Poor Knights Islands Marine Reserve was rated by Cousteau as being one of the top ten diving spots in the world, so I knew this was a snorkel trip we couldn’t pass up. The islands are 24km off the coast near Tutukaka . We went on Dive!Tutukaka’s “Perfect Day” cruise. It was a great experience with beautiful scenery and wildlife, and we were lucky to have great weather. The boat was huge and could carry 65 passengers, but we only had 15 on board today so we had lots of room.

We left at 11 and it took nearly an hour to arrive at Poor Knights Islands. The islands are the heavily eroded remains of a large volcano that erupted 10 million years ago. Capt Cook named them after the breakfast jam he was enjoying when he spotted them; guess he was running out of names by then.

On the way we were joined by a group of Common Dolphins (which are not as common as the Bottlenose Dolphins, so go figure……).

We were fitted with wet suits and snorkel gear and jumped into water that felt like it was an ice berg earlier this morning. We did get to see many beautiful fish, but I was shivering so much I couldn’t stay in the water as long as I would have liked. It was fun going into a sea cave to see the fish who prefer to hide out from gannets. This is a "subtropical" dive; the fish are completely different than the tropical fish we are more familiar with from snorkeling in Hawaii and Grenada and there is no coral.

After snorkeling we kayaked a bit and then had lunch. The boat was equipped with hot showers, so it was nice to warm up and change into dry clothes.

Then the captain took us on an amazing boat ride which included going inside the world’s largest sea cave which is 150 meters long. We were told that during WWII the Japanese brought a submarine into the cave for repairs for several days which gives you an idea how large it is. He then did some good maneuvering through tunnels and arches that seemed too small for our large boat.

These islands were once home to a Maori tribe that was massacred by a rival chief, so they are now tapu, or sacred and forbidden places. There is a $250,000 fine for going on land.

We saw some interesting birds, also. They islands are the only place where the Buller’s shearwater birds come to breed – 2.5 million of them, so we saw a bunch. Also we saw gannets which are the best divers of all birds; they have a special air sack that protects their brains from damage when they hit the water with great force. They nest on the cliffs.

The cruise name is appropriate - it really was a Perfect Day.