope you can join us down in Milford Sound
Cheers!
Sarah, Dave and ScoobaPup
- Monday, November 01, 1999 at 00:29:33 (PST)
Hi there! Sorry it's been a while since we updated our site but things have been busy, busy, busy ..... no, not with diving (we're now in the winter season and so things are quite quiet in that regard) but we've bought a large shed to move the business into.
We can still be contacted at our old address until October and of course our email address, phone and fax numbers all remain unchanged. We'll be updating our website with the new addess details before next season.
The idea is that it'll be much more staightforward to meet divers before the trip and get them all kitted up as we'll have a proper meeting area where all the gear will be on hand. Our air compressor will be on site too so that should simplify things for our dive instructors.
We ended the season by running a few courses: Open Water through to Rescue Diver and rumour has it that there's still sharks in that there fiord!
We won't be updating this news page until the start of next season now, but please feel free to contact us in the meantime, either to say "Hello" if you've dived with us in the past, or to ask questions or make a booking if you're hoping to dive with us in the future. Meanwhile, have a great summer those of you in the northern hemisphere, and happy skiing to those of you who are down south like us!
Keep on diving!
Cheers,
Sarah and Dave
- Friday, May 28, 1999 at 21:12:08 (PDT)
Hello again and a special greeting to Sarah Ball our regular reader!
The season has been a long, hot one and the temperature of the sea water remains mild at 14 degrees C. On checking log books this week we realised that the viz hasn't been below 10m since early January and has even been up to 20m - great diving conditions.
The warmer waters this summer seem to have brought in some unusual visitors to the area - small blue sharks have been seen around the fiord and have even checked out our dive group on a couple of occasions.
"Our" seal pup has now moved on, suggesting that it successfully survived it's unusual upbringing inside the fiord - we've greatly enjoyed watching its progress over the past few months.
That's all for now - don't forget that we dive throughout winter, but require a minimum of two divers to confirm a trip during these quieter months. Although the air temperature is obviously colder during winter, the viz tends to be at its best and we often have clear, sunny days with a sprinkling of snow on the peaks - it's the biz!
Bye bye, and happy diving -
Dave and Sarah
- Saturday, March 13, 1999 at 00:53:30 (PST)
Just a quick note to let you know the water temperature this week was up to 18 degrees C - the warmest we've known in 5 years of diving in Milford Sound (17C is the usual max).
This influx of relatively warm water has also brought associated warmer water marine life into the fiord which is making life even more interesting!
Viz continues to be above average for the area - up around 15m. Add this to the stunning summer weather we've had down here this season and it's proving a great time to dive.
Hope to see you soon to get on down in Milford Sound!
Cheers -
Dave and Sarah
- Friday, February 12, 1999 at 01:43:33 (PST)
Hi there, hope you all had a great Christmas and are enjoying the start of 1999.
Life is very busy here, with plenty of people wanting to experience a fiord dive in Milford Sound, but the big news is that we have now bought our own compressor. The obvious benefit of this is the flexibility and independence it gives us, with the downside being 3 hours of tank filling after a 12 hour day trip into Milford!
For the last few weeks Dave and Kurt have been watching the development of a young seal pup which they believe must have been born in Milford Sound. This is quite unusual as we normally only get young male New Zealand Fur Seals "hanging out" until they earn a place in the colony. The pup has been seen either suckling or calling for its mother on various occasions, so it's good to know that it's able to survive away from the rest of the colony (which is further up the coast).
The weather here this year has been fantastic with the occasional stormy wet and windy day to keep things green; the water temperature is around 14 degrees and the viz is back up around 10-15m.
Hope to see or hear from you soon.
Take care,
Sarah and Dave
- Monday, January 11, 1999 at 16:21:15 (PST)
Well, what can we say?? The weather's been glorious all spring with the odd 1 or 2 day glitch; the water temperature's up to 15C and the viz this week was around 20m - good stuff.
Still seeing new and unusual things underwater too - a free swimming Carpet Shark was the excitement for today, a very unusual young snake star recently, sleeping Banded Wrasse and a suckling seal pup, amongst other things.
Milford always has a few interesting things up its sleeve to throw at us in case we get blase about it (it's usually the weather, but since that's good at the moment we seem to be getting much more pleasant surprises).
We've been diving almost every day this month and things are getting quite hectic, so in case we don't get the chance nearer the time .....
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND ALL THE BEST FOR 1999. MAY YOU HAVE LOTS OF WARM DIVES WITH GREAT VIZ!
Or to put it another way, as one of our clients would say - Dive Now, Work Later.
Best wishes -
Sarah and Dave
- Friday, December 18, 1998 at 00:48:23 (PST)
Hi - back again!
We've just finished an open water dive course for 4 locals who're all now buzzing with excitement. Happily, they had their final four dives in Milford Sound with near tropical weather (unlike one of our earlier courses last spring when it hailed!) - joy!
The water temperature is rising - up to 15C yesterday - and the visibility is back up above 10m. We had an algal bloom recently when the temperature first started to increase which temporarily reduced the visibility.
The best news at the moment is that a large pod of Dusky Dolphins is paying us its annual visit - they're usually with us in Milford for around a month or so, but if the conditions remain favorable, they could well hang around a wee while longer. They're much more playful than our resident Bottlenose Dolphins and quite interested in the boats so they come closer and interact more which makes a great experience for us.
For those of you who've met her, Scooba, our "puppy" is still growing like a mad thing - still behaving like one too! For those of you who haven't been through yet, there's a treat in store .... (IF you like dogs!)
Well, better call it a day. Please feel free to contact us anytime, it's great to hear from divers who've already been out with us, and of course from anyone who's interested in coming along.
Keep on diving!
Cheers,
Sarah and Dave
- Friday, December 04, 1998 at 15:26:37 (PST)
Well, well, well - what a spring we're having - 24C most days last week and calm too!
Even the water temperature has gone up - to 14C from 13C, but the associated algal bloom was the trade-off with reduced visibility for a few days.
Another new sighting this week for Dave was a Carpet Shark, and there seems to have been more octopus around than usual.
In case you haven't already heard, we should mention that there was a Southern Right Whale giving a stunning display inside the fiord this week, but no, we didn't dive with it!
I'll keep it short and sweet for now, but will update you again soon.
Cheers,
Sarah and Dave
- Wednesday, November 18, 1998 at 22:37:22 (PST)
Hello again, long time, no news!
We've been diving away in Milford and apart from one week when everything was washed out, we've been having stunning spring weather - a very pleasant change from this time last year!
Our second dive instructor, Kurt, has arrived. He will be helping us out for the season, enabling us to run trips daily and hopefully to do more PADI dive courses.
After more than 4 years and 450 dives in Milford Sound, Dave saw something new last week, his first Ling.We haven't been able to find out a great deal about them, but we'll keep looking.
If you would like any more information about diving in Milford Sound (or Fiordland in general) please drop us a line by email, fax or whatever, we look forward to hearing from you.
Cheers!
Sarah and Dave
- Saturday, November 07, 1998 at 10:48:57 (PST)
Hi there!
One of the groups we took diving this week contained three people who had never dived in water less than 27C! We drove through a light snow flurry near the tunnel en route to Milford and watched as our divers faces grew pale. Yes, it was a chilly one but as anticipated the warmest place was five metres down in the salt water where the temperature was a balmy 13C! With lots of hot drinks and warm water poured into wetsuits, the overriding comment of the day was that the water wasn't as cold as had been expected.
The viz was OK at about 8-10m and the most unusual sighting of the day was a large Stargazer quite easily visible on a silty ledge at The Triangle.
The big surprise of last week was bumping into Alex Lusty who helped us out big time when we set up the business last year. She had been in the country for only a few hours when we accidentally met on a Christchurch street - weird. It was great to see her again and many of you who dived with us during the early part of last season will remember Alex as she also assisted us as boatperson during some particularly stormy El Nino weather!
That's about it for now.
Cheers
Sarah and Dave
- Saturday, October 03, 1998 at 13:47:46 (PDT)
Hello again!
Our PADI Project AWARE Cleanup Day went really well. We concentrated on the area around Deep Water Basin in Milford, where we launch our boat each day.
On the day we had a total of 27 people helping out - with an unusual combination of Brownies, divers, non divers and backpackers. Several local businesses lent their support in the form of food for a BBQ, tank fills, rubbish removal, photography and video, so it all went smoothly and a good time was had by all.
Most of the rubbish collected consisted of broken glass, beer cans and bottles, with a total of 240 carrier bags found too. Amongst the more unusual items found were a floodlight and roadside reflector post. By the end of the day we had collected about 50 bin bags full of rubbish which filled a small skip - not a bad effort and thanks to all who helped.
We are moving into the start of our summer season and will now confirm a trip for just one person. After a rather difficult season last year with the El Nino weather we experienced (very wet and windy), everybody in Fiordland is looking forward to a long hot dry season this year as a La Nina pattern is expected - HURRAH!
Until next time, happy diving and cheers from -
Sarah and Dave
- Thursday, September 24, 1998 at 15:43:15 (PDT)
Hi there and greetings from Fiordland.
We took a group of local "rusty" divers into Milford yesterday for a scuba tune up and, despite a bit of rain, had a successful day.
We are trying to encourage the local dive community to get into one of the world's most unique dive sites which happens to be right here on their doorstep.
On September 19th we will be taking a group of both divers and non divers through to Milford to clean up the area where we start our dive trips from. This is in assocaition with PADI Project AWARE's International Clean Up Day.
For more information or if you would like to join in, please contact us.
Until next time.
Cheers,
Sarah
- Saturday, September 05, 1998 at 21:01:20 (PDT)
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