Celebrating Four Decades of Taking Australian and New Zealand Divers to the World’s Best Underwater Destinations
It’s hard to believe that what began on 11 July 1986 as a small part-time business in Sydney has grown into one of Australia’s leading dive travel specialists, helping thousands of divers explore the world’s most spectacular underwater destinations.
As we celebrate 40 years of Dive Adventures, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on where it all began and thank the many people who have been a part of this incredible journey.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The story of Dive Adventures is, above all, a story of passion.
As a dive instructor with an insatiable desire to explore the world—both above and below the surface—Jerry, together with two business partners, founded Dive Adventures on 11 July 1986. The business was launched from a small office on Pitt Street with just one employee and plenty of support from his wife.
Like many new ventures, the early days were challenging. The long hours and commitment required soon led to the original partnership’s dissolution, leaving Jerry to continue building the business on his own. It was a leap of faith driven not by financial ambition, but by a genuine belief that Aussie and Kiwi divers deserved access to extraordinary diving experiences around the world.
At a time when specialist dive travel was virtually unheard of in Australia, Dive Adventures set out to do something different. Rather than simply selling holidays, the focus was on creating unforgettable adventures, sharing first-hand destination knowledge, and building lasting relationships with dive centres, liveaboards and trusted operators across the globe.
MAKING A SPLASH FROM DAY ONE
The first public test came almost immediately.
In 1986, Dive Adventures made its debut at the Oceans Dive Show in Sydney—one of the diving industry’s premier events. For a brand-new company, it was a defining moment. It introduced Dive Adventures to Australia’s diving community and marked the beginning of relationships that continue to this day.
The inaugural line-up of destinations was ambitious: Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Fiji and Australian dive destinations including Bicheno, Tasmania. These weren’t mainstream holiday destinations in the 1980s. Selling them required first-hand experience, specialist knowledge and the confidence to inspire divers to venture beyond the familiar. It was an approach that quickly earned the trust of dive centres and travellers alike.
GROWING WITH EVERY DIVE
As the years progressed, so did the opportunities.
In 1988, the Solomon Islands joined the portfolio, opening the door to one of the world’s unexplored collections of World War II wreck diving and establishing another Pacific icon for adventurous divers.
The early 1990s saw Dive Adventures expand into Micronesia, introducing our divers to legendary destinations such as Palau, Yap and Truk Lagoon—places that would become bucket-list experiences for underwater photographers, wreck enthusiasts and marine life lovers alike.
A major milestone came in 1993 when Tracy Price joined the business. Her passion, dedication and commitment to the diving industry helped shape the next chapter of Dive Adventures’ growth. Over the years, Tracy became an integral part of the company, eventually becoming a business partner and playing a pivotal role in developing both the business and its reputation throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Then, in 1996, came one of the most significant additions to the Dive Adventures portfolio—Bikini Atoll.
Few destinations capture the imagination quite like Bikini. Home to one of the world’s greatest collections of historic shipwrecks, it represented the pinnacle of technical wreck diving and reinforced Dive Adventures’ reputation for taking divers to extraordinary places that few others could offer.
As international travel became more accessible, so too did the company’s horizons. New destinations were continually researched, personally explored and carefully selected, always with the same philosophy: if it wasn’t somewhere the team believed in, it wasn’t added to the programme.
TODAY … AND BEYOND
Four decades on, Dive Adventures offers an extraordinary collection of dive experiences spanning every corner of the globe. From the colourful reefs of Fiji, the Maldives and the Philippines, to the legendary wrecks of Truk Lagoon, the dramatic walls of the Red Sea, the biodiversity of Indonesia, the shark encounters of the Galápagos and the untouched wilderness of Antarctica, the world has never felt closer for our divers.
Much has changed over four decades.
The office has moved. Technology has transformed the way we work. The world has become smaller and travel has become easier.
But one thing has never changed.
Our commitment to providing honest advice, first-hand knowledge and personalised service from people who genuinely love diving remains exactly as it was in 1986.
A NOTE OF GRATITUDE
Forty years is a remarkable milestone, and while we’re proud of what Dive Adventures has achieved, we know that none of it would have been possible without the incredible people who have been part of the journey.
First and foremost, we extend our heartfelt thanks to every member of the Dive Adventures team—past and present. Your passion, dedication, professionalism and commitment over the past four decades have been the foundation of our success, and we are sincerely grateful for everything you have contributed.
To our loyal clients, thank you for placing your trust in us. Many of you have travelled with us for decades, often year after year and trip after trip, while others are just beginning their journey with us.
To our dive centres, travel partners, resorts, liveaboards and operators around the world, thank you for your friendship, support and shared commitment to creating unforgettable dive experiences.
As we celebrate this milestone, we look back with immense pride and gratitude while looking forward with excitement to the adventures still to come.
From Jerry, Tracy and the entire Dive Adventures team, thank you for being part of our story.
Here’s to the next chapter—and many more years of exploring the underwater world together.
