Northland dive. Bay of Island, New Zealand
Northland Dive is from my point of view one of the best dive operators in the Northland area, providing great dive trips in the wonderful Bay of Island situated on the east cost of Northland at a few hours drive from Auckland.
The club is located on the site of an old farmhouse nestled in nature.
The place is clean, spacious with a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
The lodge offers cheap, simple and comfortable rooms. For those who have a smaller budget or just enjoy outdoor there is a very nice campsite under the trees and close to a lovely stream (full of friendly eels! I enjoyed taking pictures of them and it rinsed my camera).
The lounge makes you feel home; it is a really cozy place with fireplace (very nice after winter dives), interesting books and comfy sofas.
The owners cater good home-cooked meals. For an absolutely derisory price you will have a complete and tasty food perfectly designed for hungry divers. And if you do not have enough, there will be probably more for a refill! Thanks to the owner, the meal is shared together in a convivial way.
Dives take place in the beautiful Bay of Island and offer a great sample of the New Zealand North Island marine life. The Bay offers different reliefs like caves, canyons, pinnacles, walls and boulders. It’s full of life, all New Zealand iconic species of fishes can be found here. But the main attraction is for sure the HMNZS Canterbury wreck, a huge boat lying since 2007 perfectly upright in 38 meter of water on the ocean floor. The life is already owning the site: kelp, fishes, crayfishes, colorful anemones and invertebrates.
Between the 2 dives, lunch take place on the little beach of Deep water cove, at 5 min of the wreck, an awesome little beach perfect for a little nap before the next dive!
It is not rare to have good surprises on the way back, bottlenose dolphins and if you’re lucky orcas quite often seen in the bay.
From my point of view it is the ideal resort for a weekend with friends.
