World | New Zealand: | Diving the Poor Knights:

Reefs:

• Barren Arch
• Blue Maomao Arch
• Cream Gardens
• Middle Arch
• Northern Arch

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Scuba Diving in the Poor Knights, New Zealand

Dive Site: Blue Maomao Arch

Location: Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand

Description: Reef dive

Depth: 10 - 20 metres (30 - 65 feet)

Visibility: 15 metres (50 feet)

Rating: *****

There are a lot of fish to be seen on this dive – wrasse, damoiselles and of course the star of the show, the blue maomao which are there in vast shoals. The dive begins with a submerged tunnel which is home to the blue maomaos, and as divers head into the tunnel they tend to shoal out before closing back in around you as you pass through. If you stay relatively still you may feel like you are part of the shoal. Also in the archway are a lot of corals, nudibranchs and sea urchins.

As you head out of the tunnel you come to a gravelly seabed in amongst the kelp covered boulders. We saw a giant boarfish, a giant stargazer and some stingrays in this area. Also look out for crayfish tucked away in the rocks. We then ended the dive by making our way back through the arch to disturb the maomoas once again.

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