Marine Reserve video tour brings diving adventures ashore.
Wellington’s Taputeranga Marine Reserve has a new way for people to plunge below the waves and explore its underwater world without getting wet.
As part of its 15th-anniversary celebrations, the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve have introduced QR codes dotted along the Island Bay coastline.
Anyone with a smartphone can scan the codes to watch short videos of Wellington’s famous dive sites and explore the aquatic wonderland of Mermaid’s Kitchen, take an eerie dive at Princess Bay by night, or join divers as they scooter over the reefs of Taputeranga Island.
Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve Trust Chair Nicole Miller says, “The video tour brings the wonders of the marine reserve onshore for people who can’t go in the water or who prefer to stay on dry land. All you need to do is scan the codes to be ‘kissed’ by a blue cod or surrounded by schools of moki.”
“As divers, we often get asked: ‘What can you see?’ or ‘What does the reserve look like underwater?’ Now, everyone can walk along the coast and explore the different dive sites and their marine inhabitants! “ Nicole explains the Trust plans to add more videos to the virtual tour over time, so if you’ve dived in the marine reserve and have a short video or two to share of curious octopuses, soft-bellied nudibranchs or barnacle-covered shipwreck sites (for example), she wants to hear from you! Get in touch through one of the below social channels.
If you’re outside Wellington, you can still experience its rocky reefs and scuttled shipwrecks by watching all the videos via the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve’s Facebook, YouTube or Insta pages. Give them a follow to keep up with all their fishy news.
Facebook Facebook.com/ TaputerangaMarineReserve
YouTube Youtube.com/@FoTMR
Instagram Instagram.com/taputerangamarinereserve
Website https://taputeranga.org.nz/
