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Salt Aotearoa- Women’s Freediving Experiences in New Zealand

@saltaotearoa

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🇳🇿 Home of New Zealand’s iconic freedive camps for women 🌊
Connecting wāhine to the moana, to self, each other & kai, through freediving✨

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Our iconic Salt Aotearoa Wāhine Freediving Camp is back.

Three days of freediving, learning, connection, kai, confidence, the ocean and the kind of friendships that tend to stick around long after camp ends. 🧜🏽‍♀️

Located in the winterless north, we are so excited to bring this much anticipated annual event to life this December!

Link in bio to learn more, and to book!

🌊✨❤️ by @saltaotearoa

We’re just here for the simple pleasures, really 🌊

Exploring the underwater world, getting schooled by fish, finding our ocean confidence and maybe catching a kai on the way.

Then kicking back on the beach, cooking our catch over the fire, cracking a cold one and with a bunch of wāhine who were strangers at the beginning of the day🤍

No pressure to go deeper or be the best. Just salty hair, full bellies, belly laughs and new besties.

That’s our kind of ocean adventure✨

If you’ve been looking for your kind of ocean crew, you might’ve just found us 🤍

We’ve got a summer full of salty adventures ahead, and we’d love you to be part of them!

Come join our Salt community to be the first to hear about upcoming trips, spontaneous ocean days and opportunities to get out on the moana with us.

🌊 Join the crew via the link in our bio!

#womenwhofreedive #freedive #newzealand #yeathegirls #aotearoa by @saltaotearoa

We launched our regional clubs and holy heka, what a vibe! 🌺💕✨🧜🏽‍♀️

Nau mai, haere mai to all the new wāhine keen to jump in, check our highlight reels or link in bio to find your nearest crew.

From sunrise beach breathwork to salty art hangs and dive missions that hit different, this kaupapa is all about connection and community.

Whether you’re chasing depth, sisterhood, or just a good reason to get salty, we hope you find your people here.

We totally get that trying something new can be nerve-racking af but hear us when we sa, you’re not alone. Most of us feel that fluttery-stomach energy at first. But the magic Iives just outside the comfort zone. Once you arrive, those nerves will melt away. We promise.

And if you’re thinking, “we need a salty crew here”, send us a message. Let’s make it happen! by @saltaotearoa

🌊 WE ALL PLAY A PART!

November is Water Safety Month across Aotearoa, and this year’s theme is a beautiful reminder that keeping each other safe in and around the water is something we ALL have a part to play in.

At Salt, we believe that confidence in the ocean comes from connection, knowledge and experience.

Whether you’re learning to freedive for the first time, gathering kai with your whānau, or simply enjoying a day out on the moana, the little things matter.

Knowing your limits. Understanding the conditions. Looking out for your buddies. Sharing your knowledge. And knowing when to call it a day.

While Salt is all about empowering wāhine, water safety is everyone’s kaupapa. Our tāne, our tamariki, our whānau and our wider communities all deserve to feel confident, capable and safe in the water. 💙

And we’re pretty proud to be playing our part!

This summer, we’re rolling out our very own water safety and watermanship programme, creating opportunities for everyday Kiwis to get out on the moana, build practical skills, learn from experienced ocean people and have a bloody good day while they’re at it!

Stay tuned, for all the updates on this special kaupapa👀🌊

Here’s to a summer of looking after ourselves, each other and te moana.

@watersafetynz

#WeAllPlayAPart #WaterSafetyMonth #WaterSafetyNZ #SaltAotearoa #Watermanship FreedivingNZ OceanSafety by @saltaotearoa

A little reminder that it’s okay to be a beginner again🤍

As adults, it’s so important to keep learning new things. To push ourselves outside our comfort zones, feel a little awkward, and challenge our brains and bodies in new ways.

I’ve recently started waka ama, and it’s been humbling😂

After two babies, I’ve got no core, questionable coordination, very little strength, and I’m fairly convinced I’m letting the whole team down every time I jump in the waka.

But mornings like this, out on the moana with a crew of strong, inspiring wāhine, make it all worth it🌅

It’s also reminded me how some of you must feel turning up to our Salt events and camps. Nervous, unsure, wondering if you’ll keep up, especially when you’re coming alone.

Because that’s exactly how I feel at waka ama!

So to all the wāhine who have taken that leap with us, I have a whole new appreciation for your courage.

And to those joining us soon, you don’t need to arrive confident or experienced. Just come as you are.

Thank you for trusting us with this part of your journey. You won’t regret it 🤍

Here’s to being lifelong learners and doing things that scare us a little 🌊 by @saltaotearoa

So wāhine, we’re calling on you.

Tag your man. Elbow your bro. Send this to your cuz. Put it in the whānau group chat.

The first dates are open, with more coming throughout the season.

🔗 Link in bio to book directly.

💙 Or comment “YES” and I’ll send you a one-page flyer with all the details that you can forward straight to your man, your brother, your dad or anyone you think would benefit.

Let’s get our boys out there, learning, connecting and coming home safely after every dive.

Ngā mihi nui to @watersafetynz for backing this kaupapa alongside @aratakidive and Salt Aotearoa!

Our tāne deserve to thrive in the moana. by @saltaotearoa

I’ve been sitting with everything coming out in the diving community lately, and it’s brought up some pretty uncomfortable memories.

When we started Salt Aotearoa six years ago, one of the biggest reasons was to create somewhere wāhine could dive without having to worry about the people they were diving with.

Not just feeling safe in the water, but feeling safe with their instructors, on boats, and in the spaces around them.

When Salt first started, my inbox was flooded with stories from wāhine across NZ and overseas. Stories of inappropriate behaviour, coercion and situations where women felt unsafe.

So I spoke about it.

And far out, did that go down badly.

What shocked me most was that some of the strongest criticism came from other women in our own NZ freediving and spearfishing community.

Apparently, I was making our sport look bad.

To be honest, it rattled me. We never stopped doing what we set out to do, but I definitely got quieter about why we were doing it.

Fast-forward six years, and here we are. Women around the world sharing experiences that sound painfully familiar.

I love this industry. Some of the most incredible people I’ve met have been through diving. But loving something doesn’t mean pretending the ugly parts don’t exist.

And I think we need to ask some harder questions. Who are we trusting to teach people? Can students say no without pressure? What happens when someone raises a concern? Are we willing to challenge someone who’s respected in the industry?

being an incredible diver doesn’t automatically make you an incredible human.

I’m proud of what we’ve built with Salt and alongside Arataki Dive. We’re not perfect, but we’re committed to being intentional about who we work with, the expectations we set, and how we respond when something isn’t right.

To the wāhine speaking up, thank you. And to those who aren’t ready, that’s okay too. 🤍

I just hope that this time, instead of worrying about how these conversations make our sport look, we worry a little more about why they’re happening in the first place 🌊 by @saltaotearoa

Two babies, a few years and a whole lot of life later… I’m finally coming back to SALT camp. 🥹

And I can’t bloody wait.

I’ve spent the last couple of years watching these camps grow into something so special, all while navigating the beautiful chaos of motherhood.

But amongst it all I also lost a little of my confidence in the water. Which is a strange thing to admit when you’re a freediving instructor. 😂

I think becoming a mum has made me so much more aware of my own mortality. Things I used to do without a second thought suddenly feel a little scarier.

So this camp feels extra special.

Because I’m not just coming back to teach, organise or support. I’m coming back to learn, to reconnect with the moana, and to find my feet again.

And I get to do that with a bunch of incredible wāhine.

If you’re in a season of life where you’re trying to find a little piece of yourself again, maybe we can do it together.

December can’t come soon enough 🤎🌊 by @saltaotearoa

A little reminder of what matters around here✨

We ain’t here to create the deepest divers.

We’re here to create a space where wāhine can show up exactly as they are.

Nervous beginners, seasoned divers, ocean lovers, ocean fearers, the messy middle and everyone in between.

A space where your physical and emotional safety matters. Where your hauora/wellbeing comes before your achievements. Where we celebrate each other without comparison.

And where we have a bloody good time doing it.

No egos or expectations.

That’s SALT, sis. 🩵

If this sounds a bit like you, join us at our next SALT camp, we got you!
*link in bio to book and learn more❤️ by @saltaotearoa

I thought freediving and my career were completely separate worlds.

I’m a speech-language therapist specialising in swallowing disorders in our kaumatua, often those with dementia or following a stroke. Freediving was the thing I did for my own hauora, a break from mahi that can sometimes be pretty heavy.

Then someone pointed out that SALT is literally an acronym for Speech And Language Therapist 😂

now freediving has led me into spearfishing, kaimoana, kai gathering and conversations about kai sovereignty…

…and somehow I’m now looking at ways to teach speech therapy tauira/students to gather kaimoana, understand its connection to culture and identity, and then learn how we can modify those same kai for kaumātua living with dysphagia.

So basically…

Did I just figure out a way to make a job out of teaching speech therapy students how to freedive and spearfish?! 😂

Did NOT see that one coming.

Anyway, What unhinged side quests has freediving thrown into your orbit? 😂 by @saltaotearoa

The cert is just the paperwork e hoa!❤️

Link in bio to learn more about our camps and book on🫶🏽 by @saltaotearoa

I’m also Albanian, so between the garlic bulbs to ward off negative energy 🧄 and Ahikaa’s Kaitiaki room spray, ain’t no bad juju entering this whare ❤️

what I’ve loved most about these products is how naturally they’ve become part of our everyday rituals.

The Pēpi Balm has created this beautiful, intentional moment between me and my pēpi; slow down, karakia, mirimiri, connect❤️

The Kaitiaki spray has become part of our whare.

And I ain’t gonna lie, the Niho Kaiū arrived for the teething pēpi, but Mum may have borrowed it during a recent toothache too 😂❤️

Beautiful mahi, cuz. So proud of what you’ve created🤎

@ahikaacollective 🔥 by @saltaotearoa