The Aldermen Islands

The Aldermen Islands. Click on photo to be taken to Flickr Set

Had an invite from my friend Greg to go out diving at the Aldermen Islands on Friday, as the weather had been lousy for the last month with a constant hammering from storm fronts I was keen to take up the opportunity while we had a narrow weather gap.

The Aldermen Islands lie approximately 30kms north of the seaside township of Whangamata in the Coromandel.

The Aldermen Group is the remnants of volcanic cone, it consists of four main islands, Hongiara, Middle, Ruamahuanui and Ruamahuaiti.

Many regard the islands as some of the best temperate diving in the world, with the East Auckland Current sweeping past bringing with it various warmer water species that later become established.

We investigated a few spots for a spot of fishing beforehand but sadly lucked out, but marked a very steep and interesting pinnacle that comes up form 50m of water to 8m below the surface.









We will tackle this again on the future when the conditions are clearer and we have a boat person on board that isn't of the hairy variety.




















The first dive was on the northern side of the group at a small islet that we hadn't dived before. The usual suspects but poor visibility limited the options but armed with a 60mm macro setup had a few opportunities with Triplefins and a Yellow Moray eel.

TripleFin

All the photography action was in a small 2m square area, but the shallowness combined with slight surge made macro photography difficult.

Yellow Moray eel

On the surface swim back to the boat Greg pointed out a brown bird following me closely. Not sure who was more curious the bird or me but was extremely tame and a very willing subject.

Northern Giant Petrel

Later research revealed that this was a juvenile Great Northern Petrel, distinguishable from a Great Southern Petrel by the color on the front of the beak.
Their huge nostrils are capable of detecting their main diet of rotting carcasses from several miles away and I can detest when it breathed on me they Stink!

Part of their defense mechanism is that they have will spit an oily stomach substance. Luckily for me this was not needed, fortunately for me as it did have a very strong odor and could have done with a few breath mints.



The next dive up was the most northern main island Ruamahuanui Island. Greg was on the hunt for crayfish and thought they may have been up in the shallows as none were found previously.

Ruamahuanui Island

An amazing difference in the clarity of the water here and I had a great dive enjoying the scattered light rays filtering through the calm sea.

Two Spot Demoiselles

Next dive up was the caves at Hongiora (Flat) Island. This was no camera dive for me as the visibility was lacking. This is a great cave network that has multiple entry and exit points, The cave itself is exposed with a few meters of air covering so if needed can safely ascend to the surface and swim out. The one caveat is that the surge can be quite strong at the rear of the caves even with a mild swell so care can be needed. Afterwards we question the viability of helmets as the rush of being pushed in and out does make you wonder how much protection a neoprene hood really offers if you hit a rock at speed.

A quick stray-line for Greg afterwards while I was de-kitting rewarded him with a nice sized snapper for several dinners.

Another great trip and as always the Aldermen Islands didn't disappoint, the great thing about diving that I find is the unknown around the corner, even a mediocre dive can be turned on it's head by the arrival of an unexpected visitor.