Gants Head "DOWN-UNDER" 10/31/13-2/6/14: Perfect Day Tour Wednesday

WEDNESDAY – JANUARY 29, 2014

BOTTOM LINE:

“Perfect Day” boat tour to Poor Knight’s Island

BACK STORY:

With a weather forecast of 71 degrees and clear, sunny skies we anticipated a wonderful excursion to Poor Knights Island.

We were picked up at Bunkdown Lodge where we were staying about 7:30am. Because we were driving to another town, we had to catch a ride with the divers. It meant a 2 hour wait before our boat was ready to leave.

When we got to the village of Tutukaka, we knew that we were in a special place. It was gorgeous, right on a beautiful marina and there was an excellent café offering breakfast next to the dive shop.

I ordered creamy balsamic mushrooms on toast with an egg on top. It was excellent and something that I will try making at home.

breakfast

We had plenty of time before we left so we walked around the marina and the shops that were opening early to catch any business from divers and cruise boats.

Our boat for the day

We boarded our boat with the crew friendly and welcoming. We had about 50 people traveling with us out to the Poor Knights Marine Reserve. The area had been used by the early Maori natives and because of that many people are buried there making it a sacred place. It has never been fished and people have never stepped foot on the islands. Because of that the marine life is stellar…many species, which are not seen in other areas of New Zealand.

Leaving marina at Tutukaka

Although it was a sunny day with clear skies as we left the protection of the marina the rolls in the ocean became apparent so I just sat back, practiced breathing and told myself that I wasn’t going to get sick. Thankfully I didn’t!!!

There are a couple of Island clusters out where we were going. The main one is Poor Knights with the other named the Three Squires…very British?

Poor Knights

Three Squires

After slowly cruising around a small bay to give us the rules and lay of the land/sea everyone that was interested in snorkeling were issued wet suits and any other gear that was needed. Yes, the water was a chilling 68 degrees!!! Some girls from Sweden didn’t bother with wet suit and seemed very at home in the water!

Ready to snorkel

Back of boat

I entered the water and immediately began swimming asking myself, “what the heck I was doing?” Within five minutes the water between the wet suit and my skin warmed and I was glad that I took the plunge! The clarity was incredible as I could see all the way to the bottom where scuba divers were!

The snorkeling there was much different than tropical snorkeling. It is more what northern California, Puget Sound or Maine would be…kelp and large granite rocks. Colorful plant life grew on the rocks and the abundance of fish was breath taking…very large to very small.

Arch to swim under

Clear but cold water

There were caves and arches in the bay to swim in. Some people chose to stay on board and watch the marine life via an under water camera. Some people chose to paddle board and others picked some kayaking exercise.

Paddle board

Bruce kayaking

I was good for 30 minutes before I couldn’t feel the tips of my fingers. My fingers seemed to have shrunk in the cold water and I was afraid of losing my wedding rings.

Bruce decided to warm up by kayaking. I changed and went in for some hot soup. Lunch was provided as part of the tour which all tasted good, especially the fresh fruit.

There were some elementary aged kids on the boat who were out in the water with the adults. It was so fun watching and listening to their enthusiasm and excitement at seeing the world under the ocean for the first time. One young boy reboarded the boat exclaiming, “The was amazing!” It was just precious to see.

After a two hour visit and everyone was back on board we pulled anchor and moved through the rock formations slowly as we heard facts and folklore.

At one point the captain took us into the largest sea cave in the world. Rikoriko cave was huge and actually accommodated two boats inside at once. The colors of the minerals were lovely shades of amethyst and sage against the aqua of the water.