Goat Island
Our Goat Island should not be confused with Goat Island in Leigh which was New Zealands first Marine Reserve and is packed with sun worshipppers, snorkellers and divers every summer. Our Goat Island is a little bit more low key and even unknown to some.
It can be accessed by foot after parking your car on the Ngunguru Ford Road and walking over the hills to the secluded beach. Alternatively you can launch a kayak or boat from the lovely freedom camping friendly Wellingtons /Whangaumu Bay and cross the shallow Whangaumu Bay. Look out for baby hammerhead sharks as we often see them here in the shallows in the summer.
Diver Level – Open Water and above
Depth 2m to 12m
Great for snorkelling, spearfishing and novice divers.
The sand bar that runs between Kumi Point and Goat island is submerged at high tide.
This is a popular snorkelling and freediving area as there are lots of nooks and crannies to explore as you circle the island. Don’t be suprised if a shoal of kingfish swim by to check you out, we often see them here and so it is a popular place with spearfisherman as is the Horahora river mouth just less than a kilometre south.
Tutukaka Coastguard VHF Channel 62
Distress & Emergency VHF channel 16 or phone 111
Diver Emergency Service (DES) 0800 4 337 111
The Diver Emergency Service (DES) is a 24 hour, 7 days a week hotline for advice and treatment of all diving related incidents, accidents or injuries, including the emergency management of decompression illness.
