|
|
|
Milford Sound, New Zealand ( by Urszula Brodowski)
Tawaki Dive keeps the number of people on each trip to a maximum of 4 divers, a boat person and 1 guide. This makes the entire trip personalised and comfortable. Diving in Milford is like nothing else you have experienced. Since the monestrous waterfalls go straight into the Sounds, the area has a permanent coating of fresh water. This varies in the summer months, were the waterfalls are not as prominent. The Tasman Sea fills the area, and thus as a diver you have to descend through 2 layers of water before beginning your dive in the Tasman Sea. The first layer is pure fresh water, and has a unique green/brown tinge, and does not taste too good. The second layer is an emulsion of the fresh water and the salt water, and is referred to as the Halo. Because of these two water layers, the eco system created in the Milford Sounds is unique, since the light getting through is not as intense, this attracts a lot of the marine animals who would normally only found at great depths.
Dive 1: Purple Haze After a backwards roll and buoyancy check we made our way over to the wall, where we descended to about 5 meters, where we regrouped. Going through the fresh water layer is amazing, and is simular to lake diving, and you can only just see your buddy as a green outline. You then descend through the fresh and saltwater emulsion, which is a surreal feeling, because you seem to be swimming through a turps and water mixture. Once you get through that you end up in the saltwater layer, where the temperature difference is very obvious. The visibility is upwards of 10 meters. Once down there it is like a dusk dive, and a torch is very much a necessity. Swimming along a wall that descends down to 200 meters is amazing which is why the dive begins on rocks close to shore so that everyone can master their buoyancy. Some of the things you see on a typical dive in the Milford Sounds are: Spiny Sea Dragons, Prehistoric brachiopods, sea pens, sponges and hydro-corals, zoanthids, black coral, snake stars, nudibranch's, giant crayfish, flask sponges, various starfish. The profile of the dives has to be a maximum of 18 meters for 21 minutes, because of the fact that some people need to drive through the Homer Tunnel to get back to Te Anau. When 21 minutes expires we all started ascending up to about 10 meters and then levelled off at 5 meters for a 5-minute safety stop. The safely stops is not like a normal safely stop, because you keep swimming and enjoying the scenery. After finishing our dive, we were picked up by the boat, and lay back while our gear was taken off and stored away for us. Hot soup awaited us on our return. We then were taken on a tour of the marine reserve and our informative guide told us a few things about some of the wonderful waterfalls and distinctive ecological features of the area. We were then taken on a walk to a wonderful waterfall, where some brave souls swam under it. All the while we were walking and enjoying the rain forests and waterfalls, our tanks were changed all ready for the second dive. Dive number two was about to follow at Penguin Cove.
Dive 2: Penguin Cove Once back on board we went to the new dive site, which is called Penguin Cove. In a sheltered area, we again went to the wall and descended through the fresh water and halo area, to meet on the rock at about 5 meters. This dive was so rewarding, we instantly greeted by lots of fish and some carpet sharks. On this dive the bottom was easy to see, and we followed this for a while, looking at the giant fish and crays who were keen to look at us too. We swam some more and come to a large square block, although this was a natural feature it looked like a concrete block that has been placed there by man. On this were numerous living creatures and if you sneaked up on it, you would be able to see fish going about their business totally unaware of the humans watching. There were big caves and overhands that supported abundant life. After sorting out the gear, and warming up we started out trip back to Deep Water Basin, making a few stops along to way to allow us all to enjoy the beauty of the area. Once back on terra firma, hot showers were available, and we then made our way back to Milford lodge, where we all filled in our log books and looked though books where our knowledgeable guides told us about the various animals we saw on our trip. A 3-hour surface interval is mandatory for those travelling back to Te Anau.
Urszula is a dive fanatic and runs Nautikis Divers League of New Zealand, for Dive clothing
|
||
|
|
|
|
The
trip over to Milford Sound is amazing, and you should hope for a rainy
day, as this is where Mother Nature is at her best. Great towering mountains
weep with great cascading waterfalls and the beauty is astonishing. If
you are driving to Milford Sound, stopping at a few of the lakes will
be worth the time and you should allow about 5 hours for the drive over
if you are going to appreciate the wonderful scenery. When you reach the
homer tunnel, you are at the highest point, 1000 meters, before you start
you descent into Milford Sound. The towering mountains around the Homer
Tunnel have a way of making any human feel insignificant. The wonderful
scenery continues and finally you arrive in Milford Sounds, which is built
around the reserve, so don't be expecting any major central city, let
alone cell phone coverage. If you drive to Milford yourself the following
morning you are met by the team from Tawaki dive, and we were taken to
Deep Water Basin where the 5.5 Meter Stabi Craft is launched.