DISCOVER GOAT ISLAND

Ocean Swells

2016-02-04T21:02:00.002-08:00

Surfers have enjoyed wonderful conditions at Goat Island. Others days have been calm and clear attracting many snorkellers. Water is nice and warm now and the fish are more plentiful than before Christmas.

November

2015-11-28T21:41:00.001-08:00

Taurepo (NZ gloxinia)

It's the time of year for the little taurepo to flower. Hard to spot but once you do you realise there are lots of plants around the Matheson Bay Bush Walk. Other walks in the area include the Leigh Harbour Walk, Goat Island Walkway, Ti Point and of course lots of Leigh Coast options.
The water is warming and plenty of visitors and locals have been swimming and snorkelling on these warmer days.

Summer

2015-11-18T01:31:00.001-08:00

Warmer days and cooler days, but definitely warmer water and had our first snorkel of the season. The last couple of weeks the wildlife in the area has been amazing - orca, dolphins, humpback whales and even a leopard seal.

Spring 2015

2015-09-03T22:19:00.002-07:00

We are looking forward to spring-like days and summer too. Visitors should think about staying a night or two to enjoy our lovely area. Our Bed and Breakfast room has a comfy bed, ensuite bathroom, outside access and is just a short walk or drive to the Sawmill Cafe, the fish and chip shop, bar and Matheson Bay Beach. Five mins drive to the marine reserve - Goat Island

The most amazing summer

2015-02-28T20:36:00.001-08:00

2015 will be remembered as the best summer ever. So many beautiful blue sky days, calm seas etc. Great news for all our visitors who come to enjoy the beach, snorkelling, walking or just the scenery.
Although we no longer do our guided snorkelling trips, we occasionally will take our guests out diving or snorkelling off our boat. Just has to fit in with our plans and of course the weather.

Summer 2015

2015-01-04T10:51:00.002-08:00

Snorkelling at Goat Island can be a great experience and gear can be hired at several places locally. We have bed & breakfast accommodation in Leigh, 400m from the Sawmill Cafe. The room has its own bathroom and outside access, comfortable bed and FREE WIFI. Guests are welcome to use our sit-on kayaks to paddle the local coast. Email to book on enderby@discovergoatisland.co.nz

End of Summer

2014-04-16T16:06:00.001-07:00

Our guided snorkelling experiences have now finished but we can still offer a rocky shore exploration. Echinoderm Reef at Goat Island has a large variety of marine inhabitants just waiting for you to discover with us. Can do an hour each side of low tide.

Summer 2014

2014-03-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

We have taken numerous people snorkelling, either couples, friends or families. No experience is necessary and we enjoy teaching people the basics on how to snorkel. Price is $69 for adults and $49 for children and includes all snorkelling gear plus wetsuit hire.
Several schools have also visited and we have taken them out onto Echinoderm Reef, to explore the rockpool life. Just $7 per student (incl. GST)
We highly recommend a visit also to the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre.

New Year

2013-12-31T23:08:00.001-08:00

Did you make a New Year resolution to do something that scares you every day? If you've always wanted to go snorkelling why not book a guided snorkel experience with us? Our priority is your safety while teaching you the fundamentals of snorkelling. Don't wait for another year to go by! Just do it now.
Here we are out having fun in our boat on a beautiful blue day!

Summer's Here!

2013-11-08T14:58:00.001-08:00

We just had our first snorkel for the season off the beach at Goat Island. Nice calm conditions and good visibility. Wearing a nice warm wetsuit kept us cosy as we viewed snapper, red moki, banded wrasse, mackerel and much more. Interesting chain salps and other things in the water. Learn more about these interesting animals at the Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre.

McLeans College

2013-02-12T18:39:00.000-08:00

Almost 60 students from McLeans College came snorkelling at Goat Island on Monday. Our first school group for 2013. Almost all the students could snorkel with some able to dive down exceptionally well. We saw dozens of snapper, red moki, trevally, blue maomao, sweep and a few eaglerays. The rarest fish seen was a giant boarfish that hovered over the sand near Alphabet Bay.
We followed the snorkel with a walk over the rocky shore where we saw seashells, crabs, triplefins, barnacles, seaweeds, decorator crabs and much more.

Toku Mapihi Maurea Kura Kaupapa Maori School

2012-12-11T19:53:00.001-08:00

Students from Hamilton arrived in Leigh to stay at the Omaha Marae and enjoy the activities in the area. They were all very good at the snorkelling and saw some huge snapper plus other fishes. The parents and teachers who helped did a wonderful job too.

Bethlehem College

2012-12-11T19:47:00.000-08:00

We guided a small group of lovely girls at the marine reserve. They are staying at the Goat Island Camp and enjoying all the various activities of the area including the Marine Discovery Centre. Although the water cool was still quite cool it was clear. Saw numerous banded wrasse, snapper, red moki, spotties and small schools of kahawaii. All managed the snorkelling and had a great time.

Birkdale Intermediate School

2012-11-25T22:30:00.001-08:00

Today 26 students came snorkelling with us at Goat Island. They were very enthusiastic and stayed in the water for ages. We saw snapper, red moki, spotties, a large short-tailed stingray and several eagle rays. Water is warming up and with the sunshine it felt like a nice summery day.

Summer's Here

2012-11-24T23:01:00.002-08:00

Broad Squid

At last the air temperature and the sea temperature have warmed up. Visibility at Goat Island today was awesome. I guided a small group from Germany and Norway. We saw the usual fish like snapper, spotties, red moki plus a big school of Jack Mackerel. We looked for rays but orca had visited early in the morning and we saw none. Some very small broad squid glowed in the sunlight near the ecklonia kelp.

Whangaparaoa College

2012-11-17T12:35:00.001-08:00

25 International students came snorkelling at Goat Island. Tide was very low but all managed the activity with no problems. Some very big snapper came around and there were several eagle rays in the shallows. Water still a bit cooler than usual for this time of year.

Labour Weekend Snorkels

2012-10-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Tony guided five lovely ladies on a snorkelling experience. Visibility wasn't the best, there were still plenty of fish to see and a few eaglerays resting on the sand. Water still a bit on a cool side, but wearing a wetsuit meant they could stayed in for 45 mins.

Guided Snorkel Experience

2012-10-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

From Labour Weekend onwards we are again starting our guided snorkelling experiences at the famous Goat Island Marine Reserve. Email if you'd like more information. No experience is necessary! snorkel@discovergoatisland.co.nz

Winter Break

2012-06-09T18:35:00.001-07:00

We will begin the guided snorkelling tours later in October when the weather warms up again. If you haven't tried snorkelling yet, then we will show you what to do and will guide you off the beach at the Goat Island Marine Reserve. Add it to your bucket list and don't worry if you can't swim as we give you a wetsuit to wear and take a safety flotation board with us.

April snorkelling

2012-03-27T01:09:00.001-07:00

Learn to snorkel safely!

We are still be doing guided snorkelling experiences at Goat Island during April, although the weather has been very changeable. Water is still warmer than December. Days available are Friday, Saturday and Sunday until the end of April, weather permitting of course. You can book now at Goat Island Dive to learn with us, but hurry as numbers each day are limited!
April 15th the water was calm and we guided 3 adults and 3 children. There were a lot of big and small snapper around including the famous Monkeyface who we have seen at Goat Island since 1993 and he was already a very large fish back then.
The snorkelling experiences will start again in late October.

Otamatea High School

2012-03-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

Red moki at Goat Island

Today we guided a small group of students from Otamatea High, at Goat Island. Conditions were very calm, sunny and visibility improving. We saw snapper of all sizes, leatherjackets, piper, big and small red moki and more. The students were great at snorkelling and all gained their PADI snorkelling certificate.

Diocesan School for Girls

2012-03-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

Leatherjacket

Today 20 lovely students from Dio came snorkelling at the Goat Island Marine Reserve. They were all very good snorkellers, many going down to the sea floor easily. The water was clear and calm with hundreds of harmless little chain salps in the water. Fishes seen include snapper, piper, red moki, spotties, sweep, leatherjackets, kahawai and trevally.

Snorkelling Conditions

2012-02-27T23:59:00.001-08:00


Piper

Amazing snorkelling conditions the last two days. Visibility awesome. Guided visitors from New York, Christchurch, Australia, Denmark and England. We saw several giant boarfish, lots of snapper (some huge ones) piper, goatfish, red moki, kahawai, silver drummer etc etc etc. With the sun shining the water seems much warmer than 20 degC.
www.discovergoatisland.co.nz

Pinehurst School

2012-02-25T00:13:00.003-08:00

Fun, fun, fun!

Lovely sea conditions and visibility for taking 25 students from Pinehurst School, snorkelling at Goat Island. Saw plenty of snapper, red moki, leatherjackets, silver drummer and much more.
www.discovergoatisland.co.nz

Stanley Bay School

2012-02-20T21:59:00.000-08:00


Red Moki

A wonderful day with Stanley Bay Primary School students. We snorkelled and snorkelled and snorkelled. Then we went and explored the rocky shore. Calm seas, good visibility and so much to see. Absolutely fabulous! Thanks to the great parents who had time off work to help.