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Koi Wreck

The Koi Wreck, just off Kaikōura, is our pick for an easy, rewarding poke around a bit of history. She’s not deep, just 12 metres, which means plenty of bottom time to really absorb the atmosphere. We love descending onto the deck, picturing her as a passenger ship, then later a coal carrier, before her deliberate sinking in 1940. Now, the wreck acts as a vibrant artificial reef, coated in a thick velvet of Neptune’s necklace seaweed. You’ll find schools of spotties darting through the superstructure and playful yellow-eye mullet investigating your bubbles. Our favourite part is looking for the smaller residents – the decorator crabs adorned with bits of the wreck itself, and we've consistently found an impressive array of nudibranchs if you slow down and really look. Visibility averages around 7 metres, so it’s not a wide-angle dream, but that intimacy actually enhances the wreck's character. It’s a perfect dive for newer wreck enthusiasts, or photographers keen on macro subjects, offering a tangible piece of Kaikōura's past.