When a new mask comes along, you just know. You know it’s the one. But only after it’s passed a scuba-style Rosie Project of specifications of course! A girl has standards 
Check out my new video on choosing the perfect mask. From finding the perfect fit to determining quality, I hope it helps you out this Summer! Click here!
Dear Melbourne,
I love you. I love your secret streets and bookshops and markets. I love your scarves and boots and beanies. I love your wood fires and red wine and hot chocolates. I hate your water temperature.
Love from Catherine.
For my Aussie followers not safely embraced by Queensland’s warm hugs, here is a rant about Winter, and some ways in which to get through that cold, city shadow, white huff season.
1. Document your travels: Winter is the perfect time to document your adventures in an album. If you fancy a coffee-table-style book, snapfish.com.au is among many who make creating a professional looking album with your photos easy. Alternatively, the more rustic cut and paste style mementos also work well, and you can add your tickets and postcards too to keep everything together. Get creative!
2. Work hard: Now is the time to work hard. If you aren’t chasing Summer around the globe this year, then get busy saving money now, and leave Summer free to spend on diving!
3. Play games: I rarely play console games, but when I do, it is usually during winter. This is because first person adventure games are a fun way to live a fantasy. The graphics these days are also so beautifully realistic that finding ruins and exploring exotic locales is all the more fun. Nerdy, but fun.
4. Discover new activities: The beach has many other activities that can inspire ocean-minded people. I recently discovered that sea-glass is a ‘thing’ (search it on instagram… you’ll be amazed). I set out to find some on the tideline, adamant that I had never seen such a thing, and was gratified by the few smooth colourful treasures that I did find. What’s more interesting is the history that can be attached to said pieces of what is essentially rubbish. Rockpool rambles are another way to get your sea life fix. And supping or kayaking are other ways of keeping dry while getting active.
(Pic: Seaglass finds!)
5. Plan the next trip: Butchers paper – check. Textas – check. Woodfire – check. Big cuppa tea – check. (Okay let’s be honest, it’s a glass of wine and a laptop). Research and PLAN! Reading copious amounts of dive fiction also falls into this category 
6. Eat: Consider your duty this season to eat everything. Taste new things, go out, sample at markets, attempt inspired cooking. Finally, when it comes time to dive, your new extra layer of fat will keep you warm. Especially in Port Phillip Bay…
(Pic: Dream desk, from the new Tomb Raider game. Maps, diaries and coordinates = adventure!)
Remember that notebook I talked about you getting? Now is the fun part, from here on in it’s all research and narrowing down the perfect location and itinerary for you! Get your multi-coloured pens, magazine cut-outs and graphs ready NOW!
The Weather – The tropics are divided into the wet and dry season, La Nina and El Nino. And no, they aren’t some Spanish travel duo you think you’ve heard of…
Essentially when diving, rain isn’t a problem, though it can dampen (oh snap) your spirits if you were planning on laying in the sun between dives and instead are trapped in a humid cabin while mosquito larvae thrives and prepares to – well you get the idea. Similarly, cyclones are going to make things potentially problematic. Finding out ‘the best time to travel in (insert country here)’ is one of the first entries on your graph. Global warming has made this a little more difficult to determine, and tropical rain is just a thing that happens. Sometimes there is no avoiding it. So embrace it!
The Water – While low water temperatures may not be a deal-breaker, poor visability is. If you have established a diveshop/divesites you are interested in, their website should have a chart listing the monthly temps and viz. From there you can judge the months that will be most suitable to travel in and dive in. Alternatively, divers will review if they have had a great experience somewhere, so take note.
The Tourist Season – School holidays or the best time of year will amp up the prices in some more touristy locations. Avoiding these peak periods will not only enhance your experience with less crowds, but also keep money in your pocket for dives and other adventures! This will be less of a problem off the tourist trail.
The Price – Snoop around before you purchase air tickets. Some sites are guaranteed to find you the best deal, while other flight centres often post great deals that you may blink and are gone. With all these so-called deals though, remember to read the fineprint, as a great ticket price is useless if it doesn’t include baggage.
The Events – If you are planning on things to do other than diving, checking the events schedule for your holiday destination is a must. It will be worth your while if you can correspond with local markets, festivals, shows or events like whale migration, within your timeframe.
Final Thought – It can be so exciting planning a trip, it is one of the lovely things to look forward to when your current holiday is sadly drawing to an end. Keep your little notebook handy, it can be useful to have a wishlist, or travel locations on hold for a later time. For instance if one has worked out to be too expensive yet, wait a while, choose something small and achievable for this trip. Weekenders or even making the effort to drive an extra couple of hours North for a new divesite close to home is still listed as travel in my world! As I said before, take what you can get and make the most of your time and money.
And all that research and information on another place can wait until next time. Then it’s just a matter of getting to tick it off.
Missed the first bit? Click here to read ‘How To Plan A Dive Trip Part I – What Do You Want?’
