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Shore Day Trip Live Aboard
Country: New Zealand Area: New Zealand
Water Temp: 14 - 24°C (57 - 75°F)
Visibility: 10 - 40m (33 - 131 ft)
Book A Diving Trip OnlineThe Alderman Islands sit right in the middle of the East Auckland current which loops round and brings with it a pocket of warmer clearer water with more diverse marine mammals and fish species than just a few kilometres along the coast!
Most dive sites consist of boulders and small cracks and crevasses teeming with life, small swim throughs and caves housing clouds of blue maomao, damoiselles and black Angels. Kelp and seaweeds of many colours cover the sea floor. Below the kelp other interesting animals such as crayfish, Spanish lobsters, scorpion fish, tiny blennies, plus many species of crab, sea shells and still more nudibranchs can be found, but there have been occasional encounters with sharks, Marlin, Turtle, a variety of rays and even whales showcasing the diversity of what is on offer at the Alderman Islands.
Sub - Tropical climate summer season runs from November to March, water temperature averaging 22 - 24 deg.
Tairua, Waikato, New Zealand, Credit
Most questions are answered by our
diving community within 24 hours
Shore diving is available as a cheaper option.
Located about ten miles off Tairua near the continental shelf, the Aldermen Islands are a series of craggy volcanic islands which rise dramatically from the ocean floor and penetrate the surface to impressive rock formations, its 30-plus dive sites rivaling the Poor Knights, with appearances from nudibranchs, crayfish, stingrays, dolphins, seals, turtles, marlin and the occasional visit by pods of Orca whales
One of the most stunning and diverse dives is called Honeycomb Caves, the many cave systems in this area have various entry and exit points and you can surface anywhere on the dive so it is accessable to all levels of diver. The best starting point is from the north entrance in about 10meters of water, as we swim further in , the walls are covered in plant and fish life with schools of Damoiselles, Blue Maomao, Snapper and Black Angels, and the many crevasses house Cray and Moray. As the light fades and just as you think “I'd better turn back”, you look to your right. What you see is so stunning, it catches your breath, sunlight streaming down through holes in he roof. The clarity of the cobalt water is astounding. Swimming on, you emerge into an ocean abundant in marine life, the lush greenery with bursts of brilliant colour reminiscent of being in a garden only you are underwater and all the while being followed by inquisitive fish that seem to find you highly amusing. From here you can follow the wall along back to the starting point. The light play and abundant marine life found on this mind blowing dive is sure to leave you with a smile behind your regulator and a memory to last a lifetime.
Most questions are answered by our
diving community within 24 hours
Tairua is only 2 hours drive from Auckland International Airport.
Auckland International Airport, Credit
Most questions are answered by our
diving community within 24 hours
Tairua has several cafe’s and restaurants, but is generally quiet on a night.
Food! Credit
Most questions are answered by our
diving community within 24 hours
Whilst visiting Tairua you can also take a Kayak trip down the beautiful estuary or take and exhilerating days fishing on one of the several charter boats available.
Surfing, Credit
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