About us
We are the only muti-agency certifying dive centre in the country, so we are able to offer the widest range of diving courses in the Cook Islands. We offer quality diving in a fun and friendly atmosphere - so whether these are your first bubbles, you are already qualified and you are diving for fun, or you want to progress your professional diving career, we have dives to suit you!
Barry and Shirley Hill set up Dive Rarotonga many (sorry Barry!) years ago in the Cook Islands in 1979. Owned for 12 years now by Ed, an instructor originally from the UK, Dive Rarotonga has achieved many firsts for the Cook Islands.
Ed owns and runs Dive Rarotonga - here is a bit about him.....
Ed learned to dive in West Norfolk, England with the British Sub Aqua Club, diving the lovely clear warm waters of quarries and off the East Coast of England (warm, clear - yeah right!). As a Master instructor he is the highest qualified instructor in the country and is also a BSAC Advanced Diver/Instructor, TDI/SDI Instructor, plus Nitrox and Dräger Re-breather Instructor. Whilst working for one of the top centres in the UK, he taught hundreds of willing volunteers in those cold waters! After a few stints teaching in the warmer waters of Tenerife and the Red Sea he left his drysuit in the UK and headed to the Cook Islands. With an engineering background, he is also a dealer trained service technician for Mares, Aqualung, Apeks and Genesis and qualified to complete visual and hydrostatic testing. Ed also has formal qualifications in Engineering, Information Technology and teaching.
Karen can be seen diving or out driving the boat almost every day and has been with Dive Rarotonga for 6 years!
Whilst working in Queensland, Australia almost 12 years ago, Karen found her passion for diving at the Great Barrier Reef. She can't get enough of the marine life, coral gardens, drop-offs and passages surrounding Rarotonga. Especially after doing her Divemaster training in the colder waters of the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean!
Karen took her scuba instructor exams in New Zealand over 6 years ago and has been teaching at Dive Rarotonga ever since. She teaches a number of courses from first bubbles through to Divemaster and for the last four years, has achieved awards for certifying over 100 students per year. In total she has taught over 900 new students! She is qualified as a SSI Advanced Instructor too, so if you are completing a course with us, she'll probably be involved!
Karen also manages to find time for guiding qualified divers, oh and the tax returns!
Charles has been working with Dive Rarotonga as a Divemaster for over three years. He has progressed from his Open Water certification to Divemaster in the beautiful clear waters of Rarotonga. No one on the island knows the sites or the fish better! Previously a Pearl Farm free diver, charles is like a fish in the water. You'll be at ease with Charles looking after you!
Paul (aka Bob) finally hung up his drysuit and joined the team at Dive Rarotonga in 2011. Like Ed, he braved the cold waters of England, and taught for six years at one of the top centres in the UK, attaining his Staff Instructor status. Since then he has taught many a willing student and now multi agency qualified, after gaining his SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor. Paul also has experience diving in Egypt, Dahab, Sri Lanka, Cyprus, Turkey, Israel, to name but a few. He reckons he's hung up his wings now and plans to stay on the island for as long as we'll have him!
