Poor Knights Islands

Most accidents in cold water diving relate to poor thermal protection, overexertion and separation from the group. Choose operators with clear safety briefings and experienced skippers, and be honest about your experience in surge and overhead environments. If it has been a while since your last dive, consider a refresher or starting with an easier site like Nursery Cove before tackling arches and deeper walls.

For freedivers, always dive with a trained buddy and follow depth and rescue protocols from your course. Avoid mixing scuba and freediving on the same day to reduce decompression risk, and maintain generous surface intervals. For all water users, carry and know how to deploy an SMB, review boat recall signals and stay within your training.

In an emergency, your first point of contact in New Zealand is the national 111 number, which coordinates ambulance, police and fire. In diving incidents, local Coastguard units and St John Ambulance will typically stabilise and transport patients to the nearest hospital, such as Whangarei Hospital, before transfer to specialised hyperbaric services if needed. Hyperbaric recompression for conditions like decompression illness is provided at units such as the Slark Hyperbaric Unit in Auckland, accessed under physician guidance.

Divers are strongly encouraged to carry dedicated dive accident cover and to contact the Diving Emergency Service (DES) or DAN for specialist advice in any suspected dive injury. When in doubt, administer oxygen if available, keep the diver warm, hydrate if appropriate, and seek professional medical evaluation rather than self diagnosing or attempting to continue diving.

The Poor Knights Marine Reserve has full no take protection out to 800 m from the islands, with strict bans on fishing, collecting, landing and tying vessels to the shore. These rules, combined with DOC enforcement and strong iwi guardianship, have allowed dense fish populations, sponge gardens and gorgonian fields to recover.

Visitors can help by choosing operators committed to low impact practices, thoroughly cleaning gear and hulls to avoid spreading invasive species like exotic caulerpa, and reporting any suspected poaching or biosecurity issues to DOC hotlines. Cameras are welcome, but avoid touching or chasing wildlife, and keep a respectful distance from schooling fish, stingrays and nesting seabirds.