Tutukaka is the harbor town for a trips heading out the the Poor Knight Islands. The Poor Knight Islands are a full nature and marine reserve, several Islands fully protected and uninhabited. They are full of history and lore and full of life!
The water here is affected by the east Australian current which causes the temperature to vary between 14 C winter and 22 C in the summer. Welcoming a host of temperate and seasonal tropical visitors. Since becoming a marine reserve life has exploded here and all sorts of temperate life calls the Knights home. All Boat diving with nil access to the Islands.
There are MANY dive sites around the Poor Knight Islands, each with its own features.
One of my personal favorite is Northern Arch, the photos here are all taken there.
Northern Arch is an Archway and Wall dive, depending on conditions and currents the dive plan can change here either side of the arch, around the point or through the arch and back. Max depth is around 43m at the bottom of the Arch which is 6-8m wide, the top of the arch is above the water level.
At times you can see Sharks and larger creatures swimming off the point of the arch (Mantas and Orca included).
In the Archway... any day you can get conditions to dive there, epic amounts of fish! (also Rays, eels and macro life) Kelp lined walls with helpful ridges around 10m, 20m and 30m.
We're off to Australia in November and have a couple of days planned for Townsville to see the Yongala wreck & Great Barrier Reef. We've been told that the weather can be quite unpredictable at the wreck and trips can be cancelled at short notice. If we miss out because of bad weather we'd receive a full refund, but we wont be in town long enough to get a second chance to go out.
obviously its "unpredictable", but does any one know where I can find a report of how often the yongala was unavailable last year? Particularly November and December.
I don't know stats on how often it was unavailable but you are going a nice time of year. Nov and Dec is just coming into summer so the winds will be lighter than a few months before so more chance of being able to dive the wreck. I will cross my fingers for you :)
We can't get there until 14th July. Can anyone advise how likely it is that they will still be there?
It will probably depend on the season and the weather.. and a bit of luck! How long will you be spending there (the number of days you get out will probably make the difference).
It is 'in' season.. but as Desmond says usually they are brought in by increases in plankton and how long this lasts for depends on the weather and currents. Maybe ask dive operators in April when the whale sharks season has been so far you may be able to see if it is later this year or earlier.
