Looking for a new adventure? Here are ten of the best places for scuba diving and snorkelling in the beautiful country of New Zealand
New Zealand – Aotearoa, to use its Māori name – is a land of incredible natural beauty – rugged mountains and coastlines with breathtaking beaches – but some of the country’s most incredible landscapes can only be found by scuba diving and snorkelling in its crystal-clear waters.
Wildlife, including manta rays, dolphins, whales, orcas, penguins and turtles, can be found around the islands in an oceanic environment that ranges from cold water kelp forest diving to sub-tropical reefs. Underwater caves and archways are abundant, and a number of notable wrecks are available to dive.
With its unique geological features, easily accessible coastline with hundreds of offshore islands and rich variety of marine species, there is a wide range of options for divers of all levels to explore – or learn to dive. PADI has compiled a list of the top 10 best places to scuba dive and snorkel in New Zealand.
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1. Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve, Northland
The Poor Knights Islands – also known as Tawhiti Rahi in the indigenous Māori language – are home to a marine reserve that is one of the most popular spots for scuba diving in New Zealand – the late Jacques Cousteau called it one of the top five dive spots in the world.
The Poor Knights are the remnants of a 4-million-year-old ancient volcano that was once estimated to be around 1km in height but today forms an archipelago consisting of two large main islands and a number of smaller islands and islets.
The islands are surrounded by crystal-blue waters with spectacular drop-offs, caves, arches and tunnels to explore, all of which are inhabited by an amazing array of marine life. The warm waters are a paradise for orcas, dolphins, bull rays, and huge shoals of fish that can often be seen creating mesmerising displays beneath the waves.
The islands are also home to Rikoriko Cave, one of the largest sea caves in the world – which can be explored by regular tours run by Dive! Tutukaka.
Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve
2. Aramoana Mole, Dunedin
Located within the small Aramoana settlement, the Aramoana Mole is a man-made rock wall that was constructed to protect the entrance of the harbour from gathering silt. Now, it’s an inviting dive site home to several wrecks that act as artificial reefs, which are lined with kelp forests and full of fish.
Divers at Aramoana Mole regularly encounter see carpet sharks, telescope fish, sevengill sharks, and the New Zealand hooker sea lion. Visibility reaches 3-6m (10-20ft) on average, up to 10m (30ft) on a good day, and those with a keen eye may find seahorses and nudibranchs can also be spotted among the coral.
Above water, hoiho – yellow-eyed penguins – are sometimes spotted on the beach.
Scuba diving Aramoana Mole
3. Goat Island Marine Reserve, Auckland
Goat Island was New Zealand’s first marine reserve, and a popular dive and snorkel destination located just 100 metres from the beach, making it a popular spot for kids and beginner-level water explorers.
Goat Island is one of the best places on the New Zealand coast to see snapper and other fish, such as kingfish, red moki, leatherjackets and blue maomao, in their natural habitat. The Island is also frequented by dolphins, orcas, and fur seals.
Diving and snorkelling are possible straight from the beach, but watch out for glass-bottom boat tours overhead. One fun alternative for people who don’t want to jump into the water but would still like to catch a glimpse of the underwater realm is hiring a Clearyak; a see-through kayak.
Goat Island Marine Reserve
4. Cavalli Islands, Bay of Islands
The Cavalli Islands are a subtropical slice of paradise located just off the east coast of New Zealand’s Northland. The region is dubbed one of the most beautiful summer dive spots in New Zealand but is equally beautiful in winter.
Located on the sea floor between the Cavalli Islands and Matauri Bay is the wreck of the Rainbow Warrior, a sunken Greenpeace vessel that now acts as an artificial reef for corals, anemones and a variety of fish species. Divers can also spot dolphins, fur seals, monster crayfish, whiptail stingrays and, occasionally, orcas.
Scuba diving the Cavalli Islands
5. Great Barrier Island, Auckland
This beautiful island is located on the outer edge of the Hauraki Gulf in New Zealand’s only National Marine Park – with its subtropical climate and volcanic rock formations, and there is plenty to explore underwater.
The chain of islands is full of dive sites suitable for all levels of experience. There are also a number of shipwrecks for curious divers to investigate, including the SS Wairarapa, which hit the reef at Great Barrier Island and sank in the late 19th century.
Great Barrier Island
6. Kaikōura
Kaikōura’s stunning coastline, where the mountains meet the sea, is truly a sight to behold. The cold waters are full of a fantastic array of biodiversity, including octopus, stingray, and a variety of native fish species, which can be found among Kaikōura’s kelp forests.
Daves’ Diving Kaikōura hosts an adventurous shore diving experience, during which divers and snorkellers need to clamber over rocks to reach the water, where they will sometimes be accompanied by New Zealand fur seals in the shallow bays of the beautiful Kaikōura Peninsula.
It’s also worth keeping a lookout for the orcas, dolphins and whales that often frequent the area.
Scuba diving Kaikōura
7. The Coromandel Peninsula
The Coromandel Peninsula has an abundance of spots for divers and snorkellers to catch a closer look at some of New Zealand’s marine wildlife.
Just off the fine golden sands of the famous Cathedral Cove lies the Te-Whanganui-a Hei Marine Reserve – where a dive trip or PADI Dive Course with Cathedral Cove Dive & Snorkel or Dive Zone Whitianga will have you exploring some of the stellar dive sites of the region.
Whitianga on Mercury Bay is one of the most popular dive sites, where experienced divers can venture out to Never Fail Rock, covered in sponges and soft corals and teeming with big shoals of trevally, kahawai, and blue and pink maomao. Novice divers can head out to Bumper Point, where they will be greeted by an abundance of reef fish as well as moray eels.
Gemstone Bay – also known as Waimata – is a popular spot for snorkellers, and has a dedicated snorkelling trail marked by buoys that illustrate the marine habitats and associated species that live within them.
Scuba diving the Coromandel Peninsula
8. Milford Sound, Fiordland
Milford Sound is a world-renowned natural wonder, and divers here will encounter some spectacular underwater seascapes – cliff faces, Fiord walls and a unique ecosystem of black coral trees make it one of the most bucket-list-worthy dive spots in New Zealand.
The black coral trees are actually a stunning white colour in external appearance, under which is a jet-black skeleton – hence the name. Although black corals are mostly found in deep water, at Milford Sound, they inhabit depths as shallow as eight metres.
This is cold-water diving, so appropriate exposure protection – preferably a drysuit – is required, but it can be worth the extra effort to encounter the dolphins, seals, sharks, penguins, eels, octopus, stingray, crayfish and colourful nudibranchs that frequent the area.
Descend Dive in Te Anau is recommended for a Fiordland dive trip – and divers may even get to meet Boris, a resident eel who has lived in the area for at least ten years.
Scuba diving Milford Sound
9. Bluff, Southland
If you’re an adrenaline junkie and diving with sharks is on your list, this one’s for you. This tiny region of Bluff, which is known for its oysters and as the gateway to Stewart Island, is also one of the best places in the world to go shark-cage diving.
An experience with Shark Experience will get you up close and personal with these majestic creatures. There are plenty of sharks in the Foveaux Strait – you can expect to see great whites, mako, and blue sharks, and – every now and then – a lost sevengill shark.
Shark diving in Bluff
10. Stewart Island
The remote and untouched coastlines of Stewart Island make it a perfect place for marine life to thrive in its natural habitat, and an alluring destination for underwater adventurers.
A warm current from the Australian Great Barrier Reef flows around Stewart Island and brings a greater diversity of marine creatures than would normally be found in these waters.
The Neck Peninsula is the resting place of the SS Tarawera, a steamship that sank in 1933, which now acts as an artificial reef, full of colourful corals and fish. Māori Beach is full of hidden snorkel spots filled with vast kelp forests and their resident fish populations.
Snorkelling around Stewart Island
For more information, check out PADI’s guide to scuba diving and snorkelling in New Zealand
