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Plants, flora and algae
Pohutakawa, Poor Knights lily, golden seawrack, common and tough
kelp, sea rimu, benthic and encrusting coralline algae, red algae,
and bryozoids.
Birds, animals and insects
Gannets, shearwaters, petrels, terns, shags, New Zealand fur seals,
tuatara, giant weta, giant centipede, flax snails.
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Fish and other sea life
Black, red, short spined and tropical sea urchins, cowry,
red and packhorse crayfish and Spanish lobsters. Tube, golf
ball and calcareous sponges, corals, gorgonians and anemones,
bryozoans, hydroids and zoanthids. Starfish, crabs, shrimps,
snails, crinoids and brittlestars. Nudibranchs, the most common
being clown nudibranch, tambja verconis, morose tambja, jewelled,
gem, variable and Jason's nudibranch. Octopus and sea hares.
Snapper and golden snapper, kingfish, red moki, blue cod,
leatherjacket, lavender lizard fish, toadstool grouper, Lord
Howe coral fish, notch-head marble fish, green wrasse, comb
fish, black spot goatfish, clown toado, crimson cleanerfish,
rainbowfish. Moon wrasse, sunset wrasse, long nose butterfly
fish, Coral sea gregory, lionfish, seagrass parrotfish.
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Striped marlin, yellow fin tuna, ocean sunfish, demoiselles, pink
and blue maomao, John Dory, black angelfish, butterfish, Sandager's
and orange wrasse, butterfly perch, red pigfish and foxfish. Boarfish,
yellow banded perch, large hapuka. Big tail and short tailed stingrays,
hammerhead, thresher, carpet and bronze whaler sharks. Jellyfish,
salps, paper nautilus, Brydes whales, common and bottlenose dolphins.
Porae, painted moki, black spotted grouper, blue moki, copper moki,
blue eyed triple fin, hiwihiwi and crested blenny. On rare occasions,
hump backed whales; shortfin mako sharks,turtles and manta rays
have been sighted.
In addition to the normal reef life, this is an indication of
what the diving will be like and what you will see:
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Mid January to March
Water Temperature 19 degrees average, to 21/22 in February/March
Visability 15-20 metres (20-30 metres in February/March)
Conditions Should be fine with daytime air temperature
in the mid 20's
You can see Stingrays, sunfish, tuna, marlin and kingfish.
Some Brydes whales, common and bottlenose dolphins, gannets
and shearwaters. If you are really lucky, mantas and turtles
are spotted yearly.
April - Mid June
Water Temperature 17/18 degrees average
Visability 15-20 metres
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Conditions Unsettled, possibly rain and wind, although
still some very good spells
You can see Seals, jellies. There is a minor plankton bloom
in May, which can affect visability. The fish prepare for
breeding, they start to regain their colours and the males
begin to defend their territories more fiercely. This is the
start of the year for all life at the islands and is a great
time for those interested in more than just seeing lots of
fish and great visibility.
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Mid June - Mid September
Water Temperature 14+ degrees
Visability 25-35 metres. Sometimes up to 40 or 50.
This is the best time of year for visibility.
Conditions Unsettled, colder, possibly wind and rain
You can see Giant salps, New Zealand fur seals, bronze whaler
sharks
Mid September - Mid January
Water Temperature 17 degrees, beginning to get warmer
during this period
Visability 10 -15 metres
Conditions Weather getting warmer
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You can see The stingrays are back, as are whales. The major
plankton bloom occurs in October/November.
We can only give you an indication of what you will see and
what the weather, water temperature and visibility will be
like when you visit the Poor Knights. We cannot make any guarantees.
This is nature and therefore subject to change! We do not
take our boat out if we anticipate bad weather - the Skipper's
decision is final.
For more detailed information check out the bulletin board
on the site created by Wade
Doak, pioneer diver and NZ marine life expert.
If you need any further information about when to dive and
what you may see, please contact us, and our team will be
happy to advise you.
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