An ocean school for a well-lived life
Freediving courses, weekly clubs, Pacific expeditions and a sauna & cold-plunge studio, all from the clear water of the Bay of Islands.
It all comes back to the breath
Take a breath in and hold it. Somewhere in the first few seconds your heart rate slows and blood moves toward your brain and heart. That is the mammalian dive reflex. Seals have it, dolphins have it, and so do you.
We teach people to breathe well, relax in the water and trust what the body already knows. The calm you find at ten metres comes home with you.
See the courses →Twenty-five years at sea. Then home to the Bay of Islands.
Freedive Aotearoa grew out of a working life in the ocean: commercial diving, scientific expeditions and Pacific projects across 45 countries. It came home with one idea. That kind of ocean experience shouldn’t belong only to people with a boat.
Read our storyThree ways into the ocean
Dive
SSI courses from your first breath-hold to instructor. Mermaid and underwater performance too.
See the courses →Adventure
Small-crew expeditions to the Poor Knights, Niue and across the Pacific.
Explore expeditions →Recover
Sauna, cold plunge and breathwork in a hidden courtyard in Paihia.
Visit the studio →Breath. Water. Heat. Cold. People.
Small on purpose
You’ll be taught by the person who built this school, and the handful of people we trust beside us in the water. We know your name and where you’re up to. Every dive is buddy-checked and logged. That’s not negotiable, and it’s why families trust us with their kids.
Some of the most exceptional dive sites in the world
Marine reserves on our doorstep. Clear water, deep walls and wildlife you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
See where we dive →Hundreds of rangatahi, one breath at a time
Teaching people to freedive is only half of what we do. We take school groups and community wānanga into the water across Te Taitokerau, and stand alongside the organisations protecting and studying Aotearoa’s oceans.