Hey Martin. Enjoyed the dives the other day. Cheers for that.Originally Posted by Martin the fish
Bit hard to say what the diving is like here as it changes daily. Bit like the weather
Right up north, like the Kermadec Islands, the diving is classified as Sub Tropical and indeed the waters are with many species of soft and hard corals to be found. Huge schools of Kingfish (yellow tail) numbering into the hundreds are found.
As you come to the North Island it is probably better classified as Temperate. There are some corals to be found, like the black coral that is found at depths deeper than 50 metres, and the water temps range from 14 in winter to as high as the early 20's in summer.
The schools of Kingfish are not so huge here but can still number in the hundreds occasionally.
As you head to the bottom of the north island, Wellington, the temperate seas and cold seas meet. There is a huge variety of fish life (although not often Kingfish) and the water temps range from 6 degrees in winter to a maximum of 18, in the top 3 metres, in summer. Below 3 metres it doesnt usually get above 15 deg celcius.
I have (not so) fond memories of teaching classes in 1 metre viz and 6 deg celcius waters here. Brrr
As you get to the South Island the waters are much colder and murkier.
In Fiordland the waters are between 0 and 12 deg. The top 10 metres of water in the sounds are fresh water due to the massive amounts of rain they get. This results in often murkier waters and indeed black coral grows at a depth of 12 metres, where elsewhere it is found below 50 metres.
If you get down to the Auckland Islands, or Campbell Islands the water is between 0 and 5 deg clecius. I have never dived there so I am not sure on the conditions.
Legend has it that the wreck of the General Grant is somewhere near the Auckland Islands and holds masses of amounts of gold and treasure. I would like to go have a look someday
Hope this helps.
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