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COROMANDEL LIFE
SPRING 2013
The east coast of the Coromandel boasts
not only world famous “underwater” diving
locations described on the previous page, but
also “above water” activities such as world
class surfing, excursions to view birds and
whale migrations. Or for the sportsman, angle
for bottom fish or those big game trophies
such as marlin.
The bounty of marine life seen in our coastal
areas is credited to the fact that much of the
land and ocean is protected by the Hauraki Gulf
Marine Park Act. Thus it is not overfished and is
relatively undisturbed.
Under the coast’s rocky edges lie shallow
and deep reefs with healthy sand and shell
seabeds, thriving with a diverse range of
benthic, demersal and pelagic marine species.
Nutrient rich water, the Auckland Current, flows
down our coast from the tropics bringing food
in the form of pelagic baitfish and a planktonic
soup. Many of our bays and estuaries serve as
nurseries for many fish species. These ‘alive-
with-life’ conditions support the natural
evolution of the ecosystem, a dream playground
for any adventurer or naturalist, diver or
photographer.
SIGHTING THOSE AMAZING
MIGRATORY CETACEANS
Travelling by boat along the coast and
numerous islands, species encountered may be
either visitors or permanent residents. You just
might spot cetaceans who migrate between
ENJOY
WEALTH
OF MARINE LIFE
WITHOUT GETTING WET
by Paul Dewhurst
Background photo: The coast of the
Coromandel offers year round dolphin viewing.
Left: A gannet on shore and aloft.
Below-Top: white breasted
terns greeting.
Below-Middle: a New Zealand fur
seal defends its rock.
Bottom: nesting ashore, one of New Zealand’s
22 albatross species tends her chicks.
Next page Top - Bottom: white breasted tern;
black backed petrel; sooty shearwater and a
little blue penguin paddles valiantly.
their feeding and breeding grounds. Overall,
the best months to view the greatest variety of
all are in winter. Here, we see the humpback,
sperm, Bryde’s, and southern right whales.
Orcas, part of the dolphin family, are often seen
in the Summer when they come close to the
shore in bays and estuaries on the hunt for a
favourite food – sting rays, who are bottom
feeding in the shallows on shellfish.
Boaters often encounter pods of dolphins on
a “mission to somewhere”. Who can forget
seeing them playfully catch a surfing wave or
riding the bow wave of their boat! Breathtaking
sightings with bottlenose and common
dolphins can happen here year round.
SEEN ASHORE AND IN THE AIR
Land ho! Look ashore. The New Zealand fur
seal can often be seen hauled out on rocks
along the coast and some of our local islands.
And birds? Get out your binoculars and that
telephoto lens.
More species of seabirds breed in New Zealand
than anywhere else in the world. Some roam
our coast all year, while others are drawn
to fly above the swarms of baitfish below.
Australasian gannets and species of tern and
shearwater alert the savvy fisherman to schools
of kahawai or trevally on the surface and of the
potential of bigger fish below!
Southern birds come north for their
Coromandel fix during the winter months:
Albatross,
mollymawk,
shearwater,
petrel, cape
pigeon
and prion.
Our usual
cormorants,
red billed and black backed gulls are ever
present. The quite prolific, adorable and shy
‘little blue penguin’, known in Maori as
korora
,
can often be seen as the boat heads towards
a favourite ‘possie’ or heard while waiting for
a fish to take the bait. The world’s smallest
penguin, it is found only in NZ and Australia.
Photos by Ian Patrick • www.ianpatrick.co.nz
THE VARIETY OF MARINE LIFE
thriving in our stunning environment
is simply staggering. For anyone
interested in sea-bound outdoor
adventures or science, masses of
coastal and marine encounters await,
if you know where to look.
