West side of Aorangi Island; just north from Kahawai point and Red baron cave.
Access by boat from Tutukaka (~60 minutes).
The sea can be rough, this is the Pacific Ocean!
Many operators go there for the day (2 dives trip).
For an after-dive snack or dinner, the Shamrock Cafe is excellent.
how?
By boat
distance
Long boat time (> 30min)
easy to find?
Easy to find
More Details
week crowd
Empty
week-end crowd
Few divers
dangers
Dive site Characteristics
Quality
dive site quality
Good
experience
CMAS * / OW
bio interest
Interesting
Dive site infos
average depth
20 m / 65.6 ft
max depth
35 m / 114.8 ft
current
None
visibility
Good ( 10 - 30 m)
dive type
- Cave - Sharks - Big fishes - Reef
Dive site activities
- Marine biology - Night dive - Dive training - Snorkeling / Free diving - Photography
The Rikoriko cave is the largest sea cave in the southern hemisphere. It is so large that the boats go in easily, and the acoustics is so good that there have been concerts in it!
Concerning the biology, the cave offers an interesting mix between day and night species of fishes.
There are dozens of dive sites around the cave and further near the islands, with plenty of kelp forests, giant snappers and groupers, moray eels. This has been a marine reserve since 1981.
