Earth Day celebration - sorta

This week is the 2nd week in the mid-semester break. We spend the whole of last week marking students mid-term test. Most of the tutors who were marking were complaining that the University cut the pay they gave us for marking; how bad students answers were etc. However, it was extra cash, and we NEVER turn down some decent money for decent work.

Today, we finished some marking for our labs, and I had done some analysis for my data. So we decided to go for a shore dive at our local spot - Enclosure Bay. It's free, it's there, and the "vacation people" are back home and the bay is not so crowded. The high tide was at 12.35pm, so we geared up, and was at the Bay at around 12.45pm. Maybe it was because we were a bit late, and the tide was already starting to go back out, or maybe it was the amount of rain we got the last couple of days... the visibility wasn't that great. However, we got about 45mins of bottom time, saw a couple of fishes, lots of triple-finned fishes, a clown nudibranch, lots of inverts etc.

And on the way back home, Hannah reminded me that we should take a picture so that we can remember our 1st dive in Enclosure Bay in year 2014. BTW, Happy Earth Day, and there is no better way to celebrate it than going diving :)

Diving Enclosure Bay

It was a great day today. No wind, and the surf is way down. We decided to go and dive the Enclosure Bay again (our local Waiheke shore dive site). We decided to pay the outside reef a visit this time. We swam to the exit of the bay ans descend down there. I ran a reel to make sure we came back to the exact place, and not get swept away by the current. It was approximately 300m to the shallow end of the outside reef. The two sites were separated by a stretch of sand bed. The moment we tied in, I spotted a nudibranch (I do not know too much about the species of nudibranch), Hannah spotted a seahorse! This is the first seahorse we see in the wild, and we were REALLY excited! The reef was full of life - fishes (snapper, wrasses, triplefins, and others) sea urchins, starfish, nudibranch etc. The deeper end of the reef will probably slope down to about 12m (that's what we heard from the locals). We will try to verify that the next time. Great to have such a wonderful site just minutes away from our place. After the dive, there are still time to be back and enjoy a glass of Gin and Tonic in the sun.

Depth : deepest at 7m
Time : 40 mins
Vis : Approximately 4m

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 10

Back on Waiheke. We went to Oneroa town to have our breakfast. It was disappointing because the cafe we went to used to serve such a huge breakfast, and now with the new management, the breakfast is SO SMALL :(

Well, after breakfast, Grace shopped for some souvenirs and we walked back home, stopped by the tide pools to explore the little critters, dig our toes in the sand, and just enjoyed the view. It was a gorgeous day, and I suggested we go swimming at Enclosure Bay! We reached Enclosure Bay, and found that although the air is warm, the water is extremely cold. Hannah decided we should go back home to put on our wetsuit! People at the beach had a very confused look when we hop into the van after dipping our feet in the sea water. Imagine their face when we were back all dressed in our wetsuit. Back at home, it was quite an event for Hannah and Grace to put on their wetsuits. Since Hannah has been diving drysuit neither wetsuit had been used in years and they were both VERY tight. It was a great snorkeling/ swimming location - we saw mini jellyfish, triplefin fishes, lots of snails and kelps. Grace had a lot of fun seeing what is under the water in the ocean, maybe we will may a scuba diver out of her someday! We returned home and ended the evening with a nice lambchop and kebab BBQ.

Food to introduce to Grace - Lamb ✓

Walking along the esplanade

Her first starfish

Lessons from the marine biologist

She liked the cushion stars best. They are cute!

Time to go swimming!

Editor's note: I thought we were posing like penguins for this photo. However, Grace did not cooperate.

Our grill is the best!

Dining with a sea view and breezes.

Diving at Enclosure Bay

Finally, the weather is good enough for us to explore the underwater scene of Enclosure Bay, Waiheke. The bay is shallow about - 3 meters, and enclosed. Thus, the condition in the bay is great! There were kelps everywhere, and lots of life - triple fins fishes (however, did not manage to get any pic of them...needs a macro lens), starfish, cushion urchin, crabs, sea cucumber etc. Rumors from the locals is that there are seahorses in the bay too, but we did not manage to see any. Outside the bay, there is another small "island" which is approximately 12 meters deep. We did not venture out of the bay today because we did not have a buoy, and there are boats around. We managed to take a few photos with my crappy camera, and after spending an hour poking around the cervices, we called the dive because we were cold. We will be back soon to explore the deeper reefs. :) There is nothing better than just to kit up, drive 5 mins, and drop into the water. Be back home after the dive, and have a beer on the deck while waiting for the pork chop cooking in the oven :D

Vis : Good 3 - 4m
Temperature : Cold 15 deg C

Waiheke diving?

Waiheke is well-known for its vineyard, as well as long sandy beaches. After asking around, we decided there may be a possibility for shore diving here on the island too. We have the equipment, and there is water all around, why is there no diving? We are not looking for super deep 40m dives, just looking to get wet, and keep our skills up-to-date.

Today, we drove around the island and look for potential sites. One of the most promising location is called Enclosure Bay. Above water, it looks great! We are able to drive up to the beach, there is a table for gearing up, and it is not crowded...We will come back here again with our snorkelling gear some other day when the weather is better to take a closer look at the underwater conditions.

Enclosure Bay

There is hope :)...and Hannah is happy to find a swing rope at the location as well.

Hannah on the swing