Takapuna Snorkel Day Trip Report
Sunday 2nd of February 2020 |
Images from the day |
Sunday the 2nd of February started out the same as most EMR snorkel days do. Wake up. Splash some water on my face. COFFEE. Then toddle off to another beautiful location in the Hauraki Gulf to get some people in the water!
Today we were showcasing Takapuna beach and boy did the weather turn it out! We were treated to the best conditions we have ever seen on the reef, with great visibility and beautiful blue skies. A lot of people aren't aware of the unique lava formed reef systems and amazing array of life just metres from the busy urban beach. This is the second time I had the pleasure of showing people around this underwater metropolis, so I had a good idea of the hot spots to highlight.
Being one of the most easily accessible snorkel days in Auckland, we expected it to be a busy one and it did not dissapoint, with the first willing participants showing up half an hour before start time. I love the enthusiasm to get in the water!
After Courtney's safety briefing to start the day (safety first), it was straight in the water. My first group were very excited to get in, with some having never been snorkelling in the ocean. We were treated to speedy spotties, plump parore, sneaky snapper, tremendous trevally and tiny triplefins. The group were absolutely enthralled, as were the 3 other groups I took out. That is by far the best thing about being a part of these snorkel days. The absolute happiness that emersion in the marine environment provides for people from all different walks of life, with all different experiences of the ocean. Today we had put 242 smiles on 242 faces. 242 record breaking smiles. Can't top that.
But wait, you can. During the day one of our senior snorkel guides dropped her brand new underwater camera, purchased that week, into the weed on the reef. So after the last rotation and all of the gear was cleaned and packed down for the day, her and I jumped back into the water to put our search and navigation skills to the test. Turns out we are pretty good with retrieval of lost items ?
A massive thank you to the amazing Auckland co-ordinators Lorna and Sophie, and all the wonderful volunteers.
-- Written by Katie McClaren