annqldau

I think you'll find most don't blow or swallow...Oh! are we talking about diving or other things... .

annqldau

I do get an occasional mild bleed just keep it in my mask out of the way of the sharks till I surface... .

annqldau

Strikes me it may be nearly time for another dive...

Shore Dives around Brisbane and Gold Coast include apparantly:

Tweed River

(depending on tides, Dive Dive Dive conduct regular visits to this site which is unpredictable in it’s offerings including turtles, dolphins, and schools of large fish on good days, to limited visibility dives and current dives for those wanting more adventure)

Southport Seaway

Tangalooma Wrecks
Mooloolaba (Shark Dive at Underwater World). Not sure we could class Underwater world as a shore dive.

Has anybody done the Tweed River or Southport Seaway?

esperanza

I've been doing my PADI in UK and really enjoying it (despite the freezy weather!). Am considering going on to Advanced etc - would this be cheaper to do in Aus than UK? My initial guess is that I'd be better off to save my pennies until they are cents and do the other courses once I am out there. Any ideas?

(Also kit - cheaper out there?)

cresta57

No chance of cheaper kit out here. It's way cheaper in the U.K.
Check out the prices at these 2 divers warehouses one is in Perth WA the other in Leeds U.K.
Compare prices on a like for like basis e.g a 12l Faber for a 12 l Faber.

Dive Imports Perth

Leeds dive shop

esperanza

Bugger! I was really hoping it would be cheaper there, what with the currency conversion and I though there would be more people diving around the Newcastle area, where I'm headed, than in the UK.... Seems I was wrong!
Will have to think about how much space there is in our airfreight....

cresta57

Sadly dive gear is more expensive here, there's no reason why, most of the stuff is made in SE Asia so freight/shipping charges are less. GST is only 10% as opposed to V.A.T at 17.5%.
The best, most plausible excuse I've heard is that there's 60 million living in the U.K and only 20 million here so the smaller customer base drives up the price. I don't have any figures but one would think more people would be into diving here than the cold waters of the U.K. maybe not

esperanza

That's what I thought too! I'll have to see what I can get this end.... don't really want to shell out now though, seeing as I have no job here and no job there either!

232Bar

Ah - don't forget the good old stand by excuse as well - it's better quality stuff here in Oz



Yeah right-oh

cresta57

Yep forgot that old chestnut
I'm still waiting for a response to the letter I've written to the Australian Standards Institute. Bring on ISO ASAP

annqldau

If our guest comes in June/July he wants to learn to dive so will save up for a few then plus will watch for any NSW trips, do you fancy a trip down over if one comes up?

May need to murder the child first to save some money for the adults to squander instead.

232Bar

ISO won't work here - they don't count Oz as International.

cresta57

Don't fight it, you know deep down that those Faber cylinders, made in Italy, on exactly the same production line to exactly the same spec worldwide are actually inferior to the ones they export to Australia. You know you can't possibly buy better than an "Australian Faber cylinder", made in Italy...................................

spottydog

But don't bother buying your tanks in the UK to transport them as they will just end up as expensive doorstops.

One local dive shop said they couldn't buy them themselves for the price Dive Imports sell them at....

...We suggested they buy from Dive Imports and add a bit They then said that Dive Imports were importing illegally and Faber would soon be stopping selling to them

To be perfectly honest though I don't think the problem is so much with the dive shops as the importers as from speaking to shop owners I've got to know better they often can't buy stuff for the price UK shops sell the stuff for and for many items there are a single importer who controls all the Australian warranties so the shops are pretty stuck.

Having said that I'd probably still buy from the UK and get it sent here as you will save and if enough people do it maybe the importer will realise (in the same way as the internet brought UK prices tumbling down a few years ago)

cresta57

I just bought a shiny new Buddy Commando from the U.K. excellent value for money. My Mares dive computer cost me $250 imported from the U.K, here the same computer retails for over $750 bucks it's a massive difference! I have no hesitation in buying from the U.K and importing, less than 1k of goods attracts no import duty.
Like you say, cylinders no way, they may be identical but without the magic
Aussie stamp they are just large doorstops.