Poor Knights dive map

This map shows just a few of the wonderful diving sites we can take you to.

Explore them further by clicking on any of the place names...

Interested in a Night Dive at the Poor Knights?

Northern Arch

• A vertical slot 37 meters deep at its shallowest point, this is perfect for the advanced diver.
• Schools of blue maomao and trevally can be seen schooling on the surface and this is a great place for sighting majestic kingfish.
• The archway is generally teeming with fish like pink maomao, trevally, demoiselles around 12-25 meter range.
• Mado and porae can often be seen deeper and sightings of some of the less common species like long finned boar fish and splendid perch are not uncommon.
• Squadrons of stingrays will sometimes patrol the arch from 10m down.
• The wall to the North of the arch is a great place to do your safety stop, sporting colourful sponges and anemones, some moray eels and (if you know where to look) there's a crevice of cunning crayfish.
• Outside the arch the bottom drops rapidly away past 60m.

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Bernies Cave

• ... is adjacent to Middle Arch. There is an air-bubble at the back of the cave where you can 'surface' at a depth of 6m and say hello to your buddy.
• Porae can often be seen sleeping on the sandy bottom.
• Photographers note: there is a brilliant display of anemones above the mouth of the cave at about 6m.

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Middle Arch

• ... is one of the most popular dives at the Poor Knights. Inside the archway the depth ranges from 10 to 16 metres and fish life is normally prolific.
• The usual assortment of wrasses and school fish can be found and rays frequently slide by. A pair of Lord Howe coralfish seem to have taken up residence recently and some other rarer fish such as the yellow banded perch can occasionally be seen.
• On the south side of the arch the reef tumbles down to the sand at around 40m and several species of moray eels can be found.
• This is a great dive for all levels of experience and diving below 20m is not required.

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Landing Bay Pinnacle

• ... comes up from 45m to within 5m of the surface. A good dive for anyone with reasonable buoyancy control - just pick your depth and spiral back up to the top of the pinnacle.
• On the seaward side several deeper pinnacles come up as far as 20 and 30m.
• For experienced divers these are excellent places to find some deeper water invertebrates including firebrick starfish and the remarkable diadema sea urchin.

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Sand Garden

• ... an excellent second dive site for the day with shallow rocky reef area and a good variety of reef fish, red moki and black angel fish are common and juvenile snapper can normally be found near to the wall.
• All manner of creatures can be found at this site if you know where to look amongst the sea weeds - from crayfish to the intimidating speckled moray and the unmistakable toadstool groper.

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Nursery Cove

• ... is a shallow and interesting area. The resident fishes are very tame and you might feel like the pied piper as literally hundreds of fish follow you around.
• Red pigfish and several types of wrasse can be seen and juvenile trevally abound. In the shallows at the back of the cove you may catch a glimpse of the shy bluefish.
• Off the southern point of nursery cove is an area called 'the labyrinth'. After swimming through an underwater arch you arrive in an area of canyons and swim-throughs.

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El Torito Cave

• ... nearby The Gardens are several caves and tunnels which have been eroded into the island, including the impressive dome of the El Torito Cave

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Tie Dye Arch

• ... situated at the Pinnacles some 8km from the main Poor Knights group. This is a fantastic dive, but is very exposed so accessible only in flat calm conditions.
• The name derives from the colourful patterns of sponges and anemonies on the walls of the arch. Sting rays are common here and sometimes dozens of them cruise the area.
• There are some very interesting reef topography here with a brilliant profusion of fish life. The depth is close in to the arch is no deeper than 20m so its suitable for all levels of experience.

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Blue Maomao Arch

• ... is a shallow arch which as its name implies abounds with blue maomao. We've heard this archway likened to 'diving in a cathedral'.
• The bottom drops to 15m towards the east end and free swimming yellow morays are sometimes encountered while the more timid great morays will normally remain hiding amongst the rocks.
• On the outside of the arch take a close up look at the boulders - dozens of tiny brightly coloured blennies sit out on the rock surfaces and flit away when disturbed

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Fred's Pinnacle

• ... another pinnacle rising out of the depths to within
  10m of the surface.
• Pink maomao tend to school there and it's one of the best spots for pelagics like kingfish.

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Maomao Arch

• ... is a tunnel right through Tawhiti Rahi Island. Accessible from both sides this is a very rich area.
• There are several different marine environments in a very small area here so there is always a wider diversity of life here.
• Schools of demoiselles and maomao materialise like clouds while the well camouflaged scorpion fish sits unmoving on the rocks.
• There is sometimes a current running here which is not normally strong enough to inhibit diving, but an easterly swell can render the area un-divable.

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