Noob from Newcastle is going on holiday :D

[PaulNewcastle]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for warm welcome. As i have already said in my intro post, i will be doing my OW dives either in Oban or North Sea. I want to get these done and dusted as i am going to Cairns and Fiji in the summer.

I will be backpacking, and don't have too much excess money, so i'm after an idea of what you would reccommend as the basic kit i should take with me.

I already have my own mask and snorkel (Northern Diver), do i need anything else?

[PaulNewcastle]

Oh and if i do need other stuff, is it worth looking at second hand gear?

[StephenT]

fiji, man i hate you already, I take back any of the good things i've said /o/. If you see Dave Lister with his cows, say hi from me.

Not sure how much you are willing to spend but these things you might consider:-

wet suit / hood / gloves (i'm guessing the water temperatures will be between 26 and 30 degrees so a shorty might be a good option, and isn't really that expensive, the booties aren't needed as you will probably be hiring full foot fins. The hood is safety equipment incase you get lost () as you lose alot of heat from your head (not essential). the gloves are just an optional extra. Another consideration is that people DO piss in wetsuits, especially hire ones :P ).

neoprene mask strap (these are alot tougher than the rubber straps and relatively inexpensive, might be an option).

light (a small inexpensive torch is never a bad idea, even in the clearest waters people seem to gain benefit from them[looking in cracks etc]).

whistle (again a safey measure, very cheap too, and not heavy).

knife sheath / knife (this is equipment you wont get from hiring, and it's inexpensive , and you'll probably be carrying one anyways, so you may as well make a sheath so that you can take it underwater with you aswell, just incase ).



[DISCLAIMER : I'm new don't take any of my suggestion with anything more than that in mind ]


Make sure you do some bungee jumping in Cairns, they look mint, from the videos my mates have showed me!!!

[PaulNewcastle]

Thanks for reply

No bungee jumping for me, i like to stay either at sea level or below

[StephenT]

Went to aquanorth today to have a chat. Have to say i'm very impressed, and will make subsequent visits :>

[triplefin]

If your backpacking you really wont want to take anything more than your fins and mask! If I was going to suggest anything else I would always say regs but I think they would be quite weighty in your pack and would get bashed around which defeats the object of having a set of regs that you know the history of.
Cairns and round there is stuffed full of diving ops and all hire gear very cheaply as its so competitive. Just a word of warning dont necessarily go with the cheapest operators although Aus has quite a good safety standards they are not the same as ours. That really applies to any where you go in the world, do not expect the standards of safety to be the same as they are here. Dont be complacent, check things out ask questions, and if you arent happy dont dive!
Sorry I dont know anything about Fiji but have a great time and try and send some reports.

[PFMac]

Hi Paul,

I wont recover some of the good advice already posted. But as already stated, Cairns is a very competitive market place, and so there are some excellent deals to be done.

I have personally used "Deep Sea Divers Den", and found them to be very good, competitively priced and fairly unbiased about the kit they hire/sell.

In terms of Fiji (a fantastic place) be a little careful about where you pitch your locations. My short stint there was nearby a mangrove swamp, and as such the viz was crap until you got out of the area.

Enjoy.

PS if your going via LA as a stop over and wish to visit Venice beach, watch yourself in the local nieghbourhoods and dont hang out there at night - even the locals stay of the streets.

[PaulNewcastle]

Thanks for the advice, mask and fins it is then

Aquanorth guys and gals are nice.

You made me poo my pants now, we are in LA for 4 days

[PFMac]

No need to overly worry about LA - Like anywhere, you'll be fine if you're sensible. I accidently wandered into a residential area (more of a "Hood" really, some of the looks I was getting from the locals were straight out of an Enio Morricone film ).

On the flip side you can walk or rollerblade along the beach front for miles Santa Monica Boulevard etc...

I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[Allan Carr]

LA is OK provided that you stay out of the dangerous districts. I've been there over dozen times without any problems other than an argument with an airport bus baggage handler over the size of the tip he expected! If you can get out to Santa Catalina Island, there is some interesting shore diving amongst the giant kelp just in front of the casino. There is a dive shop just near the ferry terminus on the island which hires out gear - and handcarts to enable you to push it the mile or so to the casino.

Fiji has some excellent diving. However, it is quite a big place - the main island, Viti Levu is over a 100 miles across. The best diving is on some of the smaller islands which I have never been fortunate enough to visit. On Viti Levu, the best soft corals are in Beqa (the locals pronounce it benka) lagoon where my sons saw their first ever shark in the wild.

Shame that New Zealand is not on your itinery - you're missing out on some excellent diving there.