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Log This Dive

Matts Crack

Matt's Crack at the Poor Knights always delivers. We love the way the light streams in, particularly around midday, creating those iconic blue silhouettes that photographers chase. You drop down into this 60-metre-long fissure, about 10 metres wide at the mouth, narrowing to a snug 3 metres further in. It’s open to the surface the whole way, so you’re never truly in a cave, just a very dramatic canyon. Inside, the walls are plastered with sponges and anemones, and you’ll spot scorpionfish tucked into crevices. Keep an eye out for nudibranchs crawling across the kelp and sea rimu. Demoiselles and maomao flutter in the sun-dappled sections, while deeper in the shadows, big snapper often lurk. For us, the thrill is in the atmosphere, that dramatic play of light and shadow, more than any single creature. It’s a pretty easy dive, maxing out at 20 metres, so it suits most divers looking for something a bit different.