Poor Knights Arches and Rikoriko Cave

Overview

Jacques Cousteau put the Poor Knights in his top ten, and the claim still holds. Two drowned volcanoes 23 kilometres off Tutukaka, wrapped in a no-take marine reserve since 1998, are washed by the East Auckland Current, which delivers subtropical visitors to a temperate kelp coast. Blue maomao pack the arches in shimmering navy walls; short-tail stingrays the size of dining tables stack up in Northern Arch through late summer; nudibranchs, mosaic morays and Lord Howe coralfish fill in every gap in the guidebook. Rikoriko — the world's largest sea cave by volume — swallows the dive boat whole, and you surface inside to test the echo. The diving suits any qualified diver, though the arches carry surge when a swell runs. Day boats leave Tutukaka, three hours north of Auckland; base yourself there for four days and dive each morning. January to May gives the warmest water and the rays, but a 7mm suit is still wise. Two-dive days run about £150, so a long weekend lands near £650 with accommodation.

Book This Trip

Plan Your Dates

Prefilled for 1 January 2027 — the next best-season window. Search on partner sites — opens in a new tab.