Little
information on Aitutaki and Aitutaki Scuba Diving
.Kia
Orana
As requested, following is a little information on Aitutaki
and us
in general. I hope it is of help in planning your pending
vacation.
There
are not many places on Aitutaki that accept credit cards,
so it would pay to bring cash or travelers cheques with
you.
There are no trading banks permanently based on Aitutaki,
nor ATM machines.
Aitutaki is quite isolated. Bring any medications
you may require.
There are three nice restaurants but they are quite basic.
Water
is okay to drink although boiling is advised or treatment
of some form.
No malaria but quite a few mosquitoes. Bring repellent.
No dangerous or
poisonous animals or insects on land. There are stone fish
in the lagoon so
good quality reef shoes are needed if you plan to go reef
exploring or reef
fishing etc.
Hire motorcycles and cars are available at a number of outlets
round
Aitutaki for a reasonable daily (24hr) rental. Approximately
NZ$35 & NZ.$80
respectively. Again this is negotiable depending on length
of hire.
Internet facilities are available on the
Island although at NZ$1 per minute
to use, not many people use the service.
Lagoon tours/picnics, game fishing, lagoon fishing etc operate
6 days a week. Fishing equipment is limited, especially
if you are into bone or light tackle type fishing.
Some
suggestions for accommodation
1) Aitutaki Pearl Beach Resort. This is the
best Hotel on Aitutaki, on
it's own private island. A very nice up-market four star
Beach Resort.
Their rates do vary depending on time of year, therefore
contact them
direct for information. Steve Christian, hotel manager.
Fax (682) 31-202,
e-mail akitua@aitutaki.net.ck
2) Are Tamanu. Brand new self contained units on the beach.
Boutique
style. Pool on sight and breakfast served. No children under
12 yrs please.
Contact Mike Henry, e:mail aretamanu@aitutaki.net.ck or
fax (682) 31-816.
3) Rino's Beach Side Bungalows. Nice units on the beach.
Mid range as
far as price and quality goes. Contact Rino & Ngatere
George, owners. Fax
(682) 31-559.
4) There are many budget places to stay. To numerous to
list them all.
One that does seem popular is "Vaikoa Units".
Their fax number is (682)
31-145. They are on the beach, a little rustic perhaps but
clean and tidy
with friendly staff. Price is around NZ$40 per night/person
but is
negotiable depending on length of stay.
If you require additional information, please don't hesitate
to contact us.
Due to telecommunications to Aitutaki, replies to your queries
may take up
to 24 hours.
We are professional
dive operators, catering mainly for the certified, traveling
diver.
I am a NAUI and PADI dive instructor and a recipient of
the SSI Platinum Pro-5000 award.
A very prestigious award in the dive industry
. We have been established here for coming up eighteen years
and I personally have logged 7,500 dives in the Cook Islands,
6,000 of those in Aitutaki. I think I can boast that I know
the reef pretty well.
We offer dive courses both NAUI & PADI, referrals, dive
trips, good quality hire equipment, dive boats designed
and built by divers, experienced dive guides etc.
Most of our program involves taking certified divers diving.
Generally small groups means no clutter on the dive boat.
Lots of fresh water is available for the after dive wash
up.
Our dive operation is very laid back although we do stress
that we do not compromise safety to be that way.
We have excellent diving. Walls, caves, coral, good marine/fish
life, etc.
Although we dive year round, the time to avoid is December
through February. This is traditionally known as hurricane
season and as such the weather can be totally unpredictable.
We rarely have to cancel but be warned, this is the time
to avoid if possible.
Our rate for a single dive is NZ$85 (approx. $40 US) per
diver/dive, we supply the diver with what they require.
There is a small reduction, (NZ$10) in price if you have
your own equipment. We cater for very small numbers of divers
therefore there must be two divers to go out or a minimum
boat charge of NZ$150 is applicable. Because of the very
high cost of fuel/energy on Aitutaki and the all time low
value of the NZ dollar, we cannot offer multiple dive discounts.
All diving is out side the reef. Due to local religious
customs, we can not dive on Sundays, no
exceptions. Dive time is 1.30pm. Morning dives, twin tank
dives etc. by arrangement with us upon arrival.
We allow computer diving and unsupervised buddy diving.
These prices include transfers too and from hotel/dive shop.
There is no shore diving here, all the diving is from small
boats, 18' to 22' (5.5m to 7m) long. Maximum number on boats
rarely exceeds six divers.
Due to our main reef pass not having navigation lights,
we are unable to offer night dives. An experienced dive
guide, guides all dives. We accept US $'s, NZ $'s, visa
& master card.
Cheers,
Neil.
Neil
mitchell: scuba@aitutaki.net.ck
Special thanks to Neil
Mitchell for his letter of 15 /05/01
