Descriptions of dive locations right around New Zealand, terrain, depths, special marine life and how to access them, Expand your experience by trying somewhere new, but with the advantage of knowing what to expect! Or, add your own dive site description to this page by using the form below.

  

White Island

This active volcano is situated 31 miles off Whakatane, and smoke can often be seen belching from its crater. It is home to a large Gannet Colony and the waters around the island offer outstanding diving with warm clear water, prolific fish life and frequent sightings of marine mammals.

There are a number of reefs and pinnacles close by the island such as Laison's Reef and the Volkner Rocks that rise from out of deep water to within 6-20m of the surface and that are excellent sites to see pelagic species. They also provide spectacular deep dives to well beyond 50m, and their many interesting ledges fissures and overhangs are thickly covered with sponges, gorgonian soft corals and at greater depths, black coral trees.

Like other offshore islands the visibility can be outstanding around White Island; -up to 30-40m in summer when the 'blue water' is in. At this time of year the water temperature can reach 21-22C, but drops back to 14-15C in winter. Terrain around White Island varies from kelp forest and boulder gardens to rocky reef, walls and deep drop-offs.

Above water this is a great region for observing dolphin and whale species, and seabirds ranging from Australasian Gannets to shearwaters, mollymawks and even albatross. Below water White Island has a spectacular array of life similar in diversity and abundance to the Poor Knights. The large Speckled moray is very common here, large schools of Trevally and Blue Maomao are frequently seen near the surface, pelagics such as Kingfish, sharks and marlin are not uncommon, and in season it is a great place to spot large Packhorse Crayfish. The East Auckland Current also has an effect on White Island's marine life, and various subtropical species such as Toadstool grouper, surgeonfish and Banded Coral shrimp have been observed around the island. A unique feature of White Island is its underwater vents, which can be seen bubbling continuously at quite shallow depths.

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The Poor Knights
The Poor Knights Islands are found approximately 24 km off the north-east coast of New Zealand; -designated a nature reserve above water, and a Marine Reserve underwater they are one of New Zealand's 'special places'.
These volcanic islands lie in the path of the warm East Auckland Current, which swings down from the north of Australia bringing warmer water temperatures and many subtropical visitors to the islands; -Banded Coral shrimp, Gold ribbon Grouper, Toadstool and Black-spotted grouper, Lord Howe Coralfish, Sunfish, and occasionally Manta rays and turtles.
As well as such sub-tropical visitors, the Poor Knights' are home to a wide array of interesting temperate-water species; large numbers of Short-tail and Long-tail Stingrays gather here to breed over the summer months, five species of moray eels are found around the islands along with a huge diversity of reef and pelagic fish species and numerous nudibranchs.

The encrusting wall life is superb and incredibly colourful, with an abundance of soft corals, jewel anemones and bryozoans. The islands are a fascinating location for divers underwater photographers, professional biologists and amateur naturalists, with many rare or unusual species found here, as well as new discoveries being made at regular intervals.

Above water, seabirds such as the Buller's Shearwater, Little Blue penguin, Black Shag and Australasian Gannet live and breed on the islands, sharing the Poor Knights with many rare bird, reptiles and insect species.

NB: Some of the marine life to be found around the islands are described in more detail on our 'Feature Creature' page.

The Poor Knights Islands also possess some of the most spectacular underwater terrain in the world, and are renowned for their many arches, sea caves, tunnels and vertical underwater cliffs. Diving here is like flying through a vast natural cathedral, the walls and archways adorned with a rich tapestry of soft corals, anemones, sponges and ascidians, the subtle play of light and shadow enhancing the experience of moving in '3-dimensions'.
Swaying weed gardens dominate the few sheltered bays present at the Poor Knights, and visibility ranges from 10-40m with the average being 20-25m. Water temperatures vary from 14C in mid-winter to 22C in summer, and there are over 60 dive sites to choose from around the islands.
(For a detailed description of many of these sites check out 'Dave's Dive Logs').