Dive Trips

Wreck Dive: HMNZS Waikato

1 month ago

by dive mistress in Wreck Dives

Under full steam

The HMNZS Waikato was built for the New Zealand Navy by Harland & Wolfe Ltd in Belfast. She was the first Leander Class frigate to be built for the Royal New Zealand Navy and was launched by HRH Princess Alexandra on 18 February 1965.
The Waikato and the HMNZS Canterbury served the Armilla patrol during the Falklands conflict, freeing British ships for deployment.

In 2000 the Waikato was sunk as an artifical reef outside Tutukaka in Northland, after she was decommissioned in 1998 and had been stripped leaving her gun turret and one propeller.
During service she carried modern air and surface warning radar and navigation aids along with undersea detection equipment. The ships twin 115mm guns (4.5in) had a long range and a high rate of fire. She also wore two 20mm Orlikeon machine guns on the wings, a quad Seacat anti-aircraft missile launcher, six 12.75m anti-submarine torpedo tubes, one anti-submarine warfare Limbo mortar Mark 10 and a Wasp Helicopter capable of delivering depth charges and the Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo.
The ships crest features a Taniwha, a water monster and legendary guardian of the Waikato people and their river.

The HMNZS Waikato broke in two a couple of years after her sinking.
One of the Northland storms sent the bow about 12m apart from the stern section – the ship has broken apart just in front of the bridge.

Bow section / Photograph by Pete Mesley

Diving the wreck of the Waikato is relatively easy although she is a deep dive.
The hangar sits in around 19m. Moving past the hangar to the sand sees you in around 27m.

She is pretty easy to find providing the weather plays ball.
There are normally two buoys on the wreck – one on the bow section and one on the stern next to the helicopter hangar.
She is a large ship, easy to navigate (on the outside for your first few dives) with a lot of interesting features and a lot of growth (as you would expect after 11 years underwater).
Magenta jewel anemones, schooling fish, crayfish all make their home on this artificial reef.

The HMNZS Waikato and her sister ship HMNZS Canterbury are two of my favourite wreck dives that I can visit time and time again and find something new each time.
I regularly take students on their first wreck dive on this ship, whilst on a separate dive with one of my buddies, we can spend an hour on the bottom covering small sections each time.

A piece of New Zealand history underwater, it is not uncommon to find a diver that served on her or knew someone who did.

I would love to hear if you have dived this wreck – let me know what you think.
If you have not, and would like to, let me know.

A recent dive with Deralie on HMNZS Waikato

More information:

Official Website of the HMNZS Waikato Association

Wreck diving with Yukon Dive Charters

Dive! Tutukaka Wreck Diving

Trip Report : Shaking off Winter – Springing in to Spring

3 months ago

by dive mistress in Trip Reports

About a month ago, Deralie suggested we book some spaces on the October Liveaboard trip out to the Poor Knights Islands and for a month I have been looking forward to it a lot.

A few weeks ago, I found out that both Anna and Andrew would be on board.
Then Pip and Trevor were coming.
And then last week, the final space was taken by Marty.
The trip list was full of awesome people that I love diving with!

And then we worked out that one year ago, I certified Deralie as a PADI Advanced Open Water diver and since then she has completed her Rescue Diver course, TDI Introduction to Tech and Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures as well as started her Divemaster.

Tambja verconis at Middle Arch

It has been a slow winter for scuba diving for me. I have done very little teaching and very little diving.
This weekend was going to be a shakedown weekend for me before I launch myself fully in to all that the New Zealand summer brings – in terms of spending the next 4 months on and off the boats and being in and out of the water.

We spent the weekend cruising – with our faces in the walls, looking for all sort of little critters and big fat nudibranchs.

Dive One : Middle Arch

The sun was in the bay. It was calm and beautiful.

I had a shocker of a dive with my camera. I couldn’t get the photographs that I wanted!!
I spent quite a lot of the dive wriggling around in my gear and thinking about my breathing. I could feel the weight that I put on over the winter. I made a mental note – GO TO THE GYM!

Mosaic Moray Eel at Middle Arch

Dive One Data || Depth: 16.7m | Time: 56 mins | Temp: 15 degrees | Visibility: 10m | EANx: 33%

Dive Two : Magic Wall

During my surface interval, I grabbed Andrew and pleaded for help.
We looked through my photographs and my camera setup and made a couple of modifications so I was pleased to head over the side of the boat and make for the sand. Deralie and I decided that we would settle on the sand at the base of the wall, make sure we were all set up and then head off from there.

Magic Wall is truly magic.

…. especially when camera settings, strobe settings and a photographer who knows what they are doing all come together!!
We had to avoid the Photography course which cruised past us kicking up a bit of sand and getting a wee bit close to the wall.
Didn’t stop us from coming across fat nudibranchs, blue flat worms, diadema’s and beautiful gorgonian fans.
Top it all off, we practiced SMB releases at the end of the dive. And they were good!

Gem nudibranch on Magic Wall

Dive Two Data || Depth: 16.5m | Time: 60 mins | Temp: 15 degrees | Visibility: 15m | EANx: 33%

Dive Three : the wall opposite Blue Maomao Arch, in Labrid Channel, near Fraggle Rock

I’ve dived this location a couple of times – both times with students on an Advanced Open Water Night Dive.

Deralie and Marty and I decided to dive the wall/bay instead of the archway as there was quite a lot of water movement and we thought it would be more peaceful. Just goes to show that I am not always right after all!!

It was a little bit shit – BUT … I found some lovely Elysia sp. AND AND AND AND a Janolus sp. (a nocturnal nudibranch).
Due to the surge, the photos are pretty bad. For those two reasons alone though, it was an okay night dive. It was worth getting in!

Dive Three Data || Depth: 16m | Time: 38 mins | Temp: 15 degrees | EANx: 24%

Dive Four : Serpent Rock

Sunday morning and Deralie and I had planned a 45m dive with a 25 minute bottom time.
Before we got geared up and in the water, I changed the dive plan. Even after the shake down dives yesterday, I didn’t feel fit/good/up to a decompression dive.
We have a pretty good rule – Anyone can call a dive at any time (and this includes calling it before you get in the water).

Dive Four Data || Depth: 20.6m | Time: 49 mins | Temp: 15 degrees | Visibility: 10m

Dive Five : HMNZS Waikato (Stern section)

We were going hunting – hunting for Jasons mirabilis nudibranchs.
Deralie, Pip and Big Ed and I headed down the line and around the port side of the helicopter hangar.

I got all excited! I was so sure that I had seen one – I signalled to Deralie and then realised I was quite narked and wasn’t looking at a nudibranch at all. Whoops!

It was a lovely dive. Warmer than I expected with tons and tons and tons of anemones.

We headed back up the line up to our safety stop. Ed and Deralie and I were hanging on the line when I thought “hang on, where’s Pip”. Signalled to the others, searched for bubbles on the wreck – nothing. I was clear of decompression obligations and had completed my safety stop so I headed up to check with the boat. I asked Ed to stay with Deralie who still had a couple of minutes left.
When I got to the surface and yelled to Bruce – phew! Pippy was on the boat! I headed back down to 5m, let the team know and we surfaced all together.

Dive Five Data || Depth: 25.7m | Time: 52 mins | Temp: 14 degrees | Visibility: 8m