Northern Arch
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
Perhaps the signature dive of the Poor Knights: an arch floored at 37 m beside one of the finest vertical wall descents at the islands.
- Experienced
- Rock formations
- Stingrays
Diving in New Zealand
1 destination and 9 documented dive sites. The strip under each destination shows its season, month by month.
Where to dive in New Zealand
Dive sites to know
Hidden gem
Rikoriko Cave
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
Dive inside the largest sea cave by volume in the southern hemisphere, where schools of blue and pink maomao gather in the shade.
- Advanced
- Cavern
- Stingrays
Rock formations
down to 25 m
Tie Dye Arch
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
A cathedral-like cavern at 25 m beneath The Pinnacles, wallpapered in colourful sponges and choked with fish and rays.
- Advanced
- Seals
down to 68 m
Barren Arch
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
A seaward arch sloping from 10 m to 35 m, busy with blue and pink maomao, demoiselles and koheru.
- Experienced
- Stingrays
All dive sites in New Zealand
Poor Knights Islands, New Zealand
- Northern ArchExperienced70 m
- Rikoriko CaveAdvanced26 m
- Tie Dye ArchAdvanced25 m
- Barren ArchExperienced68 m
- Blue Maomao ArchOpen Water18 m
- Middle ArchOpen Water70 m
- Landing Bay PinnacleExperienced60 m
- Ngaio RockExperienced40 m
- The GardensOpen Water18 m
Photo credits
- Archway Island, Poor Knights Islands, Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Diver at the Northern Arch, Poor Knights Islands, Anna Barnett, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Entrance of Rikoriko Cave, Poor Knights Islands, Pseudopanax at English Wikipedia, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
