Scuba Diving Training, Trips, News and Blog
Dive Trips
Upcoming Trip : Day Diving at the Knights
02 years ago
Its the last dive day I will have for a few weeks – as I head off to England to my brothers wedding.
We are going out with Yukon Charters for a days diving at the Poor Knights.
After the last failed attempt at getting my camera wet – I am giving myself another chance.
Lee is coming – and so is Caz. Are you keen?
Upcoming Trip : The Rainbow Warrior
12 years ago
“When man has destroyed the world through his greed,
the Warriors of the Rainbow will arise to save it again”
This weekend I have my first opportunity to dive the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior.
A few of us are heading north to do two dives on what is described as one of New Zealand’s premier wreck dives.
The Rainbow Warrior
The Rainbow Warrior sits in around 27 metres of water between the Cavalli Islands and Matauri Bay on Northland’s East Coast.
The Rainbow Warrior was Greenpeace’s flagship.
She was active in supporting a number of Greenpeace protest activities against seal hunting, whaling and nuclear weapons testing during the late 1970s and early 1980s
On its way to protest France’s nuclear testing on the Mururoa Atoll when it was sunk by French saboteurs on July 10, 1985, in Auckland Harbour. One of the ship’s crew (Fernando Pereira) was killed and an international incident resulted. France was supposed to have been an ally of New Zealand and denied any involvement in what was seen as a terrorist attack.
More information on the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior and those responsible can be found on the Greenpeace website.
New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance became a national icon and not even the United States of America have been able to sway us since.
After the bombing Greenpeace gifted the Warrior to the sea she now lies as an artificial reef in the Cavalli Islands, a refuge for the marine life she was sunk trying to protect.
The idea was first proposed by the New Zealand Underwater Association. It seemed a fitting end for a ship that had spent its time protecting the marine environment.
She was towed north with a patched hull on 2 December 1987. Ten days later, a crowd of well-wishers looked on as it was given a traditional Maori burial.
Now home to a complex ecosystem, the Rainbow Warrior has become a popular dive destination.
The local Maori community maintains its kaitaki (conservation).
In a few short years, the Rainbow Warrior became an integral part of the environment it helped protect.
