New Zealand has some stunning underwater landscapes, which are ideal for scuba diving, skin diving and snorkeling.

You can go diving on most parts of the coastline. There's an endless amount of dive sites! Visibility, for the most part, is very good. Spear fishing is permitted in most places.

The warmer seas in the north are particularly good for scuba diving. Some of the best dive sites include; the Three Kings Islands which is north of North Cape and the spectacular Poor Knights Marine Reserve off Whangarei. The Poor Nights Marine Reserve is bathed by a tropical current off Australia's Great Barrier Reef. These waters are heavily populated by cave and ocean dwelling marine life.

Also worth considering is the Bay of Islands Maritime and Historic Park and Goat Island near Warkworth. These are very good too.

There's more - the Sugarloaf Islands Marine Park, the Wellington coast, the Marlborough Sounds, Banks Peninsula, the Otago Peninsula and Stewart Island. Fiordland offers a unique diving experience. The protected black coral and unusual waters are like nothing you have ever seen before.

There are some interesting wrecks too. The Russian cruise ship "Mikhail Lermontov" is located in the Marlborough Sounds; it's the world's largest accessible wreck. Then there is the Greenpeace ship "Rainbow Warrior", which was bombed by the French govornment in 1985 in Auckland harbour, later the vessel was scuttled in Matauri Bay in the Cavalli Islands, to serve as a dive wreck and fish sanctuary.

All the major scuba diving schools can be found here - PADI, CMAS, etc. Make sure to bring your certification card.