Hey Viv,
They claimed to have this sub tour going last June when we were there, but
the cost kept us from calling them on it.

The last base town for the sound/fiordland was a pretty "bo-hunk" sort of
place that was a long drive away from Queenstown - 4 hours or more. I forget
the name right now.

They also have an "undersea adventure" in the underwater observatory at
Milford. We ran out of time and didn't work out the combo boat tour and the
undersea center thing. The weather was "shocking" so we didn't feel that
we'd missed much.

Over here, In Monterey CA, when the weather bites, so does the vis. i.e. our
experience kept us from wanting to get in the water in Milford.

In contrast, you can go skiing (Queenstown) for a whole day with all the
needed rentals and a meal for just a bit over $100NZ. It was a blast.

I hear that you can dive there - Milford Sound - too. There seemed to be one
operation. Once again, with shocking weather, we didn't try that either. We
have friends that did it and said that it was the most unusual 20 minute
dive of their lives --- cold water. Something to do once.




Viv wrote:
> This Friday tourists will be able to explore uw in Milford Sound without
> getting wet! With the launch that day of Submarines Australasia's The
> Antipodes, this will be NZ's first commercial submarine tourist project.
>
> They plan to take the passengers down to atleast 100 metres below the
> surface so they should get some marvellous views of schooling dolphings,
> seals and the rare corals there. The Antipodes is about the size of a large
> family car and carries four passengers. Alas! the tickets to get aboard
> will range from $330 to $410 for the one-hour dives.
> Viv


Alfred wrote:
>flew in to the little
>airport (a most exciting approach and landing I must say <

The weather kept us from having the option to fly, also.

Anyway, if you are there -- on the South NZ Island -- go to snorkel with the
Hector Dolphins in Akarua...Wow! If You fly out of Christchurch, it's
nearby.

On Mike Ball....
We really liked our Mike Ball trip to the Coral Sea, it's that simple.

Price is a mystery with MB. We did OK -- perhaps the best of the people on
our boat. We booked our trip locally - in Cairns - with the help of friends
(including Strike's friends, thanks).

The biggest tip I can give people about going to Australia is to use an
Australian travel agent as much as possible. You won't run into this problem
so much. (If this isn't obvious, send an email and I'll explain it.)

David Hale wrote:
> Here's an interesting article on Mike Ball, claiming
> that the charter rate varies by the diver's country.

I think this is true.
It is also true that they discount for groups as well. "Shocking."


Strike wrote:
>Which is really rather ironic when you consider that Mike's no longer
>involved and the company's owned by the Japanese!  :-)

Since May? As far as I understood from the people on the boat, Mike was
still involved last May. He never called me, though. Are you sure, Strike?

>While it doesn't - assuming that the report is accurate? - sound like
>particularly good business practice, it is commonplace for most liveaboards
>that I know of through the region to charge a 'stand-by' rate that's
>considerably cheaper than the rack rate.  Operators do this in order to fill
>their boats.  For most people with limited vacation time and who are
>travelling long distances, it's more convenient to just pay the published
>rate.

Yep, as Strike said,  hotels do this, too.

>Nobody, of course, likes to feel 'ripped-off', but if - as a paying
>consumer - the trip met all of a person's expectations in terms of on-board
>accommodations, food, diving and general enjoyment, then that's all that
>matters.  :-)

Yes, so if you are going to Oz for a quick Queensland dive trip, you might
run into some trouble with the "quick" part. The quicker you want it, the
more it will cost you.

TIP: IF YOU REALLY WANT TO SAVE MONEY ON MB SPOILSPORT....book cabin #13.
They will sell it real cheap. It's two bunks in a closet that also houses
the the anchor winch -- Ha! So, you must want to get up early, eh? We became
friends with the folks who got it on our trip. They were always in the main
cabin. Go figure.

Imagine our reaction to the folks on the next tour with the big #13 written
on their name tags. Ha!

Second tip: if you are American, with the exchange rate at .5, spend the
extra $$ to get the nice suite.....It really is worth it.

Now Rio...
I am still watching the cheap airfare thing going on up here.  Rio looks
cheap right now. Anybody dive near there?????? Brazil must have warm water,
eh?

Tell me more,
John