Diving the Rainbow Warrior
One of the best experiences I had in New Zealand was without a doubt diving the Rainbow Warrior. It’s a tiny piece of New Zealand history – now a slowly degrading artificial reef.
A bit about the Rainbow Warrior wreck
The Rainbow Warrior’s name comes from the book “Warriors of the rainbow”. More specifically a passage that reads “When the world is sick and dying, the people will rise up like Warriors of the Rainbow…”. It was a Greenpeace flagship that got sunk by French saboteurs in 1985 in Auckland harbour. At the time it was being prepared for departure to protest France’s nuclear testing on the Mururoa Atoll. The ship was later re-floated, but it was beyond repair, so in December 1987 it was re-sunk at Motutapere Island.
The French secret service agents attached two packets of explosives to the hull. One near the propeller, and another one to the outer wall of the engine room.
The wreck itself is quite small – only 40 meters. It is also located at a relatively shallow location – about 26 meters to the seabed. This makes it possible to explore the whole wreck and even make more than one circuit in one dive.
A bit of science
Shipwrecks all around the world serve as artificial reefs, and the Rainbow Warrior is no different. It is a little temporary oasis on the sandy bottom which provides shelter and substrate. Over the years since it sunk, it has become an ever-changing ecosystem. It’s constantly evolving to take new shapes and colours and attract new life forms while old ones no longer occupy the wreck.
The Rainbow Warrior was made of aluminium bolted together on steel ribs. Underwater, though, they served as an anode and a cathode with an electrical current running in between. The anode, in this case, the aluminium, attracted the most corrosive negative ions in the water causing it to rust while the steel remained intact. Once the aluminium was gone, the steel started rusting rapidly as well.
A bit about marine life
At first, the wreck got covered in barnacles. They were later replaced by moss animals who eventually disappeared to make room for the plants, anemones and sponges that can be seen today.
It is now covered with pink and blue anemones and there is plenty of marine life passing around such as the New Zealand demoiselle and blue maomao. The darker parts of the wreck attract nocturnal fish in search of a place to sleep such as bigeyes and slender roughies. Leatherjackets and snapper feed on the plants and animals attached to the ship. The occasional crayfish, eel, scorpionfish and john dory can also be seen lurking around.
Because of the way the ship lays on the seabed its port side is more exposed to light. This makes the two sides of the ship completely different. Its sunlit side covered in seaweed, whereas the shaded side lacks plants and is mainly occupied by filter feeders.
Overall, at the time of writing this, the Rainbow Warrior is quite a spectacular little wreck. While it falls apart, marine life will keep changing with it. In a matter of years, it will inevitably become a pile of rusty plates that will eventually be washed away leaving a plain sandy bottom once more.
Bay of Islands
Bay of Islands is a region in the northeast containing 144 islands – truly a place of stunning beauty. As we drove in the boutique town of Paihia the sun was already setting behind us. The dying light hitting the small islands close by added a honey glow to the gorgeous view. This was going to be the last stop in our trip to New Zealand where we were going to stay for three nights before we had to fly back to the real world.
There’s a great number of activities to choose from for a holiday in the area. There’s sailing, diving, snorkelling, cruising, sightseeing, and many more. Sadly, we were not going to spend enough time there to have a taste of any of these. Except for a bit of diving. If we were ever to return to this enchanting land, we’d spend more time exploring. But for now, we had to settle for a plentiful dinner in town and a good night’s rest.
We made our way inside our accommodation in Paihia – a gorgeous campervan park with a few apartments situated at the edge of town. The apartments were separated from each other by thick trees and bushes. This provided the sense of privacy we greatly appreciated.
After dragging our suitcases inside and taking most of our stuff out once more, we headed into town for dinner. The atmosphere in Paihia was lively and most restaurants were full. We were very tired, and we only wanted to grab something light. So, obviously, we ended up in a steak house devouring massive rib eyes, a bucket full of fries along with a couple of beers. And now it was time for a well-deserved rest.
Our dive day
The day started early for us as we headed down to the dive centre. I was a bit anxious about the dive as most of my dives so far were up to 18 meters, but it was also going to be my first wreck and that was exciting. While we sat there reading textbooks to get ready for our adventure dive, our gear was being loaded in a trailer.
It took about forty minutes, as far as I remember, to get to the beach from where we were going to launch the boat. After a briefing, we put on our gear and headed to the water. Launching the boat from the shore in front of the eyes of a bunch of confused witnesses casually sunbathing was good fun. A short boat ride took us right over our destination – the Rainbow Warrior wreck. We got split into small groups and had another briefing to get to know the dive plan. And way down we went.
The descent
The visibility was worse than what I’d hoped for and we were using the anchor’s rope to descend. Once we reached the bottom, all my anxiety suddenly vanished. We kneeled on the bottom beside the wreckage of what was once a vessel part of anti-whaling, anti-nuclear waste, and anti-seal hunting campaigns. A few exercises and we were off to explore the sunken ship.
If I have to describe it with one word, it would be “creepy”. But creepy in a good way. Starting from the stern we swam past one of the holes in the hull and we could see a bit of what’s inside using our torches. We could tell there was a shoal of fish bubbling inside. Shining our torches towards the ship’s body revealed an entire palette of beautiful colours on the surface covered in anemones.
Around the ship and ascending back
As we swam towards the front of the ship, we observed the ship’s silhouette changing colours under the lights of the torches. At the front, we made a short stop to get a few photos of the picturesque bowsprit that was covered in plants and animals disallowing the rust to take over.
We ascended a few meters to the upper deck for a swim back, this time atop of the ship. The sunlit upper deck, unlike the sponges and anemones dominated hull, was covered in thick kelp.
Shortly after we were heading back up to the surface.
On our way up, we passed a section of the upper deck that had already collapsed and we could see the inside of the ship in between the overgrown decking.
Lunch on the beach of one of the Cavalli Islands
We took off our gear in the water and got pulled up back on board the boat. After I recovered from my “graceful” landing on the deck, it was time to head to a tiny island nearby to grab some lunch. We sat on a small beach on the deserted piece of land eating our homemade sandwiches and sharing stories of our travels. With a cup of hot coffee, we sat around for a while to rest and enjoy the sound of the waves. I even got to collect a few shells to add to my collection of natural souvenirs from around the world.
As pleasant as that was, we still had another dive in front of us and we were more than happy to get going.
The second dive
Our second dive was at a nearby reef. The name of the dive site is “Figure of eight”. On the surface, it looks like two adjacent rocks sticking out of the water. An experienced diver could swim around both rocks with one tank which is what gave it its name.
For us, it was a swim around one of those rocks covered in plants and animals, and over a field of kelp. If you stick your head under the kelp, you’d find plenty of small fish lurking underneath. Lots of caves and arches in the area as well for the more advanced divers.
We saw plenty of small fish around the reef and even smaller hiding in the kelp. On the way back we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of a couple of rays swimming by.
After ascending and me trying to get back on board more elegantly this time around, but failing, it was time to head ashore.
The bottom line
At first, I had mixed feelings about this dive. This was because it was my first deep dive and that made me a bit nervous. It ended up being one of my favourite dives so far. And not because it was better in terms of marine life or visibility, but because it was different, relaxed, and simply unforgettable.
A special thanks to the guys from Paihia Dive for this amazing adventure.
If you’re looking for other dive sites in New Zealand, have a look at our post about the Poor Knights.
Thanks for such a fascinating read! I especially enjoyed the inclusion of the history and of the area and chemistry of the decomposing ship to give the dive even more context. Your underwater photos are beautiful and intriguing.
Thanks, Erica! I am glad you enjoyed it 🙂
A little bit sad about the sinking of the ship, but what a cool experience for you! Awesome photos!
Looks incredible! Never thought of diving in New Zealand, will need to add it to the list.
This is so beautiful! Diving the Rainbow Warrior looks like an amazing experience!
wow this is awesome, i’ve always wanted to explore a shipwreck!
I will have to show this to my husband, he loved underwater adventures and would love this! Thanks for sharing.
This is so cool, to be able to swim around the shipwreck like that, but also how it has evolved into this artificial reef. So many amazing fish, and a little bit of an eerie sight
Wow!!! Very cool. I am not a diver and would be terrified to try, but I love your adventure! The pics are fabulous… particularly the pink anemones. I never appreciated how much the ecosystem changes over time in such an artificial reef.
This is sooo cool! I love that you describe it as “creepy in a good way”! It’s fab that the rainbow warrior has gone on to be a habitat for so many fishes and plants, even after sinking!
Your pictures are so beautiful and it’s so nice to see that much marine life! Hopefully, it is well protected.
Thanks! Most sites in New Zealand are very well protected, thankfully. 🙂
This is so amazing. It probably was a great experience.
What an awesome experience! I remember reading about the Rainbow Warrior in Auckland but I didn’t know that it was in the Bay of Islands now or that you can dive it! I love your photographs too, they really take me back to New Zealand 🙂
Wow, thanks for sharing all about this! I have been interested in going diving for the first time, but am pretty nervous. It’s very helpful to read about your experience!
Hi Bekyy, I’m glad you found this useful. I remember being quite anxious for my first dive as well, but that only lasts for a few minutes until you realize how amazing the experience really is 🙂
I heard about many adventure sports in New Zealand but diving is not one of them. Glad you highlighted it. Sad to know the ship.
I have so many friends that love to dive, but diving is not something I want to do, but I am a total diving voyeur! I love to look at photos of all the wonderfully colorful fish and the mysterious statues and shipwrecks! I live vicariously that way through others 😉
I’m glad you braved your first deep water dive, we are all benefiting from you amazing photos and informative article. Thanks!
Thanks, Carroll 🙂
I’m a diver as well and that looks like a pretty cool wreck dive site! Looks like your visibility was better on your 2nd dive (which is always nice). New Zealand is on my list of places to visit, I didn’t think about it in terms of diving there as well – thank you!
Hi Ann,
There are great dive sites in New Zealand. The Poor Knights is a world-class dive site and the Canterbury wreck is a spectacular one as well. In Kaikoura, you could go diving with the fur seals which I did not manage to fit in the schedule, sadly.
How beautiful it looks down there. Glad you had a great experience.
What a gorgeous article, I could look at these photos all day! We are planning to travel to New Zealand in a few years and I saved this article since it has so much useful information. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Bozena 🙂
It’s winter here. Sleet, rain, wind and cold.
Such a beautiful, interesting and motivational read. Stuck in my alpine home in winter, seeing such wonderful marine life and reading about the rainbow warrior takes me on a journey. Thanks.
Thanks! I am glad you’ve enjoyed it 🙂
Wow incredible history and pictures, such a picturesque
place..