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Published: September 30th 2009
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With a giant stride I plunged into the water and felt a cold rush through my wetsuit. It’s been quite a while since I dived in anything approximating cold water and the shock of it momentarily took my breath away. Being a bit of a wimp, I was pleased to have a 7mm suit and hood although the temperature was actually quite civilised at 20 degrees. I looked down from the surface and the water was clear. I spied some of the largest snapper I have even seen. ‘Wow’ is what I was thinking. ‘This just might be as good as the rumours say.’
Jacque Cousteau, the father of scuba, rated the Poor Knights as one of the top ten dive locations in the world. A mighty claim to fame to live up to. These volcanic islands are set far out from the mainland - 24km off shore - and have been cut off from NZ for millions of years. There are no introduced pests and no development. As a result many species continue to thrive here on land and sea which are now extinct or endangered elsewhere, having had their populations ravaged by introduced species like the stoat
View from the surface inside cave
The largest sea cave by volume in the xouthern hemisphere. Concerts have been played inside, onboard boats, including - i believe - The Verve and Crowded House. and possum and by human impact. For this reason nobody is allowed onto the islands without a permit, and getting one is like getting a letter from God. Similarly the marine area is a fully protected reserve, meaning nothing may enter or exit the water except your lovely selves. It’s even illegal to kill a mosquito! While the mozzi rule may seem a little extreme I think this is a marvellous idea, especially after discovering that only 1% of NZ coast and oceans are properly protected. It surprises and saddens me that, for all its green wash, NZ still seems to have a way to go in the area of marine conservation. At least we have the Poor Knight Islands which is a fantastic start.
The islands lie in the path of the East Australian Current (or the East Auckland Current as the kiwis call it, my they are competitive...). This current sweeps in from the north and down the continental shelf, making the water at the Poor Knights warmer and clearer than most other diving in NZ. Because of this there is a startling level of biodiversity, where sub tropical and even tropical species thrive alongside more
temperate, cold water critters. A lucky diver may even spot turtles and manta rays cruising down the shelf, 'Finding Nemo' style, in the peak of summer. While Dec - Jan is the busiest time of the season the diving is generally at its best in Feb-Mar. Apparently. It’s hard to tell at the moment though since the diving has been cancelled due to weather for the last 3 days. They say up until now they had only missed 2 days all season. There are well over 50 dive sites around the Knights so you are spoilt for choice and can usually find a suitable spot. Unfortunately with 45 knot winds it’s a complete blowout. Neptune’s curse seems to be upon me.
NZ’s weather is so changeable the best advice I can give is if the weather is good for what you want to do today do it today, because tomorrow may not be so great. The day I squeezed my diving in it was perfect blue skies, calm seas and a light soothing breeze. It seemed implausible that the forecasted turn in the weather could come true. By the following morning it was a howling gale interspersed with
sheets of rain. The second piece of advice would be that if you are into weather dependent pastimes allow extra time in your plans in case of delays due to poor conditions and thus avoid disappointment.
I won’t waste anymore time lamenting the fact that I have spent 3 days doing very little and willhave to leave before the weather improves sustantially. In all honesty, while I am bitterly disappointed about the diving - or rather the lack of it - it’s been a great excuse to indulge the guilty pleasures of lazing around. Let me tell you about the diving that I did manage to do.
So where was I... cold water...I’m a wimp...clear water...giant snapper. Right. So we were diving a spot called Riko Riko, named not coincidently after Riko Riko Cave which is carved into the island. This is the largest underwater cave, by cubic litres (850 000), in the world. We descended and made our way along a wall covered in kelp, swimming past small, kelp covered pinnacles. If you think kelp sounds boring, think again. This was the first dive in a kelp forest for me and I found diving among the
Mosaic Moray Eel
Poor Knights. This guy is super cool. Check out his teeth, which are patterned like his body..amazing kelp hypnotic, watching it sway rhythmically back and forth; a graceful, monochrome, undulating dance of vivid greens and muted kakis. I admired the wrasse, the john dories and the damoseilles - the little fish with the big attitudes. I was astounded by how much life was all around me, disguised among the weed. Kelp is quite hardy stuff, so while touching corals and sponges is a no-no you can man handle the weed without concern and by sweeping some aside with a gentle arm you will find schools of fish, moray eels and crustaceans sheltered in crevices, various urchins and red, angry looking scorpionfish.
This guy, the scorpionfish, is a cousin of the nasty, often deadly stonefish that we get in Oz. Of course this is NZ, famed for having nothing that will kill you and so he doesn’t kill you of course, he just might make you feel bad for a while. It will take a bit of effort on your part though. First you might tickle his chin; he seems to quite like that. As his spines rise on his back you then need to bring your other free hand down quite hard onto the top
jeweled Starfish
Upclose. Simply stunning! of his back, thus impaling yourself on the poisoned barbs. Then what you are left with should amount to an injury about equivalent to a bee sting. Annoying but not life threatening.
Rubble and large boulders crowded the sandy ocean floor at the domed entrance to the cave. The entry arched above us and opened like a gaping yawn before us. The kelp fails to grow beyond the entrance because it is algae and needs sunlight for photosynthesis. The opening to the cave is large enough to allow light to creep in several metres, illuminating the cave walls in an eerie half light. Just inside the cave beautiful sponges grow in abstract splashes of colour and the nudibranches gather, sometimes in hungry hordes, to feast on them. We spied a small, baby yellow moray among the sponge. As Ewan, our skipper, pointed out the names for things in NZ are pretty self explanatory. So the yellow moray is yellow, the red moray is red, the speckled moray speckled ... you get the gist. The one I wanted to see was the mosaic moray. And I was lucky enough to do so. Turning back we made our way to
the boat and were joined for our safety stop by big pelagics; kingfish and snapper.
The other two dives of the day were at Shark Fin Cave and The Arch. Both were fantastic. I always love cave diving, there is something exhilerating about entering the maw of a cave and dissolving into the darkness. Turning back to look out towards the entrance from inside never fails to produce a tingle in my spine. The Arch had some current running but was not too difficult to negotiate. The amount of soft corals, anemone and sponges splashed across the walls were mind blowing beeautiful. It's certainly a shame that I couldnt manage anymore diving here at the Poor Knights. However I guess it provides a good excuse - as if one is needed - to return to dive here again.
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maria hobcraft
non-member comment
poor knights/rich knights
What another great blog, as usual, felt like i was there x