Poor Knights Islands
4th - 6th October 2008
The Poor Knights consist of two main islands surrounded by a marine reserve extending 600 m
out into the sea. They are located approx. one hour by boat from the Port of Tutakaka.
Day 1. ( Friday) Arrive at Tutakaka marina about 6 pm and meet some of the dive team already
aboard the "Pacific Hideaway" catamaran, moored alongside the boat club bar and bistro, perfect!
Day 2. (Saturday) Skipper (Mark) and crew (Denise) arrive and give us an intro to our trip / boat
etc...weather is gusty and expected to strengthen from the N.W. While weather allows we go
straight to the huge domed cave "Riko Riko" over 100 m long and maybe 20 high inside....wow.
The skipper blows a conch shell horn and the echo reverberates for 8 seconds....check this out !!
These lava formed islands are a myriad of caves, arches, and cracks, and so are a haven for all
types of marine life...and rated as among the top 10 dive sites in the world by Jacques Cousteau.
Dive 1: After our briefing we have our first dive at "Middle Arch" and explore the air bubble
cave...stick heads out of water for a chat, and see the gauge shows we are at 8m !! Back via a swim
through at 25m and pass heaps of fish along the way....and back on board to hot scones and jam !!
yummy while scanning the fish charts for locals we may have met already .
Dive 2: ‘North Arch"- vertical sides to 40 m with an overhang on one side at 25m that fish
congregate under. On our way back we find a new type of crayfish, called the "look don't touch"
species, and also see a Spanish cray...weird .
Dive 3: ‘Mao Mao Arch' where blue Mao Mao fish congregate. Only a hand full were seen, but
clouds of other fish were here, especially Demoiselles and Snapper. This was my first ever feeling
of swimming ‘with' the fish as they don't see divers as a threat...magic!
Several of the group stalled at the suggestion of a drink and waited till dark for a night dive to see
how many blue Mao Mao had come in.....but me, bugger that, time for a G&T.!!!
Sunday, the wind had picked up as predicted, so dive sights were restricted to the Eastern side of
the islands .
Dive 4: Have a light breakfast and kit up for a mass entry out near a pinnacle with a drop off to
40m, and swim back along ‘Magic Wall'. Those with cameras were in awe as Nudibranchs,
sponges, and numerous types of fish glistened in the morning sunlight - and back on board to
bacon, eggs, beans, sausages and toast !!!!
Motor up to Cove Bay but abort because of swirling winds and sloppy swells, head back to
relative shelter of Hope Point.
Dive 5: ‘Air Bubble Cave' and get to see lots of Blue Mao Mao, along with the now familiar
varieties of Moray eels, Scorpion fish, Grouper, Moki, Perch, Wrasse, etc etc etc.
Dive 6: Today was a personal highlight at "Matts Crack" a 100m long fissure about 4m wide and
18m at the entrance...this turns into a night dive after the first 20m and the torch adds to the
eeriness of it all. Coming back out towards the sunlight with all the fish and other divers
silhouetted in the clear water was awesome. Just outside was a huge cray and got close to a ray
with a span of nearly 1.5m. ...What an experience.
Monday dive 7: ‘Fraggle Rock' a narrow reef running out to sandy bottom, and we are supposed
to find a chimney going from 25m vertically down to 38m, but none of us were able to find it. The
exploring still made it an excellent dive.
The decision is made to head back across to the shelter of the mainland as the forecast is for
worsening seas, and here we dive the wreck of the "Waikato" sitting in 30m sunk as a dive site
about 10 years ago. Viz was down to about 3/5m. a bit of a shock after the Poor Knights, but an
interesting ship. The crays here were now a more familiar variety as we were now well outside the
marine reserve. The option of a cray dive close to shore was taken by just a few, but they did well
and provided enough for a good feed that night. They brought up a couple of Packhorse crays, the
first that most of us had seen, and we were surprised by the large 215mm minimum tail length
required to make it a keeper.
Some stayed another night on board before their flight home the next day, and some took the
chance to spend a bit more time in the winterless north.
Mark, Denise and the Pacific Hideaway make a great team for a trip like this...well done.
Thanks Dan and the Nelson guys (& gals) for allowing me to join you...unforgettable ! See photos.
