poor knights island marine reserve

Went snorkeling here as part of the Perfect Day trip and it was beautiful. The sea was perfectly clear and there were millions of fish to look at. It was my first real snorkeling experience and it was spectacular.

We've been up to the Poor Knights for diving more than 3 times since moving to NZ. With it's stunning rock formations, generally great vis and incredible array of fish and plant life - it's a unique spot that offers visitors an inside look at what makes NZ so special. In addition, because the islands are big and full of lots of nooks and crannys, dive companies can find a suitable place to take people in almost any weather condition. So worth it!

Perfect Day snorkel trip, nice comfortable boat, professional friendly staff. Views and water spectacular. Good casual lunch choices. Well maintained equipment. Water too cold for us even in wetsuits, but we were in long enough to see some marine life. Worth a trip even without going in the water.

Poor Kinghts is a haven. Feel the world' scares just drop away as you enter the reserve, with soaring pohutukawa-clad cliffs on the small islands, gannets soaring. Your heart sings - and that is BEFORE you even get in the water. It was 21degrees in the water last weekend (7/7 February) so diving in a 3mm suit was plenty. Add there is a riot of marine life and colour down there, from huge king is, and rays, and eels, down to the tiniest yellow and purple spotted clown nudibranchs. If I could only dive one place in the world, this would be it.We went out with Kent and Kevin from Ocean Blue, on their trusty steed Mazurka. Great trip, with 6 or 7 divers rather than 30 or so with the big companies... Can't recommend this company enough. The food is great, sleeping quarters are decent, and they are just good company. Organised by NZ Diving in Warkworth. $500 for two days and nights, and 6/7 dives.If you don't Dive, Neil at NZ Diving will teach you - it is worth it JUST for Poor Knoghts!!

Loved the dive sites even though it was cold water.All divers who are visiting NZ must include these dives. It is an experience to dive in cold water with a 6.5mm wetsuit.

This was a great trip, with sun bathing, snorkeling with schools of fish, diving off the boat, paddle boarding, etc. We also saw dolphins. The tour took us around the islands to view the unique features of these islands including a large sea cave which we actually went into with the boat.

Clear water, wonderful scenery and profuse invertebrate and fish life. We managed to dive 6 different sites and they were all different. Experiencing the echo in Rikoriko cave is quite something as well!

A fantastic trip to the Island. Very professional and helpful staff from The Perfect Day. We felt very staff and they were great with less confident swimmers. Fantastic snorkelling and the fish we beautiful. good commentary - enough but not too much. Very relaxed.

We were at poor knights island with " you can dive" meet them on tutukaka very very friendly and we were just 10-12 persons (my partner and me snorkling and others guys diving), so sweet a day under a big Sun, swim with fish and see the sea life. If you are close from tutukaka do it, a bit expensive ( 340$ for 2 for snorkling) but an amazing day !

We were absolutely blown away by the amount of fish life that we got to see when we went snorkelling, the scenery when we took our boat through the arches was equally amazing. Northern arch, middle arch, RikoRiko Cave, Blue Mao Mao Arch, everything is just beautiful. Do not go to Tutakaka without visitng this. We took our own boat and stayed out there the whole day.

Excellent one day experience. They provide you all the gear. The whole family enjoyed. Good value for the money.

Just spent a day with the Dive Tutukaka team visiting the Poor Knights Island and could not have had a better day. The crew were fantastic, the dive was fantastic and nature was on! Myself, my brother, his brother in law and 4 kids under 15 (the youngest 8). The kids snorkeled while the adults dived and it was truly spectacular. Pricing was great value for money and the Dive Tutukaka operators were very professional (could not find one fault). would recommend highly and will be going back for more!

So, although my husband is a diver, we decided to take our 10 year old to Poor Knights reserve for some snorkeling adventure experience. We booked a day trip through A Perfect Day, based in Tutukaka. Have to say they were brilliant, included in the price was, use of wetsuits, snorkel gear, paddle boards (all new), kayaks, lunch (sammies muffins and fruit platter), tea/coffee/soup/hot choc, commentary, sunblock if needed plus anything else they could help you with. Toilets and shower on board. The skipper was truly knowledgeable about the wildlife and the rest of the crew were very helpful and attentive catering for all the different age groups. Some people on board took their own dive gear and basically did their own thing which was cool too. Plenty of photo opportunities around the islands and plenty of time in the water with help on and off the boat etc. We went Feb 2014 and are just about to book again to go this weekend - will post an updated review then. Looking forward to it Plenty of opportunity to see all sorts of sea life. Obviously weather dependent but a fun day nevertheless.

Dive tutakaka are slick operators and make this experience truely great. At 19 degrees the water was a little cool but worth it. Good family entertainment and the crew were great hosts. Definitly need to book and take suntan lotion and a drink. Would have been good to have some biccies or a muffin to have with a hot drink after the dive. But awesome none the less.

I had a great day with Dive! Tutukaka. I have dived all around the world, but this was my first sub-tropical dive. The skipper and guides were both professional and funny. Got some great pictures and saw eels, carpet sharks, and other interesting creatures.