TESTIMONIALS

Cocos Dive's emphasis on diving is having fun. Regardless of the size of the group, whether it be a couple or a dive club, their aim is to have everyone leaving Cocos happy and having enjoyed their diving holiday. Peter & Janine - Dolphin Scuba Dive Group Thank you very much for a fantastic week of diving and entertainment. Over the week we had 6 days of diving and 12 totally different dives. As a diver I saw all the things I wanted to see and a lot more. From deep dives calling in the sharks to snorkelling "The Rip". Your dive and local knowledge of the Cocos area would be unsurpassed. You both treated us all with friendly hospitality and humour, whilst maintaining your professionalism. Our stay on Cocos in general was very casual and relaxing. Everyone we had contact with was friendly and helpful. The islands are so beautiful, with so much to see and do, most within walking distance. We will be returning in the not to distant future. Thanks again.

Nicky and Barry Faiers - England

We first came across the Cocos (Keeling) Islands back in 2001 (and have been returning every year since) when looking for somewhere in Australia to dive for my 50th birthday. We were complete novices as well as being geriatric in diving terms. Some things in life are meant to be - certainly our lucky star was shining the day we decided that Cocos (Keeling) was for us!

Dieter and Karen are true professionals when it comes to giving you the sort of holiday and diving you want. The amount of help and support they gave us as novices went far beyond the usual bounds, but it was never intrusive, and if you prefer to “do your own thing”, that is fine too. Karen’s knowledge of the “critters” is amazing, Dieter’s attention to detail and safety, and the fantastic lunches they provide makes sure you can relax and enjoy every moment of your day’s diving. They will tailor the diving to suit you and the small size of the group diving means that you can achieve what you want to.

Accommodation comes tailored to fit your pocket, no high rise hotels certainly, but it varies from luxury air conditioned bungalows with views of the stunning sunsets to budget rooms. The Islands themselves are as beautiful as you can imagine. Truly “paradise” on earth. We have dived in the Red Sea, and it just doesn't compare for visibility or hard corals.

Now in case we have whetted your appetite, we have drawn up a list of Pros and Cons of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Against: It’s a bugger to get to from England
For: Beautiful unspoiled diving in fantastic conditions

Against: It costs quite a lot to get there
For: It doesn't cost much to eat and drink once you arrive

Against: Our first accommodation was at the side of the airport runway
For: There are only two flights a week (and we were on one of them)

Against: The airfield doubles as the golf course and play stops when the plane lands
For: Why play golf when the diving is so good?

Against: Water and air temperatures are the same
For: Around 28°C

Against: There are sharks (this may be a pro, depending on your feelings)
For: They are reef sharks - only 1 to 2 m long.

Against: There is the possibility of a cyclone
For: The cyclone shelter is the pub.

We’re sorry we can’t think of any more ‘Against's’ to carry on the list, but the ‘For's’ go on and on - just look at the rest of this site to see them for yourself.

Emma George & Ashley Vincent - Karratha, WA

Flying over Cocos as the plane prepared to land, we marvelled at the beautiful islands, stunning coast line and clear waters with a sense of excitement at what we would discover at this untouched paradise. Welcomed by Dieter and Karen as we stepped off the plane, we knew we made the right choice to travel to the remote Cocos Islands, wasting no time by arranging a dive the very next day.

Diving off the small boat “Sayap Kecil”, we were spoilt by picking our choice of sites and all we wanted to do were ‘big fish dives’, paying particular attention to sharks. So big fish it was but there were still plenty of beautiful corals with an abundance of macro life to keep the dive always interesting. Never before had we experienced such clear water, a sensory overload of fish which were not afraid to come and investigate.

We still vividly remember poking our heads under a large plate coral to see what was below, started by two reef sharks as they darted between us. Hearts still thumping we again peeked under the coral again to have yet another two sharks rush past us – it was exactly the sort of dive we wanted. There are not many places where you can start your dive in tropical waters, swim through a thermo cline to find pelagic fish such as dogtooth tuna, mackerel, barracuda and of course sharks.

We dived more than our planned four days as there was just so much to see, vowing we would return for more. So last year we did, experiencing yet another relaxing uncommercialised holiday at Cocos, diving being the dominant activity. There is plenty more for us to see and we hope to return for our third visit sometime soon.

If you do go to Cocos, ask Dieter to show you how he can rustle up sharks with a water bottle – it is certainly worth seeing!!!

Aaron - Sydney

G’day Dieter and Karen, I would just like to say thank you for your first class hospitality and superior quality of customer throughout the duration of my holiday a Cocos(K). This place would have to be Australia’s best kept secret for the land lover and the avid diver. Cocos offered a unique holiday without the commercial mumbo jumbo. From the moment you step off the plane, a sense of belonging is felt as the West Islanders meet and greet you.

Mother Nature can be cruel or kind, but for the week spent on Cocos (K) she was a Saint!

The diving is SENSATIONAL! Paramount dive sites, exploding with life! The sensation of knowing you could be one of the only divers in the water on that day. Priceless! The quality of the reef and the life it sustains is benchmark supported by Cocos Dive’s professionalism in organisation and quality of experience in and out of the water. If any one thought that the surface interval was a drag on diving trips, I beg to differ! An awesome lunch on gorgeous direction island that can fill a bottomless pit is an achievement, backed up by a couple runs down The Rip! Before you know it you’re back in the water!

Thanks for you hospitality, I’LL BE BACK!

Andy, Sue, Phoebe & Cameron - UK

Cocos Keeling is a long long way from anywhere. Dieter and Karen start on a basis of safety safety safety, twin engine boats, GPS etc, and Dieter wields more tools than you can shake a stick at.

We went as a family with a couple of younger divers and felt that the approach was similar to our local dive center. The only real difference is that Australians use a very direct form of language, clarity is good! Once you get the first couple of dives out of the way, the real joy of being with Karen and Dieter starts. Each dive was ended with a cup of tea and some biscuits, and lunch was absolutely brilliant.

The briefings are clear and these guys drop you at exactly the right point were always right there at the end of the dive. There is one dive that is a bit of a ripper drift. In this case Dieter tells you in what direction he'll be at the end of the dive. There are plenty of sharks about and the fish there just generally bigger. The viz is good and the sea pollution free (that's what virtually no population does for you). The coral is very very good indeed world class without a doubt. In my opinion better than I've seen on the GBR. There is plenty of variety in the sites. We dived there for two weeks and could have easily stayed for another two. If your planning a trip don't forget Christmas Island.

Cocos Dive is not a 5 star Caribbean experience. There are boats to shift, cylinders to lug about and you'll be mucking in cleaning your kit. All good fun, just like european diving really. You need to be aware that the dive center really is family run and they have a day off each week, necessary for them, but a crying shame when you know just how good the diving is! We were really well supported there, we had brand new computers whose hoses played merry hell on a couple of dives, Dieter fixed them on the fly and engineered new hoses for the next dive. Our boy had an O-ring blow in-water (our tank, again brand new). It was fixed in seconds, a formula one pit stop between swigs of tea.

Cocos Keeling has 'Direction Island' which is perfect for younger divers and beginners, plenty to see at 5-7m, easy navigation and sandy bottom areas for skills or getting to grips with buoyancy. You need to be aware that Australian regulations mean that Cocos Dive can't teach anyone under 12 so your younger divers need to be certified before they go.

There is a channel called 'the rip' there, which, well, does. Its great for snorkelling as long as you can swim across a current.

Carol & Peter

WOW we shot a record 15 hours of footage during our 2 week stay on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. The variety and colour of the coral was amazing. It was magic to swim with Kat the dugong, a turtle, mantas and even dolphins. The fish life was colourful and the macro stuff magnificent. Thanks Karen and Dieter for being such good critter spotters and sharing your knowledge and experience of the local marine environment with us. Lunches on Direction Island were a treat. Your hospitality exceptional!!!

sea you later - Pete and Carol

Wandy & Tim, Byron Bay

A big difference from diving on the mainland is that there is no tight schedule or rushing to get everything ready. With Dieter and Karen from Cocos Dive there was time to make sure all equipment was on board and working, safety procedures were in place and everybody was comfortable. For some of the novice divers amongst us it was made sure that they remembered the underwater hand signals. Organised and well prepared we would arrive at the boat ramp where the boat was launched. And, aaaaah, was that water nice and warm!

During most dives we managed to see Grey Reef Sharks, White-tip Reefsharks and Black-tip Reefsharks. The sharks could be seen swimming out in the blue or patrolling the reef. Manta Rays would come up from the deep and swim up over ledges, most of the time surprising us completely. Different species of surgeonfish, triggerfish, butterflyfish and angelfish were abundant everywhere.

Whenever we would come across a pod of dolphins (and this happened on three days) Dieter and Karen always gave us the opportunity to snorkel with them. This was one of the many highlights. The dolphins, both spinners and bottlenose, were very inquisitive and came up close. Even the calves could hardly hold back, but their mums would not let them venture too close for obvious reasons. So there we were: frantically trying to imitate their gracious moves by performing pathetic dolphin kicks and duck diving in the hope they would come even closer. The dolphins were probably laughing their heads off and zoomed around us, clicking and chattering. What an experience, we were on a high!

For a full report on Tim & Wandy's dive holiday read the article submitted by Wandy to Underwater.com.au about diving with Cocos Dive. "Destination: Cocos (Keeling) Islands".

Stephen & Daniela, Sydney

Not knowing what diving really is about in Cocos we had the most fabulous time there! I dived in many places in Asia but have to say that the variety and abundance of fish life, the vast coral life/forms in Cocos makes diving a real interesting adventure. You get the sandy drop offs where we managed to attract min 10 reef sharks with Dieter's little trick that is best to be kept as a secret.

Next day I felt like seeing dolphins and bingo, on the way out to the dive sites we had to stop, getting into our snorkel gear and swam, dived with them for about 30 mins. Obviously we are not as graceful swimmers as them. On my "to see" list were Mantarays and again Dieter spotted them on the way out and we plunged quietly into the water admiring the ever so slowly moving Manta posing for us to get pictures until it decided to move to a more peaceful place. The Garden of Eden is my most favourite dive spot, and as the name describes, it looked like it - one fan coral after the other, you see anything you want whilst drifting along the wall that took us 800m before we surfaced again.Thanks to the fond knowledge of the each dive site we saw what was promised - despite Kat, the dugong, who decided to play more hiding than sighting....

Another highlight of all the days diving was delicious lunch! Fresh bread baked by Dieter everyday, the fresh salads and all the goodies that come with it was just the right fit for the hungry divers resting on the deserted islands that surely were made in heaven, or at least that's how I imagine it looks like there. As part of our lunch break we would do a surface drift in the rip to see more reef sharks lying there and sometimes a Barracuda would also swim by. Dieter & Karen are great dive operators & hosts making us feel special and we will always treasure those memories. Hopefully, we can get back there soon again to discover more of the dive spots and taste what heaven is about.

Sue - Sundive Group

Dear Dieter & Karen,

Just a quickie to say thanks for our week's holiday. I appreciated your professionalism and humour both whilst diving and on land. You both put in a top effort to make sure our dives were safe and enjoyable. You were able to satisfy the very experienced divers in our group by giving them the option of a tour guide or not. And finally the food was great, thanks for that extra effort to keep us "veggies" happy. I had a great time.

Cocos Islands ROCKS!!!