Frequently Asked Questions

Here we answer some of your most frequently asked questions. We hope this page helps you to find the answers. But if not, please don't hesitate to contact us for more details or anything else you want to find out about.

What is diving around Wellington like?

Wellington may be the best diving city in New Zealand! We have a variety of rocky coastline facing different directions and islands offshore to explore. Marine Reserves and shore dives are plentiful and widely explored and enjoyed by divers.

Do I need to be able to swim before taking a Scuba course?

Yes. You must be able to swim 200 metres without resting and also be able to swim or float without touching the bottom for at least 10 minutes. For most people who have had swimming lessons and been swimming at least occasionally this is achievable.

Do I need a Medical from my Doctor before Diving?

There is a Medical Screening System that has a form called the “Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire”. The form is there for you to determine if you need to visit your doctor before any Recreational Diving Courses. The Form is required for training and our guided dives every 12 months or if you have been sick.

Prudent Divers will check the form before Scuba Diving every 12 months or if they have been sick.

Divers taking Professional Level courses do require a visit to their doctor before the course.

How often do dive courses run?

All our dive courses are on offer year round. Core Courses and Special Events are listed on our Dive Calendar. Courses not listed can be requested and run as needed. We pride ourselves on being flexible enough to fit any schedule.

How does the Advanced Open Water Course work?

The PADI Advanced Open Water course is a two day course with approximately 8 hours of online study (completing online study before the dives is best). There are 5 dives over the two days of diving with Deep and Navigation being the compulsory dives and elective dives like Peak Performance Buoyancy, Naturalist, Wreck, Search and Recovery, Night, Fish ID to name some of the popular options. Advanced Open Water participants choose three of the elective dives.

How important are Specialty courses?

Specialty Courses are important for skill development but also many other things. Keeping safe and getting the most out of different types of diving requires Specialty training. For example; Wreck Diving, Deep, EANx and many others…

When do I need to complete my eLearning Course?

When taking Learning to Scuba dive you must complete your PADI Open Water Diver eLearning course in full before the first weekend. This includes the RDP Quiz and Exam required for certification.

This is the same for PADI Rescue Diver and Professional PADI courses. Although it is recommended to complete your eLearning for all other courses before the diving begins.

What dives are in the Advanced Open Water course?

The Advanced Open Water course has a number of options for the dives. Our most popular are Peak Performance Buoyancy, Naturalist, Wreck, Search and Recovery, a Nitrox dive is possible and Fish ID are common. Others are available. You choose 3 of the optional dives. The Underwater Navigation and Deep dives are compulsory.

What is the difference between Master Scuba Diver and Divemaster?

Very similar in their description, both using “master”. One is a professional level diving leadership course called the Divemaster course while the other is a recreational diver rating or sometime referred to as a reward called the Master Scuba Diver rating.

Both have similar prerequisites but neither precedes the other.

Do I need special skills to take the Divemaster course?

Divemaster candidates learn and develop the special skills required of a Divemaster during the course.

There are prerequisites for the PADI Divemaster course which is the first level of Diving Leadership and a dive professional education. You must have completed Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water and PADI Rescue Diver courses along with having 40 logged dives.

I just finished my PADI Open Water Diver course but feel like I missed something?

Although an Autonomous Diver rating, a PADI Open Water Diver certification is an entry level diver rating. What you’re missing compared to an experienced and well Qualified diver is the balance of a well rounded continuing education program. All the best divers will continue learning always, participating in different courses to fine tune skills and developing other skills to give them more confidence, piece of mind and the ability to explore more underwater.

Have a look at the Core PADI Courses, Specialty Courses and the Divemaster course to build your diving knowledge and experience.

Are Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver the same?

No. PADI Divemaster is the beginning of professional level and leadership training in diving. Involves honing your core dive skills and further developing your dive knowledge. Teaches you key diver supervision techniques for guiding and diving operations.

PADI Master SCUBA Diver is a high level Recreational Diver rating, or sometimes referred to as an Award. The rating recongnises a significant level of Recreational diver training and experience. As much as this is not a professional level diver rating or required of a dive professional, it’s often a step divers take on their path to Professional levels and Technical Diving.

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