As well as all this, we will have some ex-rental gear available to look at and purchase. Fins for $20, wetsuits from $50, BCDs from $50, Dutch Auction on a set of regs!! Limited club t-shirts for $30. Don’t miss the opportunity to get geared up for Semester 2!

When? 6pm, Wednesday 28th July
Where? Engineering Building Rm 3.401, Auckland Uni, Symonds St.

Meetings provide a great chance to meet other members, ask for advice and relax and have a beer. See you there!

NEXT WEEK’S CLUB MEETING – Deep Wreck Adventures by Dr Simon Mitchell
Dr Mitchell is a world renowned technical diver. He began diving in 1972. His diving primarily involves the use of rebreather technology to explore shipwrecks at extreme depths. Simon is an anaesthesiologist and diving physician. He has devoted much of his career to diving medicine and has treated more than 400 cases of decompression illness. He recently co-authored the second edition of “Deeper into Diving” with John Lippmann and co-authored 2 chapters on decompression illness in the most recent edition of Bennett and Elliott. He is a previous Vice President of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society (UHMS), and Chairman of the Society’s Diving Committee.

We are very privileged to have Simon talk to us. He is an entertaining and enlightening speaker. He is regularly flown to dive conferences around the world to speak to audiences who have paid a lot to be there. Next week you can hear him for free. Simon is such a great speaker that even non-divers will be entertained by what he has to say… bring your mates along. As with all our meetings, you don’t need to be a member to come along – the more the merrier!

Our first official meeting of the year will kick off with a bang. Hear all about the club, what we do, where we go, how we get there and why we’re the best club at Auckland University! Find out all about the trip to Goat Island this weekend. Meet the people you’ll be diving with all year. Drinks at Shadows after the meeting. You don’t have to be a club member to come along and enjoy the presentation so bring your mates.

We will be accepting new member sign ups at the meeting (LAST CHANCE to get the discounted $20 student membership deal – CASH ONLY).

You can also buy your tickets to our movie screening of The End of the Line.

Dr Roger Grace – photo courtesy of the Marine NZ website.

We are very fortunate to have Dr Roger Grace (a life member of AUUC) coming along to speak on the ‘Ecological and Fishery Benefits of no-take Marine Reserves’.

Dr Grace is one of New Zealand’s great underwater photographers. A well known scientist, he has published many reports on the state of our marine environment. Dr Grace often works as a photographer for the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, and has supported marine conservation in New Zealand for decades.

As if all that wasn’t enough, there is also FREE PIZZA to tempt you along (gold coin entry for non-club members).

Interested in being an AUUC committee member in 2009 but want to find out more? Send us an email and we’ll answer your questions: committee@akunidive.com

Email your apology to Kathryn at secretary@akunidive.com

Directions to meeting room Eng 3.401.

Please come and visit us at our stall near Shadows this week. We will also be manning the National Bank BBQ outside the rec centre during lunchtime on Tuesday (clubs day). Come and get a sausage, all profits go towards your dive club.

Don’t forget, Jamie Obern is talking to the club this Wednesday night from 6:00pm, Eng 3.401.

This isn’t just for experienced technical divers – the photos will be spectacular, the story an adventure tale. Novice divers, non-divers and tech heads alike will enjoy this presentation. It’s also an opportunity to mix and mingle with other club members, meet the committe and find out a bit more about what we have in store this semester.

Hope to see you there!

Hope the holidays are going well and you’re all getting a much deserved rest. Next semester has lots of good trips and talks running so check out the website regularly to keep updated with our trips and meetings. In the colder months the diving around New Zealand is great due to the improved water clarity. We have some exciting trips such as the annual Taupo trip and the White Island live aboard coming up.

Verco’s nudibranch (Tambja verconis) at the Poor Knights Islands – by Alison Perkins.

18-20 July – Cowshed Trip

The Bay of Islands is well known for its above water beauty, dolphin watching and the famous ‘Hole in the Rock’. Below the water, it is every bit as stunning. The diving has only improved with the addition of New Zealand’s newest underwater playground, the ex-HMNZS Canterbury, sunk in Deep Water Cove as an artificial reef late in 2007.

We are heading up there at the end of the university holidays.

The Cowshed is one of our most popular destinations. There’s a great atmosphere up there with plenty of awesome diving, socialising and diving banter galore. The diving is practically guaranteed with their proximity to two different coasts, so it’s the perfect destination at this time of the year.

Contact Kathryn at secretary@akunidive.com for more information.

Cameron Russo exiting Sonic Boom Cave near Bigeyes Lair in the Bay of Islands – by Alison Perkins.

23 July – Yucatan Cave Diving Talk

6:00pm Auckland University (room to be advised)

Jamie Obern, the current owner of Dive HQ Greenlane (one of New Zealand’s largest dive stores) will be delivering an exciting tale about diving in the Mexican Yucatan cave systems.

The Yucatan Peninsula is famous for its spectacular limestone formations which extend for hundreds of kilometres underground. The water clarity and the sheer beauty of these caves are breathtaking.

Cave diving in Mexico – photo courtesy of Jamie Obern.

Jamie started diving in 1988 and since then has obtained numerous qualifications including; PADI staff instructor, BSAC advanced Instructor, and cave and trimix diver. Along with this Jamie has also dived around the world in over 20 countries. The UK provided the scene for him to gain experience diving many wrecks. In 2001 this advanced diving lead him into the elite world of cave diving. He has explored these dark and intimidating underwater caverns in NZ, UK, France and Mexico. Jamie is currently training to become NZ’s first GUE (Global Underwater Explorers) Instructor. These guys are the best in the business and are internationally renowned.

The presentation will include:

• Overview of the Yucatan and why to dive there

• Gear requirements

• Training

• Photos and video footage of the cave dives

I would strongly recommend this talk, and anyone is welcome – not just divers! You don’t need to be a technical diver (or have aspirations of being one) to enjoy this!!

The talk will start at 6:30pm but we will be there from 6pm to answer any questions about the dive club.

Hope to see you there, Mike.

treasurer@akunidive.com

2 August – Taupo

It’s that time of the year again, the AUUC annual trip to Taupo is a highlight of the year. Come down for some really cheap diving and get brain-freeze with us as we do some extreme fresh water, altitude diving. Afterwards we do a drift dive down the Waikato river with the remainder of your tank to see some trout and admire the scenery. At the end of the dive there is a hot spring where we can lose the gear and enjoy a few river-chilled beers.

If you survive the party that we have that night you can join a couple of members who drive down to Ruapehu and complete an extreme sports weekend with some skiing/boarding (wetsuit optional).

Contact Ryan at prez@akunidive.com to register interest.

Ming Lam plays with a Koura (freshwater crayfish) in Lake Taupo – by Hayden Lewis.

16-18 August – White Island

The White Island live-a-board is an amazing trip which involves 3 days with John “Tuna” Baker aboard the Ma Cherie. This trip is a favourite of the clubs and offers a chance to visit an amazing dive environment off the shores of an active volcano. The clarity of the water and the abundance of fish life makes this a great trip with the chance to dive with New Zealand fur seals. The island itself is an attraction being the only regularly active volcano in New Zealand. Live-a-boards are the best way to dive and the experienced skipper and boat make this trip very enjoyable.

For more information and to register interest contact Ming at trips@akunidive.com

Elliott Jones holding a Skipjack tuna he caught on the ride back to Whakatane from White Island on Ma Cherie – by Alison Perkins.

30 & 31 August – Poor Knights Islands

We are running 2 day trips (2 dives per day) to the Poor Knights Islands on Pacific Hideaway.

The Poor Knights Islands lie 24 kilometres off the north-east coast of New Zealand and are a fully protected marine reserve. Since being lauded by the late Jacques Cousteau as one of the top 10 dive sites in the world, the Poor Knights have become New Zealand’s most well known diving location.

Flourishing in the protection of the marine reserve, are an abundance of fish. Schooling fish such as Blue maomao, Trevally, Sweep and Demoiselles are common on each dive, interspersed with giant Snapper and some unique tropical immigrants. The warm subtropical current that runs through the islands brings to the area a myriad of species that are seldom seen elsewhere in New Zealand – Spotted black grouper, Mosiac moray and Lord Howe coralfish. An extraordinary array of invertebrate life as well as anemones and sponges adorns the walls.

The Poor Knights Islands are made up of a group of volcanoes which erupted millions of years ago. Their eroded remains leave an interesting underwater geography made up of plummeting cliffs, archways, tunnels and caves.

Mixed school of Trevally and Blue maomao at the Poor Knights Islands – by Alison Perkins.

What you need to bring – Pacific Hideaway

All scuba gear including two tanks. Mark can hire you some gear if you organise it with him prior to the trip.

The cheapest option will be to bring your food for meals. You’ll need a packed lunch and snack food for the boat. Pacific Hideaway has a toaster, kettle, microwave, oven, fridge and equipped kitchen. There is a small shop/deli at the entrance to the marina that sells some food. You can get good meals for decent prices at the fishing club.

There is room for about 10 people to stay overnight on the Pacific Hideaway ($10pp/night). The other accommodation option is the Tutukaka Holiday Park.

Contact Ming at trips@akunidive.com to register interest.

Clubspace is in the main Auckland University quad, you will find it on the second floor if you go up the stairs that are in front of you as you walk down the corridor in between the bus ticket kiosk and the NZ Natural store. Once on the second floor walk towards the sky tower end of the platform and it is the door on your right.
There used to be a sign in the windows that said ‘Clubspace’ so you might be able to spot it that way if it still there… We will also try and put up some signs so look for them.

See you there!