For those who think Oz is the only place to go dive, I agree North Island diving can be unexpectedly good! We've had the pleasure of diving Bay of Islands, Volkner Rocks and White Island, and more than once at Poor Knights, as we love the spectacular underwater scenery / caverns (driving a forty-two footer into Rikoriko cave in daytime and doing a night dive gives you an idea of how large these can get), and the great critters (who can resist the blue eyes of a blue-eyed triplefin looking up at you from its algal bed?) like boarfish, some Sandager's wrasse following you around, large short-tailed stingrays...
Glen Edney of
OceanBlue will guide you to the critters,
Dive! Tutukaka will give you a comfortable ride out there and let you do your own thing (don't be put off by the snorkelers, kayakers and trainees aboard - they sort it all out quite well; Jeroen Jongejans knows what he is doing at D!T). Hey, you can't resist - Poor Knights is one of the fifty or so places Jacques-Yves Cousteau called one of the top ten places to dive.
(We like April - water is as warm as it will be, 5mm is quite doable and moreso with a vest, prices for accommodation are low as it is shoulder season, and the fish are still there. For those who drive on the "other" side of the road, it's still easy to rent a car - we usually use
Rent-a-Dent and have been quite satisfied.)
Irresistibly cute Blue-eyed Triplefin
