Tim's snorkel trail

2 March 2024
One hour after high tide
Vis: 8 m +

On page 109 of Island Notes by Tim Higham, he describes one of his favourite snorkel spots on Aotea / Great Barrier Island. It starts at a small wharf on the Northwestern side of Tryphena Harbour.

I was cold from my previous snorkel, the sun had gone and the wind was up but it was not long after high tide in late summer on Aotea where the water is always clear so I was keen to get in again. I was promised seagrass and eagle rays and the trip did not disappoint.

Lush subtidal meadows extend deep into the harbour right from the ramp where I find eagle rays, snapper and spotty. A leatherjacket evades my camera and I head for the complex rocket terrain where I was expecting to see crayfish and a barren that Tim described the development of around 2017/2018. In the book there is hope that the kelp that was lost to high temperatures would come back if there were enough crayfish and snapper to control the kina. Its been about six years and I still looks like barrens. The kelp along the edge of the barren looks stressed and the small crayfish and snapper I see are clearly not up to the job. Two large grey sponges here had large white scars which are correlated with temperature increases.

I found a few patches of exotic Caulerpa but it's not making strong inroads here. I find this odd given the boulder habitat is similar to Schooner Bay where exotic Caulerpa is pervasive. I was very pleased to not see it in the seagrass meadows.

Heading further south I get to the first few rocks he has told me to check out. It's hard to tell exactly where I am as the swell is obscuring the rocks. There are large schools of silver sweep here with New Zealand demoiselles and blue maomao in the mix. The water is thick with salps, some of the chains are still intact and I identify at least three different types, some seem to move. The salps prove hard to photograph and together with the bubbles from the waves on the rocks are making it hard to get good shots of other life.

Tim told me to stay on the outside of the rocks and to dive deep off the main rock to see kingfish. I didn't see any haku but I was impressed with a massive school of silver drummer and much smaller school of juvenile tāmure. The visibility here is amazing, it must be more than 10m. Heading back I see a butterfish by the first rocks. Tim mentioned I would see them. He also described octopus homes in the seagrass meadows so I look for those on the way back but seem to have missed them.

This was the best snorkel I have had on the island, I loved the range of habitats and fish diversity, highly recommend.

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