Andrew and I had the unique opportunity while we were at Matakana to visit the Goat Island Marine Reserve. I say unique because, unlike many other marine reserves, this one is just off the coast. It seemed like such a strange thing to just grab our snorkels, walk down to the ocean, jump in, and swim to an island!
Blue Maomoa
The marine reserve opened in 1975 and includes 518 hectares of coast between Cape Rodney and Okakari Point. There is a neat laboratory from the University of Auckland where we could go explore, learn about the fish that we would see, and touch some crayfish.
I was repeatedly told I was absolutely crazy for swimming without a wetsuit, but the water was a balmy 17C when we went. Andrew and I snorkeled for about 90 minutes. It only took us about ten minutes to swim out to the island and there was interesting fish including snapper and blue maomao to see along the way. At one point I even got to follow an eagle ray for a bit!
Andrew Underwater
On the way back an easterly came up and started a bit of a current at the surface that pushed Andrew and I a bit. Thankfully we are both fairly strong swimmers and managed to make it back without too much difficulty.
Fish in Kelp
The rocks on shore were fun to run around as well. There were interesting rock formations and soft sand to play on. The beach was fairly crowded though since it is summer vacation! What a place to spend a few days of a kids summer camp though.
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