White Reef

The HMNZS Canterbury was decommissioned at the end of March 2005 and was scuttled on 3 November 2007 at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands, making for a great artificial reef wreck dive.

Rocky kelpy reef in 10m of water on the inward side of the island leads out to 18-25m towards the seawards side as one circumnavigates the island. An underwater cavern is a main feature of this dive, approximately 5m wide at the entrance.

A long finger extends from the land towards the sea. The finger starts at 12m and runs west down to 25m, where it drops further. Towards the deeper end of the finger there is a swim through. Further in towards the land there are big boulders and a small cavern.

With the option to dive either the western or eastern side, Motuwheke Island is a rocky reef dive. Kelp covered boulders can be found on the western side where depths from 15-25m, with greater depths of 25m to 45m on the eastern side.

The Sisters form a stand-alone rock off Cape Brett. The rock splits in two to form a narrow canyon at 10m. On the seaward side of the canyon, the rock drops off to 40m or more to boulders, while the inland side goes to 30m. There can be strong current at this dive site.

The main feature of this dive site is an impressive swim through, with the entrance at 24m, the swim through forms a natural tunnel 35m in length, opening at the northern end at 18m into kelpy boulders.

A short swim from Big Eyes Lair, Sonic Boom cave can be visited on the same dive. Divers will likely hear it before they see it. Swell crashing at the back of the cave creates a loud boom sound that can be heard from a distance. The cave is narrow, and entering is recommended in calmer conditions

Bowling Alley is a shallower dive site with depths from 5-25m. The site is full of kelp covered boulders which can hide Crayfish and Moray Eels. This is a very fishy dive that is suited to Open Water and Advanced divers.

Bird Rock is a large rock off Cape Brett. The walls of the rock slope down on all sides to 30-40m. In the winter, seals sometimes inhabit the rock and will jump into the water to swim with the divers. This site is recommended for more experienced divers as there can sometimes be strong currents.

Key Hole is named for the shape of the rock seen above the dive site, which is shaped as though a key could slot into it. The dive site is covered by colourful boulders and walls, which sit in 5-20m of water.