Dive Tatapouri — Attraction in North Island

An Unforgettable Experience at Dive Tatapouri!

I recently had the pleasure of joining Dive Tatapouri’s Reef Tour, and it was an experience I’ll never forget! The guides were exceptional—knowledgeable, passionate, and deeply caring about the stingrays and the surrounding marine environment. Their expertise added so much to the tour, making it both educational and awe-inspiring.

We were fortunate to see several stingrays and even majestic eagle rays up close. What really stood out was how natural and authentic the experience felt. These are wild creatures in their natural habitat, not part of any gimmick, and the respect shown to them by the team was admirable.

The tour felt incredibly safe and welcoming, perfect for all ages and experience levels. The weather was fantastic on the day we went, which only added to the beauty of the reef and the clarity of the water.

If you’re planning a visit, make sure to book in advance—it’s an experience you don’t want to miss. Dive Tatapouri truly offers a rare opportunity to connect with marine life in an ethical and memorable way....

Easily one of the best experiences we had in New Zealand. We were provided waterproof waders and then lead out about 10 meters onto the reef. The guide then brought in a feeding bucket, letting the stingrays know it was feeding time. We were lucky enough to meet Pancake, a huge stingray although still young, and a few eaglerays. Both were very friendly, letting us stroke them. They were also accompanied by kingfish aka yellowfin tuna a few feet long! They were very fast and aggressive trying to get the fish being fed to the stingrays, but it all added to experience! The guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and answering out questions, and it was plain to see they love and bond they had with the stingrays. Would...

We stopped by here on mostly a whim. While we did make a booking beforehand, we could only secure two spaces and one of us in the party was not able to book.

Despite this, the staff were able to accommodate us and squeezed one more into the tour.

We waded out onto the reef and got to see a number of stingrays including several eagle and short tail rays.

The staff had names for most of the rays and were very accommodating, making sure that everyone in the party got opportunities to see the rays and feed them if they wanted to.

Overall we found this to be a fantastic way to get to see some of New Zealand’s wildlife.

This is a definite must do if you’re in Gisborne, but...