Only 3km from Leigh, this 547-hectare aquatic area was established in 1975 as the country’s first marine reserve. In less than 40 years the sea has reverted to a giant aquarium, giving an impression of what the NZ coast must have been like before humans arrived. You only need step knee-deep into the water to see snapper (the big fish with blue dots and fins), blue maomao and stripy parore swimming around.
Excellent interpretive panels explain the area’s Māori significance (it was the landing place of one of the ancestral canoes) and provide pictures of the species you’re likely to encounter.
There are dive areas all around Goat Island, which sits just offshore, or you can snorkel or dive directly from the beach. Colourful sponges, forests of seaweed, boarfish, crayfish and stingrays are common sights, and if you’re very lucky, you may see orcas and bottle-nosed dolphins. Visibility is claimed to be at least 10m, 75% of the time.