With a fantastic climate year round, New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty is a fantastic destination for all divers. There’s lots to do while you’re on shore, and the local produce, including kiwi fruit and avocados, is just fantastic. Best of all, the diving is spectacular. With lovely beaches and abundant marine life, interesting volcanic geology and clear blue water, it is truly a paradise everyone should visit at least once. While there are many fantastic dive sites in the area, some do stand out from the rest. Let’s take a brief look at what the Bay of Plenty has to offer.
Rabbit Island
Usually accessed by boat, but reachable via a swim from Main Mount beach, Rabbit Island is an excellent site for all divers, with depths between 5 and 20 meters, and visibility that is usually better than 20 meters, though it can be poor after a storm. Home to a wealth of colorful reef fish, plenty of invertebrates and crustaceans, and the occasional octopus, it is also a good place to encounter kingfish and kahawai during the summer months. With small rocky reefs and even a few shallow caves, plus colorful sponge and plant growth, it is a great place to become better acquainted with your underwater camera.
Motiti Island
One of the most popular sites near Tauranga, Motiti Island has amazingly varied underwater topography. With small caves and lots of volcanic boulders, plus overhangs and canyons, as well as sandy patches where you can find scallops in abundance, the area is home to fish large and small, as well as plentiful crayfish and other small creatures, including some very colorful nudibranchs. With sheltered areas that can be easily accessed even when other sites are too blown out to enjoy, it is a wonderful site for all divers, and though maximum depth is 27 meters, there is plenty to see in much shallower water. Visibility is usually very good, sometimes nearing 30 meters, although it can be poor after bad weather. Watch for octopus, kingfish, and even the occasional turtle as you explore.
Plate Island
Located approximately one and a half hours from Tauranga, Plate Island has shallow rocky reefs that drop to meet the seabed 45 meters below. With an incredible array of marine life large and small, including the occasional fur seal during the winter months, it is a good site for all to explore, as many features are in shallow water. You can stay near the reef top, looking for invertebrates and enjoying the company of small reef fish, or you can search the walls for nudibranchs. Look for Terakihi, Porae, and even the uncommonly encountered Splendid Perch along the deeper reaches, and watch the blue for schooling blue and pink maomao, silvery demoiselles, and butterfly perch. Keep an eye out for the occasional bronze whaler shark, as well! Visibility tends to be very good here, sometimes exceeding 30 meters, making this a great site for photography.
The Taioma Wreck
Located just off Motiti Island, the Taioma is a 30 meter tugboat which was built in Scotland in the 1940’s. In 1979, she was taken out of the working fleet and was put on display at the Tauranga Museum before finally being deployed as an artificial reef. Today, the wreck is wreathed in colorful aquatic growth and is home to a wealth of marine life, large and small. Sitting upright and intact beneath 27 meters of water, with her topside accessible at 21 meters, she is in great condition and can be penetrated with ease. The wheelhouse still contains the helm and some instruments, and there are maomao, sweeps, leatherjackets, goatfish, schooling jack mackerel, and kingfish everywhere. Watch for John Dory, squid, and octopus, too.
Schooner Rocks
An ideal site for all divers, with depths ranging from 4 to 40 meters, Schooner Rocks is a very small island that attracts an incredible array of marine life. This site is popular with fishermen, so be cautious of lost fishing tackle and nets, and be sure to dive with a flag. You’ll find the occasional bronze whaler shark here, as well as fur seals during the winter months, and the rocks are crawling with crayfish. With canyon overhangs and pinnacles to explore, plus some very large pelagics to be seen most of the time, this site affords a good view of the blue beyond, and you never can tell what might show up. Keep an eye out for moray eels and octopus in the rocks!
Mayor Island
The site of Tuhua Marine Reserve, Mayor Island has several interesting places to dive, with varied terrain and depths ranging from 2 to 40 meters. Perfect for underwater photography and excellent for all divers, the site is home to a wealth of reef fish, along with plenty of pelagics. You will occasionally encounter turtles in the summer, and during the winter, it is not uncommon to see bronze whalers and fur seals. There are lots of red crayfish as well as a few packhorse crayfish among the rocks, and the large anemones are perfect subjects for macro shots, particularly as they are often attended by smaller creatures. Watch for sharp nosed pufferfish, bluefish, combfish, schooling Splendid Perch, and crimson cleaners, along with some very large kingfish and the occasional barracuda.
Penguin Shoals
A marvelous open water site with a deep reef that rises up from the seabed 80 meters below to within 14 meters of the surface, Penguin Shoals is subject to strong currents, which makes it the ideal place to encounter large pelagic fish. You’ll find huge Kingfish, schooling trevally, makos, huge shoals of kahawai and even marlin, blue sharks, and sunfish. In addition, it is not uncommon to encounter turtles here during the summer months.
There are many excellent dive operators to choose from, and if you like, you can even enjoy a splendid vacation on a liveaboard that can take you from the Bay of Plenty to even more exotic locations. Whether you are new to diving or a seasoned expert, and no matter which sites you visit, you are certain to have a fantastic holiday and come away with memories to last you a lifetime.