Saturday 6th December
We checked out of our cabin on the beach and boarded the Perfect Day for a trip out to the Poor Knights Islands. These are a small group of islands about an hour off the coast of Tutukaka. It is a marine reserve and was declared in 1981. This has had a profound effect on the sealife and birdlife. The fish are so plentiful that they are just jumping out of the water everywhere. In other parts it is as if the ocean is boiling such is the sheer numbers of schooling fish. There were plenty of Blue Maomao and Trevally. Another unique feature of this island group is the 1.2million Buller’s Sheerwater birds that migrate over 12,000 kms to nest only at the Poor Knights each year.
I went snorkeling and Geoff went paddleboarding. The giant sea arches are an incredible sight in and out of the water. We also motored the boat into the world’s largest sea cave. The colours are simply outstanding and the acoustics are fabulous.
We finally returned to the mainland after circumnavigating the islands and learning more about the mouri history.
We drove north to the Bay of Plenty. An easy but windy drive north. We are staying in a great little apartment on the water. We dined on prawns and fish at a restaurant called “Only Seafood”. It was a delicious meal.
