Scubareefing
Wall-to-wall fish
Fly to Auckland then catch a domestic flight to Whangarei. From there take a shuttle to Tutukaka. Alternatively, rent a car and drive three hours north to Tutukaka.
January through June
Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve, North Island, New Zealand
Dive Tutukaka (diving.co.nz)
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Diving opportunities in Blue Maomao Arch, New Zealand are available.
By Jenny Enderby (Adapted from "passport to diving the world")
One of the best place to witness walls of fish.
When the schools of blue maomao move through the entrance of the arch, the wall of fish doesn't seem real. Thousands of blue bodies move in unison, separating to travel along each side of divers and above and below. Somehow the colourful sponges, hydroids, zoanthids, anemones, ascidians and nudibranchs that line the archway walls are secondary, yet on any other dive they would be the focus. Below the wall of blue maomao are half-banded perch and scorpionfish. Demooiselles sit against the colourful walls or school around the entrance. Moray eels grin at passing divers, prompting a quick retreat or an opportunity for a photo shoot. Then it's aback to the wall-to-wall blue maomao for which the arch is aptly named.
(Ok enough with the stories, I'm itchin' for a dive)