Certification question from a Canadian

Hi everyone on this newsgroup. I was hoping you might help me with some
information for my daughter and friends who are travelling in Australia.
After being in Sidney for a while she and her pals are headed
north...Brisbane, Cairns, etc. and they are looking to get certified. So a
couple of questions...I have PADI for mine and PADI and NAUI tend to be the
most recognized in North America and the Caribbean...is that the route she
should go? Secondly...any recommendations as to dive shops that have good
teaching staff AND might offer decent prices for certification for a group
of three or four. After six months in Oz they don't have loads of money and
would need to get a good group price and not be sold a whole bunch of new
gear.

Appreciate any input divers might have.

"Ross Ruddick" <rossruddick@repswest.net> wrote in message
news:LLtmc.9632$F04.7153@clgrps13...
> Hi everyone on this newsgroup. I was hoping you might help me with some
> information for my daughter and friends who are travelling in Australia.
> After being in Sidney for a while she and her pals are headed
> north...Brisbane, Cairns, etc. and they are looking to get certified. So
a
> couple of questions...I have PADI for mine and PADI and NAUI tend to be
the
> most recognized in North America and the Caribbean...is that the route she
> should go? Secondly...any recommendations as to dive shops that have good
> teaching staff AND might offer decent prices for certification for a group
> of three or four. After six months in Oz they don't have loads of money
and
> would need to get a good group price and not be sold a whole bunch of new
> gear.
>
> Appreciate any input divers might have.
>
>

Hi Ross,

I am an Aussie and live on the Gold Coast - just one hour south of Brisbane.
Generally PADI is the only option we get here - I have never seen anywhere
offering the NAUI or any other equivalent training.

Last weekend I completed my Open Water dive training (PADI of course) with
an excellent group called: AQUA SPORTS & DIVE. Their instructors were very
friendly and helpful. John and Matt there are a real pair of characters and
really made the whole thing so much more enjoyable. They won't try to sell
your daughter or her friends all new gear but they can offer good advice on
what to buy if they are looking. They also rent out the gear if they
wanted to do any further diving after they were certified.

I paid $400.00 Australian for my 4 day training course and I think it was
great value. That is the standard price for dive training here - anywhere
between $350 and $500 to become PADI certified for Open Water recreational
diving.

The course includes 1/2 a day of theory and the second half in the local
pool learning all the basic skills. The second day is all theory with your
final test at the end of the day. The next two days are spent travelling by
boat out to Cook Island to practice your skills and do the practical side of
the exam. This is heaps of fun and there is so much wildlife to see because
Cook Island is a marine park sanctuary. Huge turtles and tonnes of topical
fish and even the occasional Leopard shark if you are lucky. A great way to
spend 4 days. I did it over two weekends but it can be done in four
consecutive days if they have enough numbers in the group to take the boat
out.

I don't know about a group discount, you would have to contact the shop and
discuss that with them. You could call them between 9 and 5 on +61 7 5538
2799 - if your daughter calls the number would be 07 5538 2799 from within
Australia. If you can speak to John mention that Sascha recommended you and
it may help. Or maybe not - I rubbed a lot of sand in his hair on the last
dive... damn we had a good time.

I would recommend your daughter and friends come to the Gold Coast anyway -
it is one of the best parts of Australia - with some of the world's best
beaches. Maybe I am biased because I was born here and live in the centre
of Surfers Paradise but they will regret it if they don't spend at least a
week here. Brisbane is not the same as Sydney - nowhere near as much fun -
mostly all business. Better shopping on the Coast and 4 huge theme parks
and a few wildlife parks as well. Did I mention the 40+ km of beautiful
golden beaches? Don't confuse it with the Sunshine Coast which is an hour
NORTH of Brisbane - although it is also beautiful it is too spread out and
their shops have overinflated prices. A day trip to Steve Urwin: The
Crocodile Hunter's - "Australian Zoo" would be a good idea and maybe even a
stop at "The Big Pineapple" if they had time would be worth it. Don't miss
Cairns and Port Douglas as they would probably have to be the best dive
spots in Australia and one of the best in the world. The great Barrier Reef
is awesome and I can't wait to get up there now that I am certified.

Anyway... I have spent too much time selling you on the Gold Coast - I
should get back to work. You can check out:
http://www.surfersisparadise.com.au/ or message me here if you have any more
questions or request my email and I can send it to you at your email
address. Don't worry, I am a married man and don't have the time, energy or
inclination for anything except SCUBA and Motorbikes - and sometimes my poor
wife, who won't touch either scuba, motorbikes (or sometimes, _ME_ for that
matter :P ).

Take Care and I hope this helps

Noki

Hi Ross

If your daughter is travelling to Cairns I would recommend Prodive Cairns as
a good PADI dive school for two reasons: when I travelled with them on their
three day liveaboard it was one of the best diving trips I've ever done and
secondly, the OW courses up in Cairns and Townsville include spectacular
diving. If they stop at Townsville (300km south of Cairns) I suggest Down
Under Dive (PADI) who have a good liveaboard course, including the
much-discussed SS Yongala wreck. PADI is, and always will be the
most-maligned and yet most-accepted certificate, so stick with them.

Wish them my best for their trip.

Mark in Sydney

"Ross Ruddick" <rossruddick@repswest.net> wrote in message
news:LLtmc.9632$F04.7153@clgrps13...
> Hi everyone on this newsgroup. I was hoping you might help me with some
> information for my daughter and friends who are travelling in Australia.
> After being in Sidney for a while she and her pals are headed
> north...Brisbane, Cairns, etc. and they are looking to get certified. So
a
> couple of questions...I have PADI for mine and PADI and NAUI tend to be
the
> most recognized in North America and the Caribbean...is that the route she
> should go? Secondly...any recommendations as to dive shops that have good
> teaching staff AND might offer decent prices for certification for a group
> of three or four. After six months in Oz they don't have loads of money
and
> would need to get a good group price and not be sold a whole bunch of new
> gear.
>
> Appreciate any input divers might have.
>
>

Try Cairns Dive Centre, have heard from a number of people up here that
they are very good and prices are reasonable. Here's the link:
http://www.cairnsdive.com.au/prices.htm

Ross,
I will second Mark's comments. The Cairns branch of Pro Dive
deservedly enjoys a very good reputation for value for money &
excellent staff. I did my open water with them in August last year.
The big advantage of doing your OW in Cairns is that its a liveaboard
on the Barrier Reef. Even if your daughter & friends never dive again
(gods forbid) they will have dived on the Reef & truly seen "another
world"

Dave in Melbourne.

On Fri, 7 May 2004 10:20:04 +1000, "Mark Schmidt"
<mark_schmidt@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Hi Ross
>
>If your daughter is travelling to Cairns I would recommend Prodive Cairns as
>a good PADI dive school for two reasons: when I travelled with them on their
>three day liveaboard it was one of the best diving trips I've ever done and
>secondly, the OW courses up in Cairns and Townsville include spectacular
>diving. If they stop at Townsville (300km south of Cairns) I suggest Down
>Under Dive (PADI) who have a good liveaboard course, including the
>much-discussed SS Yongala wreck. PADI is, and always will be the
>most-maligned and yet most-accepted certificate, so stick with them.
>
>Wish them my best for their trip.
>
>Mark in Sydney
>
>"Ross Ruddick" <rossruddick@repswest.net> wrote in message
>news:LLtmc.9632$F04.7153@clgrps13...
>> Hi everyone on this newsgroup. I was hoping you might help me with some
>> information for my daughter and friends who are travelling in Australia.
>> After being in Sidney for a while she and her pals are headed
>> north...Brisbane, Cairns, etc. and they are looking to get certified. So
>a
>> couple of questions...I have PADI for mine and PADI and NAUI tend to be
>the
>> most recognized in North America and the Caribbean...is that the route she
>> should go? Secondly...any recommendations as to dive shops that have good
>> teaching staff AND might offer decent prices for certification for a group
>> of three or four. After six months in Oz they don't have loads of money
>and
>> would need to get a good group price and not be sold a whole bunch of new
>> gear.
>>
>> Appreciate any input divers might have.
>>
>>
>