I had heard a lot about this drift dive and when I got the chance to do it in March of 2010 there was no question. I have since heard of doing this trip as a night dive .... a few more trips down the river to get familiar and I reckon it will be on the cards. Here is information I was given (with a few of my own notes): It is from 'Azza' on www.scubadive.net.nz "... this is a good run at around 180 cumecs...anything over 220 and I would send a brave person down first. Ring 07 857 0111 to find out flow rate before hand. Gates open at 10am and 2pm from memory...that's when you go, ride the wave baby. Come into Taupo and after you come over the Waikato River Control Bridge hang a left up Spa Rd. Turn left down Motutahae st and then the first right and drive down to Cherry Island. Jump in the water there (S), just don't start if someone in doing a Bungie as the local divers have an agreement with the Bungie people they will wait until bungie is on smoko. (It is a good idea to have a quick chat to the bungi crew before you start). I recommend dropping down when to get past the bungie jump (B), only because there is an eddie and you can get confused and waste valuable time swimming upstream before you realise it. Keep left the whole way and you will go through 2 fast patches (named 1 and 2 on the map) then about 2-10 minutes after the last fast patch (depends how fast the water is flowing) start hanging a right and come to the surface. You will see the hot water on your right but you need to kick to get over to it. (HOT) (Just upstream from the exit point a thermal spring pumps 40 degree water into the river. Whilst the chances are small, a strain of meningitis has been found in thermal pools and if the bug manages to find its way into your nose or ears a trip to intensive care is booked. Avoiding the bug is simple; surface before the spring and keep your head out of the water until the exit.) When you leave the hot water you go around a bend and at the end of that stretch is a camping ground where you will want to get out of the water (F). If you keep left it will eventually get shallow and you know it's time to get out." This exit is some two kilometres upstream from the churning water of the Huka Falls.  | Waikato River Drift Dive Here is a video from one of the guys on the last trip ... thanks Guru! A great shot from Shane Wasik who organised the Tauranga crew:  A big thanks to the guys at Tech Dive New Zealand who showed us the way: |
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Waikato River |
Make sure you remember to have one car at the end point. Make sure the person whose car is at the end point remembers to dive with their keys and in that car remembers to put everyone else’s keys!!!
Be wary of how much weight you wear as it is easier to sink in freshwater than saltwater (you can afford to lose a couple of kilograms from your weight belt).
This is a shallow dive, around 5 to 15 metres. The drift dive requires a bit of organisation, as you need people with cars at the start of the dive and at the end, to transport people back to the beginning.
A POMMIE VIEW THE WAIKATO RIVER
By Simon Brown
http://www.divenewzealand.com/?s1=divetravel&s2=Dive%20Destinations&s3=Waikato%20River