Diving in or around Auckland

[garyw90]

Hi there kiwis,
I'll be coming down to visit you in Auckland from Dec 4 through 11, and was considering whether it would be worth it to take my dive gear. I'll realistically only have the day of the 10th. I'm flying out on Sunday night (the 11th), so I will have enough time beforehand so I don't fizz out.

So there are the most obvious questions:

• What are the good dive operators out of Auckland?
• How is the visibility this time of year?
• What about water temps?

Just trying to evaluate whether it is worth it to haul some gear down there.....

 

[hypnodiver]

For a city surrounded by so much water, diving around Auckland itself isn't that great, unless you want to dodge the duck poo in Lake Pupuke just to be able to say that you've dived in a volcano.

Better diving can be found further north.

If you are looking for a day trip from Auckland, then Goat Island Dive would be a reasonable option. They run trips to the outer Hauraki Gulf from Leigh (about 1 - 1.5 hours drive from Auckland.) Looking at their schedule, they're off to the Mokohinaus on the 10th of December, which would be worthwhile (it's of my personal favourites) if you don't mind a couple of hours each way on the boat. (The Mokohinau Islands are about 50km out to sea from Leigh.)

If you have transport and could consider getting out of Auckland on Friday night, then I would strongly recommend heading up to Whangarei and a trip to the Poor Knights. I would personally recommend Dive!Tutukaka, especially as they cater well for travelling divers who may not be as familiar with the local conditions.

Temperature-wise, I was at the Poor Knights yesterday, and the water was 16degC, and I wouldn't expect it to be more than maybe 1degC warmer by the time you're planning to be here. Visibility was 10 - 15m or so, but it does vary a bit at the moment from day to day, and from location to location.

 

[garyw90]

Thank you so much for your information! Sounds like the water temps are very simlar to what I was diving in today in Southern California. I was in my dry suit, but there really is no way I would bring that south for a 1-day trip. I don't know if I will have any transportation, I will have to check with my boss on on Monday, although our company tends away from car rentals. I had heard from one of the dive operators that Goat Island is the common place to go. I know that Auckland is the city of sails, so if the diving does not work out or does not make sense, maybe I should consider finding a sailboat to crew on for the day!