Great dive but I'll skip to the best part. At the very end of the dive, we were headed back to shore and came across a couple of other divers hanging out at the surface looking down so we started looking down too. At first I didn't spot it but after 10-15 seconds of staring, I saw an octopus strolling through the weeds on the way back to its den. My first octopus sighting in New Zealand.
It was only about 3-4 metres down and there was considerable surge. I had to fight to stay at depth but managed to keep my camera on the octopus the whole time. I was glad I didn't spook it and it calmly and naturally went about its return to its den. I only wish I had arrived a few minutes earlier to catch its whole trek. Either way it's great to see an octopus in the marine reserve!
Mermaid's Kitchen East
Location: Wellington, Taputeranga Marine Reserve, New Zealand
