FEATURES OF THE DEEP
DOZENS of turtles, clear waters and gorgeous temperatures – Cook Island is taking off as one of our most beautiful diving hot spots.
The aquatic reserve, around 600 metres offshore from Fingal Head, features reefs home to hundreds of species. And photographer Daniel Pasquale says it’s growing in popularity as a dive site.
“There’s nowhere else really you can see these turtles, not that I know of,” he said. “It was incredible, last time I saw one turtle really quickly and that was it.
“This time there was honestly turtles everywhere.”
Dive instructor Rudi Vir has been diving with Kirra Dive for nearly two decades, but said he’d seen a spike in interest over recent years.
“We’ve been having more boats going out there,” he said. “It’s one of our most popular areas.”