I participated in three trips with Global Dive (based in Auckland), with the actual outings organized by Northland Dive. One trip was to the Poor Knights on the liveaboard "Sun Spy," and twice to the Bay of Islands, diving the Canterbury wreck and a few reef dives.

The diving was incredible—excellent visibility and abundant marine life. The Canterbury wreck is fantastic. It's simple enough and at reasonable depths for advanced open water divers, yet complex enough for wreck penetration courses. Northland Dive, as a diving organization, was very professional, immensely safety-conscious, and genuinely decent people who are dedicated to conducting safe and enjoyable dives.

For the Canterbury wreck dive and surrounding reefs in the Bay of Islands, we used Northland Dive's RIB, a fully capable boat with very competent skippers—Julia at the helm with Susie as crew. We received a very clear dive and safety briefing, and I never felt intimidated to ask questions. On my dives, I was buddied up with dive masters Dan and Liston, who gave me an excellent tour of the wreck. After the dives, we stayed at the Northland Dive accommodation, which was comfortable, clean, and really enjoyable.

I went back for a second trip to visit the reefs (and the Canterbury, again) with my Partner. We stayed in the "outside" private accommodation equipped with a comfortable double bed and air conditioning. She really enjoyed her stay at Northland dive as well and was really impressed with the organisation as a whole.

On a separate trip to the Poor Knights, we went on the Sun Spy liveaboard. Shane was the skipper, and like Julia, he was very competent and delivered both dive and safety briefings with care and attention. The diving was spectacular, and the food on the boat was brilliant. They were also very careful in handling the dietary requirements of some of the divers on the trip. I can see why this site was in Cousteau's top ten sites in the world.

All in all, this has been some of the best diving I've experienced in my past ~300 dives. I would thoroughly recommend Julia and Shane's service. Even if it requires a ~39-hour commute from Scotland, they will see me again!

All the best, and thank you for everything. I wear my Northland Dive T-shirt (and hat) on this side of the world with pride!

Northland dive is easily one of the best dive companies I have ever had the pleasure of being in the water with. Shane, Julia and Susie went above and beyond to ensure all of the members of the groups I dived with over two separate weekends had the most enjoyable and safe time diving that they could. The accommodation at Northland is comfortable, pleasant and has a very home-away-from-home feel. Being provided with tasty home-cooked meals is always welcome on any dive trip too.
The diving in both the Bay of Islands and the Poor Knights were exceptional diving, and not to be missed for any diver visiting or staying in New Zealand. If I lived closer I would be there every weekend!

Just finished a live-aboard on Sun Spy to the Poor Knights, with day trips to the Rainbow Warrior and Canterbury Wrecks.
Extremely professional dive operation complemented by friendly and welcoming hosts, Shane and Julia.
I'll be back!