Your Guide to Diving New Zealand

New Zealand Seasonal Dive Planner

Visiting divers head for the sub-tropical Bay of Islands in North Island and the unique diving of the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve, off New Zealand’s Tutukaka Coast. It isn’t hot with southern hemisphere water temperatures ranging from 60°F (16°C) in November to 72°F (22°C) in February and March. Most Kiwi divers wear drysuits, and it gets even colder as you go farther south.

Diving New Zealand Reader Reports and Feature Articles

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Latest Reader Reports from New Zealand from the serious divers who read Undercurrent All Reader Reports from New Zealand	All 10,000+ Reports
Paihia Dive/Paihia Pacific resort Report in New Zealand/Paihia, Bay of Islands "Great but cold diving in the Bay of Islands" filed Nov 27, 2016 by John Yavorsky (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 30 reports, Top Contributor )
Dove HMNZS Canterbury sunk in 2007. 57F and 20' viz reminded me of NJ and I wanted my drysuit rather than rental wetsuit, which include... ... Read more
Fiordland Charters/MV Pembroke Report in New Zealand/Fiordland, South Island "My favorite diving in all the World" filed Oct 19, 2016 by Dr Michael Davis Editor SPUMS (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 2 reports)
I have been diving in Fiordland for 25 years, and for much of that time on the MV Pembroke (through two owners). The vessel is very sea... ... Read more
Dive! Tutukaka/N/A Report in New Zealand filed Oct 17, 2013 by Michael Davis (Experience: Over 1000 dives, 2 reports)
I have dived with Dive Tutukaka for more than two decades - they are the "Gold Standard" by which I judge all other dive operators arou... ... Read more
Dive! Tutukaka Report in New Zealand/Poor Knight Islands filed Mar 17, 2013 by Paul Pruitt (Experience: 101-250 dives, 2 reports)
Dive Tutukaka is an outstanding operation that serves New Zealand's best dive site, the Poor Knight Islands, three hours north of Auckl... ... Read more
Oceanblue Report in New Zealand/Poor Knights Islands filed Sep 23, 2009 by Mike Szathmary (Experience: 251-500 dives, 5 reports, Reviewer )
First of all, I must say that the diving at the Poor Knights Islands is some of the best I have ever done. Having done most of my divi... ... Read more

Editor's Book Picks for Scuba Diving New Zealand

The books below are my favorites about diving in this part of the world All books are available at a significant discount from Amazon.com; just follow the links. -- BD

Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Paul Humann and Ned Deloach

Paul Humann and Ned Deloach have done it again, releasing a definitive identification guide to 1600 extraordinary reef creatures of the Tropical Pacific. with this 500+ page softbound guide, you get upwards of 2000 exceptional photos of shrimp and crabs and stars and worms and lobsters and nudibranchs and slugs and squid and bivalves . . . well, all those invertebrates that move along the reefs of this region without fining, so it seems. There are several photos of some creatures to help you identify them during different life stages, and about ten percent of the book is descriptive copy so you can tie down your identification. Even if you have no plans to go to the tropical Pacific, just to thumb through the pages, gawk at the complexity and uniqueness of these animals, and read a thumbnail sketch will give any serious diver vicarious thrills for endless hours.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Reef Fish Identification: Tropical Pacific
by Gerald Allen, Rodger Steene, Paul Humann, & Ned Deloach

At last, here's a comprehensive fish ID guide covering the reefs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The generous 500-page text, displaying 2,500 underwater photographs of 2,000 species, identifies the myriad fishes that inhabit the warm tropical seas between Thailand and Tahiti. The concise text accompanying each species portrait includes the fish's common, scientific and family names, size, description, visually distinctive features, preferred habitat, typical behavior, depth range, and geographical distribution. This is an essential book for every diver traveling westward. 6x9 inches.

Click here to buy it at Amazon.

Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef
by Neville Coleman.

With 2900 reefs in 220,000 square miles, the enormous Great Barrier Reef has incredible dives -- and some very ordinary ones. If you're contemplating a trip, Neville Coleman's Dive Sites of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea will help you ensure you pick the best. This 176 page book, with good maps and scores of colorful photos, describes the significant sites, the topography and the critters, then rates and ranks them so you can pick the best. Don't even consider a trip to Australia without consulting this. $24.95

Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide
by Gerald R. Allen, Roger Steene.

I was trying to pack light for a change. Surely the Solomon Sea would have good identification books aboard. Not so; the only book on the boat belonged to a fellow passenger. It was one that I had not seen before, the Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide, by two of the best fish guys around, Gerry Allen and Roger Steene. The problem was this fellow passenger kept it in a plastic baggie most of the trip and I had to beg to see it. Great book, good traveling size, and it covers everything from fish, shells, marine plants, mammals, corals, and invertebrates to sea birds and more. Now I've got my own, and it won't do you any good to beg me to borrow it. This is one of two books that I will not travel to the Pacific without. Good for travel to the Red Sea, East Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Andaman Sea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Micronesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii, it has 1,800 color illustrations in a 6x8 1/2 paperback format with 378 pages. $39.95.

There's a Cockroach in My Regulator
by Undercurrent

The Best of Undercurrent: Bizarre and Brilliant True Diving Tales from Thirty Years of Undercurrent.

Shipping now is our brand new, 240-page book filled with the best of the unusual, the entertaining, and the jaw dropping stories Undercurrent has published. They’re true, often unbelievable, and always fascinating. We’re offering it to you now for the special price of just $14.95.

Click here to order.

You might find some other books of interest in our Editor's Book Picks section.