Our Wreck trips are done depending on minimum numbers during our low season - We do not run wreck trips during our peak season (November till April) as most of the interest is for the Poor Knights Islands.
We need a minimum of six people with their own gear or eight with full gear hire to run a trip.
Minimum dive guideline
Both wrecks are deep dives, with minimum dive guidelines. We require you to have 15 logged dives for the Waikato. You must have dived in the last six months.
If you have fewer dives, you can still dive the Waikato - we run special Adventure Dives with an Instructor (which count towards an Advanced certification).
The HMNZS Tui and HMNZS Waikato are large navy vessels specifically prepared for adventure diving before being sunk at diver friendly depths. Purpose cut access and exit points allow exploration of guns, bridges, control areas, helicopter hangar, engine rooms, cabins and crew areas.
The Tui
Please note we do not dive the Tui anymore for safety reasons.
The former HMNZS Tui is resting at 34-58.8 South and 1 74-32.29 East at a depth of 32m of water. She began life as the Charles H Davis, working on Hydrographic research for an American university.
For the last 17 years of her working life, she was leased out by the United States Navy to become the HMNZS Tui, deployed on naval hydrographic work. She was also sent to Mururoa to observe the last series of French Nuclear bomb tests in the South Pacific, and became the unofficial mothership to a large international protest fleet.
The Tui was gifted to Tutukaka Coast Promotions after long negotiations, prepared for her new role as a dive attraction and sunk off Tutukaka on the 20th of February 1999.
The Waikato
The frigate ex HMNZS Waikato was built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, launched on February 18 1966, and commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy on September 5, 1966.
At 113.4m long, 12.5m beam and a draft of 5.5m she was the first of the Leander class frigates built for the navy. She had a top speed of 30 knots, and was powered by twin steam turbines developing 30,000hp.
The Waikato was armed to the teeth, sporting twin 4.5in guns in the turret, two 20mm Orlikeon machine guns on the wings, a quad Seacat anti-aircraft missile launcher, six 12.75m anti-submarine torpedo tubes, one anti-submarine warfare Limbo mortar Mark 10 and a Wasp Helicopter capable of delivering depth charges and the Mark 46 anti-submarine torpedo.
She served the RNZ Navy until decommissioning in 1998. Tutukaka Coast won the tender and prepared the ship for divers during 1999/2000. Finally the ship was sent to her final resting place on the 25th of November 2000 in a world record time of 2 min 40 seconds.
She now rests in water 28m deep on 35,39.165 South and 174,32.670 East. The Waikato is the only purpose-sunk frigate in the Southern Hemisphere. Her turret and one propeller were left on the ship.