PADI Open Water Diver Course
If you are ready to learn to dive, this is the course for you. Dive Zone runs the best course in Northland, we keep our course numbers small and spend 4 comprehensive days teaching you everything you need to know about becoming a diver. The PADI Open water course is for beginners who have no diver experience but are looking to get their first diving certification.
Course Details:
4 days
$699 (includes gear hire)
8-10 Hours of online learning completed in your own time before the course begins.
Certified to 18m max depth
This course will change your life, It will be your first experience blowing bubbles underwater and we can tell you now you will be amazed with the underwater world.
Download our "everything you need to know about your first dive course" booklet
What to expect on your course
Before the course - Complete your elearning
When you sign up for the course you will be sent an email from PADI with your online learning. E-learning means you can study for your dive course from your couch at home, in your own time from our digital classroom. Smart phones are fine for your e-learning, computers or tablets with a bigger screen are even better. We also have computers available in store to complete the online learning if you need. If you have any problems or need help with this, just give us a call. E-learning must be completed before you can attend the course. Allow 8-10 hours to complete all the sections.
Day 1 & 2 of the course - Pool sessions
We meet at the dive shop at 8.30am each day, get our gear all sorted and head to the pools. We will drive you in our Dive Zone vans to the local pool, we use either Kawakawa or Kerikeri High School Pool. At the pool we will be practicing skills with our experienced instructors. It is a really fun and relaxed environment with plenty of time to perfect the skills. You will need to bring your own mask and snorkel, we can help you select one in store if you want to purchase one, togs, towel, lunch and a water bottle with you.
Day 3 - Shore Diving
We are proud to be the only dive stores in Northland who still teach shore diving. Because many of our locals will dive from the shore once they are certified we think it is a great skill to have.
Matauri Bay or Putataua is the beach where we will be shore diving. This site is world class with an amazing reef structure that heads out around the point. We will see loads of fish such as snapper, schooling koheru, sandaggers wrasse, moray eels, nudies and eagle rays. We will complete 2x dives here with a nice lunch break in the sunshine. The water temperature ranges from 16c in the winter to a lovely 24c in the summer time. You will need to bring your togs, towel, lunch and a jacket.
Day 4 - Boat Diving
On the final day of the course we head out to a very special place in the Bay of Islands called Deep Water Cove, along Cape Brett. Deep Water Cove is an area where a Rāhui (no take zone) has been placed over the cove, so it is abundant with marine life. The sites we explore are full of schooling fish life, sponges, rays, eals and sometimes if we are lucky we see dolphins and whales in the bay. We complete 2x dives out here and have a lot of fun throughout the day. The trip is a 35min steam across in our boat Rika Maru. Bring a wind proof jacket for the trip home.
Final Info
Age:
The minimum age is 12 for this PADI Diver Course.
Medical History:
All Divers are required to complete an PADI Medical Form if it has been over 12 months since your last PADI course.
Equipment:
As a minimum we require you have your own mask and snorkel for the course. We then provide all of the rest of the gear for the course that you will need this includes; Wetsuit (7mm), Scuba Diving Fins, Weight Belt, Boots, Safety Sausage, BCD, Regulators, Computer. While we provide this gear for you, we do strongly recommend having your own gear so you are more comfortable. We stock a wide range of scuba gear in store and your instructor can help you choose the best gear for your diving needs.
Important Info
All Courses require a $200 deposit for your online learning: please note that your deposit is non-refundable. Any Changes can be made to your booking before your course is due to start for a rebooking fee of $150, this includes sickness, Covid-19 and unexpected circumstances in your life that stop you attending the course. Students that are a 'No Show' on the day without any contact via email or phone will be removed from the course and are not entitled to any refund - there are no exceptions.
Course must be completed within 12 months or if the timeframe is over 12 months the student will not be refunded and will have to purchase a new course at the current price.
Next Steps:
Once you are a qualified Open Water Diver your next step is to extend your stills with a PADI Advanced Open Water course.