Maomao Arch
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Maomao Arch lies at Tawhiti Rahi Island in the Poor Knights Islands, off Tutukaka in Northland, New Zealand, within the Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve. The site is named for the maomao fish that school in numbers around its archway formations, part of the volcanic terrain of arches, tunnels, and caves that define the Poor Knights, shaped by subtropical currents that bring in a mix of temperate and subtropical marine life. It is rated a beginner dive, and divers have also reported snapper around the arch. Access is by boat from Tutukaka, and reserve status means fishing and collecting are prohibited throughout the area.
AI overviewMarine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
New Zealand DemoiselleChromis dispilaReported here · unconfirmed
Cook's ScorpionfishScorpaena cardinalisReported here · unconfirmed
Eastern King WrasseCoris sandeyeriReported here · unconfirmed
Clown DorisCeratosoma amoenumReported here · unconfirmed
Eastern PigfishBodianus unimaculatusReported here · unconfirmed
New Zealand Black AngelfishParma alboscapularisReported here · unconfirmed- Yellowtail KingfishSeriola lalandiReported here · unconfirmed
Grey MorayGymnothorax nubilusReported here · unconfirmed
SnapperSnapperReported here · unconfirmed
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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