MUDGEE’S ONLY DIVE CENTRE

AUSTRALIA

 

 

 

      

Over 35,000km's of magnificent coastline gives Australia an incredible range of diving locations, including superb diving in the tropical waters of the world renowned Great Barrier Reef and northern parts of Western Australia, as well as fantastic temperate diving across the southern states of Australia.

Both tropical and temperate marine life are found in the Solitary Islands off northern New South Wales, popular Byron Bay near the Queensland border, and the Abrolhos Islands on the west coast off Geraldton providing unprecedented diversity.  

Antarctica remains the last  vast wilderness on earth. A continent encircled by pack ice, huge tabular  icebergs and covered with an ice sheet miles deep. A beautiful mysterious  place, enticing explorers, adventurers and dreamers over the decades. Remote, inhospitable  and without permanent inhabitants. It is the windiest and highest continent,  which is capped by an ice sheet over 4 km thick in places. Antarctica is 58  times larger than the United  Kingdom, and surrounded in winter by a vast  girdle of sea ice larger in area than the continent itself. 
 
Antarctica's key role in global processes is  now recognised. The ice sheet holds 90% of the world's fresh water, which, if  melted, would raise sea level by 65 m. The ice sheet drives the Southern  Hemisphere weather patterns and modulates world climate.

For  many, perhaps, the most appealing aspect of Antarctica  is its wildlife. Although there are only a few native species, those that have  adapted to the harsh environment thrive in large numbers. Seals, whales and Penguin  populations are counted in the tens of thousands in some rookeries. One of the  characteristics of the south polar region is that its birds and mammals (such  as seals and whales) depend on the sea. In the end, the penguins evolved to a  swimming way of living and because they had no land-predators to fear, they  lost their ability to fly.

Antarctica is so vast that only  a small portion of it can be explored during a two week period. The Antarctic  Peninsula, that part of the continent that points toward the tip of South America, is so long that it spans 12 degrees of  latitude, approximately 1200 km or 800 miles.

Humans  never inhabited Antarctica and exploration of  the continent is relatively recent. New discoveries continue to be made. In  2007, for example, our vessels, while exploring the Antarctic   Peninsula, sailed uncharted waters.

Antarctica is devoid of power  lines, billboards, and highways. There are no designer coffee shops or cellular  networks. When the engines are turned off, the only sounds you hear are natural  - wildlife, water and the occasional boom of icebergs calving. If you listen  closely, you can hear your heart beating with excitement!

Lord Howe Island celebrated its 25th anniversary of World Heritage listing in December, 2007. It is one of only a handful of island groups on the UNESCO World Heritage list, inscribed for its biodiversity and spectacular landscape and is home to hundreds of beautiful and rare plants, birds and marine species. The island was created by a volcanic eruption seven million years ago.  It boasts a number of unique natural experiences including diving the world’s southernmost coral reef and visiting Balls Pyramid – the tallest sea stack in world.  Two-thirds of the island is covered in natural forests, Banyan trees and Kentia palms.