I recently had the pleasure of diving with Dive North out of Kerikeri, New Zealand.

I also stayed at the owner's, Dave and Sue, home stay for 2 nights.

We did two dives on the day, and we had excellent conditions for both. First, we dove the HMNZS Canterbury which is a New Zealand Navy Frigate that was sunk for the purpose of creating a dive site at the end of its career. Katie gave an excellent dive briefing on the wreck's history, and what to expect during the dive. We had a small group of divers (6 plus Katie, one of the the Dive North Instructors), The wreck was in good shape, with lots of fish swimmin around. We even penetrated a few of the larger compartments of the ship (helicopter hangar, and middle control room). Visibility was great (about 15-20 m) for temperate diving and the water was comfortable with the 7mm wetsuit that they provided.

The second dive was a bit shallower, with no wreck, but lots of fish. The dive site was called Putahataha, and was close by the Canterbury in Deep Water cove. There were lots of schooling fish, a few moray eels, and some really inquisitive kelp fish that posed for a few great photographs.

From the beginning, Dive North stood out as a top notch operation and I would recommend them to anyone who will be diving in the area. Dave and Sue's home stay is also an excellent accommodation and you will not be disappointed. I showed up looking to sneak in a dive at the end of a business trip, and I left with an excellent experience, a few new friends, and some cool photos. Then only thing that I wish I did different is to have planned for more days off so I could have dove another day or two!

Reviewed over 3 years ago and experienced in April 2015