Stories / Discover diving in New Zealand

Discover diving in New Zealand

The intriguing island nation of New Zealand is a land full of mountainous beauty, Māori legends, and excellent diving. Surrounded by the ocean on all sides, New Zealand boasts spectacular coastlines filled with pristine marine reserves filled with life. If the hundreds of dive sites littering New Zealand’s coastline are not enough for you, there are many small secluded offshore islands to explore as well. Although the water is colder here, New Zealand offers some of the best diving in the world, with phenomenal kelp forests, fantastic drop-offs, colorful sub-tropical reefs, and awe-inspiring shipwrecks. What are you waiting for? Come explore what New Zealand diving is all about.

© Shutterstock-Martin-Vlnas

Dive sites

Discover the underwater wonders waiting to be explored

Waikawa Dive Centre, 7220 Picton

Double Cove Marine Reserve (★3.9)

Double Cove is a marine reserve located in the beautiful Queen Charlotte Sound. This site is ideal for beginners and training, as it is quite sheltered with depths from 9 down to 18m. Entry to the water is by boat or small jetty.
Global Dive, 1010 Auckland

Jones Bay (★3.9)

Jones Bay is fantastic for learning to dive. It has a sandy sloping bottom with plenty of shellfish. There is also a significant reef structure that provides shelter from the current.
NEW ZEALAND DIVING, 0910 Warkworth

Mathesons Bay (★4.0)

Mathesons Bay is a sheltered bay that is perfect for diving! Divers can easily enter and exit the water via the beach or over the rock platform if the tide is right.
NZ DIVE SCHOOL, 1060 Auckland

Lake Rotoma (★4.2)

Great training site and suitable to dive year round. A sunken dingy at 11m is a good objective for the dive. Lake Rotoma was formed within the Rotoma caldera when lava flows from a large crater explosion blocked its outlet 9,500 years ago.
NZ DIVE SCHOOL, 1060 Auckland

Acacia Bay (★3.8)

Great site for training, has some great cliff faces and a circular rock structure made by divers as a reference point. Bottom topography can be silted if disturbed, good buoyancy is a must at this site.
SSI New Zealand, 0632 Auckland

Ti Point Wharf (★3.9)

Ti Point is a great beginners dive site! It is an easy site to access with a concrete ramp and wharf that can be used to enter and exit the water.
SSI New Zealand, 0632 Auckland

HMNZS Canterbury (Wreck) (★4.7)

The HMNZS Canterbury was decommissioned at the end of March 2005 and was scuttled on 3 November 2007 at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands, making for a great artificial reef wreck dive.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Five Mile Bay (★4.4)

Good parking, onsite toilets, grass area to set up. Easy shore entry on sand extending for 50mtr off shore leading to a gentle slope extending down to 27mtr+. Water clarity generally good on sand area, some silt on drop off. Easy site to Navigate.
Mares, Janez Kranjc

Orca Bay (★4.2)

Orca Bay is a sheltered bay with a deep wall that drops to 20m+ it then slopes down to 35m+ further into the bay. There are small pinnacles dotted around the bay that provide shelter to a large variety of sea life!

Marine Life

Encounter these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat

AdobeStock-Magnus

Humpback Whale
Tobias Friedrich

Bottlenose Dolphin
iStock-Michael Zeigler

Sea Lion
Alamy/Nature Picture Library

Mako Shark
Alamy-WaterFrame

Moray Eel
Shutterstock-Rich Carey

Angelfish
iStock-Global_Pics

Barracuda
AdobeStock-wildestanimal

Molluscs
← Back to All Stories