About

About Dive! Tutukaka

The award-winning Dive! Tutukaka is New Zealand’s largest dive charter company and was founded in 1999 by two diving friends with a love for the sea. Their vision to be the best dive operator in New Zealand still holds true, and Dive! Tutukaka’s five ocean-going vessels take over 12,000 people to the Poor Knights Islands every year. Operating for over two decades, Dive! Tutukaka has grown into a PADI 5-Star IDC centre, offering training from beginner to instructor with expert staff including marine biologists, naturalists, tech and wreck specialists, and award-winning photographers.

Dive! Tutukaka is perfectly positioned to explore some of the finest sub-tropical diving on the planet, centred around the Poor Knights Islands. The islands' stunning volcanic landscape of arches, sea caves and towering cliffs - combined with clear water and remarkably abundant marine life - make them a mecca for divers from across the globe. Huge populations of mao mao fill the underwater caves, scorpionfish hide amongst the kelp, giant stingrays gather in their hundreds, and even that ultimate predator of the seas, the orca, can be encountered. Throw in the nearby wrecks of the Tui and Waikato, and divers have everything they need for an incredible dive experience.

Explore the resort

The Poor Knights Dive Centre - home of Dive! Tutukaka - is the hub of this coastal town, situated alongside the iconic Schnappa Rock Restaurant and Bar, as well as the world's largest scuba tank! The dive centre salvaged the old Tutukaka marina piles and wooden boardwalks, and up-cycled them into an ultra-modern training centre called Shed 7, complete with a three-metre deep dive pool with porthole windows and a sun-drenched deck. The dive centre now offers freediving courses, photography sessions, and PADI dive training befitting its 5-Star Instructor Development Centre status.

Dive! Tutukaka has five dedicated day boats, equipped for diving or fun day trips with snorkelling, paddle boarding, kayaking and more. All the boats have cabins for shelter and gear storage, onboard toilets and hot showers on the dive deck. Two-tank day trips to the Poor Knights Islands are offered 364 days a year - weather dependent of course - as well as adventures to the nearby Tui and Waikato wrecks. The dive centre is an AquaLung Partner with a wide range of equipment to rent or purchase. The normal dive package includes full equipment rental with 7mm wetsuits and dive computers.

Diving with Dive! Tutukaka

Dive! Tutukaka’s Lodge 9 boutique accommodation is nestled in a private valley behind the hustle and bustle of Tutukaka Marina. In old local stories, Maori wakas were dragged up and stored in the native bush of the valley in between fishing trips - and even today, the valley offers shelter and plenty of good energy! The building was constructed from salvaged piles and wooden boardwalks from the old marina, and is now an up-cycled quirky tropical paradise, with lush greenery, a saltwater pool, cedar sauna, and a groovy courtyard.

Lodge 9 is the perfect base from which to explore the beautiful Tutukaka coast and the islands of the Poor Knights. Combining comfort, a touch of luxury, and a special welcoming vibe, both divers and non-divers can enjoy Tutukaka special atmosphere. The Lodge is within walking distance of four bars and restaurants for lunch and dinner, and guests can then retreat to one of Lodge 9’s six rooms. Included in the room rate is a continental breakfast, and evening tapas and wine served in the courtyard.

Conservation

Dive! Tutukaka sees itself as a small part of a vital community - the coast, the people, and the schools - working together, helping to build sustainable futures. Dive! Tutukaka supports the local schools by running a unique marine program that takes all 200 children out to the Poor Knights to experience their own backyard. Dive! Tutukaka has also initiated a long-term project to ensure every child at the school completes a full scuba dive at the Poor Knights Islands, and learns about the importance of Marine Reserves.

The resort makes every effort to reduce its impact on the local environment, even up-cycling and repurposing the old mariner pilings and boardwalk to construct its new accommodation and training centre. Environmentally-friendly toiletries are used throughout Lodge 9 and the dive centre’s staff include resident marine biologists and naturalists that help educate guests and contribute to research and conservation.