Dive Tutukaka

We woke to a beautiful warm day and joined the other would-be fish at Dive Tutukaka for a day of Scuba diving and snorkeling at the Poor Knights Islands. As we cruised out of the bay, the scenery was stunning! Emerald hills, aqua waters, and blue skies amazed us for an hour’s ride.

Our destination, Poor Knights, had been listed in the guidebooks as a site recommended by Jacques Cousteau as one of the best in the world. The islands were apparently named for a breakfast called Poor Knights Pudding which is something like french toast with fruit on top. The islands are uninhabited by humans but home to much exotic wildlife. The story our boat captain told is that they island is now considered sacred by the Maori. A tribe once lived on the islands but after a brutal massacre by another tribe the island was declared off-limits. Now it is home to huge lizards and giant grasshoppers.

The crew dropped anchor off Brady Point. We got the history of the islands and a dive breifing before fighting our way into wetsuits. Our group was guided by will and had 3 other members. While Guy and I dove, alice soaked up sun and snorkeled. We saw several type of fish as we filtered our way through kelp beds at the bottom.

Lunch on the boat was a bagged lunch and lots of cuppa soup. While we ate, we toured a sea cave in which a sub apparently hid undetected for months during WWII. The cave, Rico Rico, apparently was used as an amphitheatre several times for concerts as well. We cruised around parts of the islands enjoying views until we reached Cleaner Fish Bay for a second dive. This area was recently reported to have a lage sea turtle but we didn’t spot it. We were rewarded with a short-tailed stingray.

After the dive and the cruise back, we dove back down to Auckland to enjoy excellent Thai food at a restaurant Alice recommended. Then we continued driving for a few hours until several highway detours reminded us to stop for the night. There wasn’t much around so the 3 of us settled in for a cozy night in the Crib.