With winter now upon us, the air temperature has started to drop and the ski fields are finally open. Most of you have probably hung up your dive gear for the season and swapped it for a nice warm fire place, or a jacket and beanie when you dare to head out and about. The water is definitely getting chilly – I will not argue with that, but it could be a lot colder… Imagine if you were diving in somewhere like Iceland, in the Silfra fissure where the water is a freezing 2-4 degrees all year round. You would be crazy to do this without a dry suit.
The Silfra is known as one of the top dive sites in the world because of its crystal clear water and the crack in which you are diving. When you head down into the water you are between two continental plates; the North American plate and Eurasian plate. The water visibility between these two plates can be up to 100m, as clear as drinking water. The water comes from the Langjokull glacier and is then filtered through the ground for up to 100 years until it reaches the Thingvellir Lake. There is not a lot of life in this ravine other than trout, but it is beautiful none the less. The rock walls at some points almost meet, and you can touch both sides on the plates. There is a crazy green algae that grows on the bottom which they call ‘troll hair’. This UNESCO world heritage site is unlike anything you will have seen before.
So the next time you are thinking it’s too cold to go diving in New Zealand, remember it is about 10 degrees at the moment and that there are a lot of colder places in the world where you could be getting in the water! Also, some of the best diving around the South Island can be done over winter. The weather normally calms down and we get a constant Southerly swell rolling through. Think of all those amazing dive sites on the North side of Akaroa or Kaikoura that you missed out on diving over summer and do them now!
Remember we are having a Drysuit Demo Day on Saturday 30th July, so if you want to experience the toasty warmth of drysuit diving, let us know!
Give us a call on (03) 379 5804, or email us at sales@diveskiworld.co.nz. You can find us from Monday to Saturday, 8:30am until 5pm at Dive HQ Christchurch, 103 Durham St South!