Poor Knights Blue Maomao Arch
DESCRIPTION
Dive site review by Anna Clague
Photos by Andrew Simpson
This is a site that can fully enjoyed by diving it more than once. It has changing light from three different light inlets. This means that seasonally the light can come from different angles for a similar time of day throughout the year.
The archway itself is the main feature of this site but there is a wraparound external wall, which drops down to a channel that is certainly worth a visit.
The arch has two main access openings and a side opening at the surface (where the side lighting comes from). The western entrance is the shallower side of the arch and has two access points. From the surface, face the arch and put the wall close on your right shoulder, descend here and you will see an underwater swim through on the lower right hand side of this underwater bay – this bay is a good hang out for stingrays in the summer so keep your eyes peeled. The swim through is about 7m deep and very short. You will swim down and then up into the arch. As soon as you head down into the swim through you should look over to the left as there is a cosy nook that big eyes and other fish like to shelter in. The walls of this nook are covered in encrusting coral growth and there is the occasional eel hanging out in here too. The other way in on the shallow side of the arch is to the left. This comes up to around 4m and is open to the surface the whole way.
Once in the arch you will see that the bottom is strewn with large boulders that make great homes for sponges and low growing corals with loads of spaces for fish and eels to hide under. There has been a Spotted Black Grouper seen in here alongside plenty of Scorpionfish, a variety of different Wrasses and the usual myriad of Nudibranchs, Triplefins and Blennies. The walls of the arch are covered with anemones, hydroids, sponges of all shapes and colours, solitary hard corals and mini gorgonian fans.
My favourite diving in this arch is when the schools of fish congregate in here. Weirdly the Demoiselles and Blue Maomao segregate themselves inside the arch with the Demoiselles on the left and the Blue Maomao on the right. I have had dives when I cannot see through from one entrance to the other due to the density of fish schooling in here. The length of the arch is approximately 20m at the surface but the walls of the arch extend further underwater on the eastern side. The arch gradually descends as you go through to a series of sharp steps at the eastern end, which bottoms out at approximately 16m.
At the base of these steps on the left there is a small crack near the sand where there are resident cleaner shrimp and there has been a Toadstool Grouper found hiding out here as well. Following the sand/rubble floor out you will find the wall on the left that wraps back around the arch and then the channel that drops off to the right. This channel is filled with kelps and Carpophyllum weeds that make good homes for many species so is definitely worth an explore – possibly even a separate dive all to itself!
