More than 100 newbie snorkellers gathered to get a beneath-the-surface look at the wonder of a marine reserve right here in Central Hawke’s Bay. Reporter Michaela Gower takes a look at what they found below the water at Te Angiangi.
Robert Houkamau loves the Central Hawke’s Bay coast. To him it’s “smack bang in the middle of nowhere”.
But under the water he’s smack bang in the middle of everything. Thriving marine life abounds at Te Angiangi, and Houkamau wants to show it off as much as he can.
Poachers can’t and haven’t ruined this spot. Not for lack of trying.
Situated between Aramoana and Blackhead, the reserve was established in 1997 and spans 446 hectares.
DoC Hawke’s Bay operations manager Grant Bennett said the protection of Te Angiangi Marine Reserve continued to be a priority.
There have been three prosecutions over the last five years for illegal activity. In 2017 DoC apprehended seven people in as many weeks for suspected illegal fishing inside the reserve. Several other poaching incidents have also made headlines over the past decade.
But for the most part, Te Angiangi is doing well.
“Most people are respectful of the reserve and the things that live within it,” Bennett said.
A 2024 review of Te Angiangi, by DoC and Ngāti Kere was the first in a series of marine protected area reviews to determine whether the marine protection measures currently in place are meeting their intended objectives, and whether these objectives reflect today’s conservation and community priorities.
“This year, we also began monitoring adjacent areas to better understand the wider ecological impact of the reserve.”
He said it is early days for the new monitoring, and the recovery after severe weather events (notably a large landslide in 2011 and Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023).
But indications were that rock lobster, paua and kina were present in higher numbers within the reserve than outside, Bennett said.
Marine educator and founder of Tāngata o te Wai Charitable Trust, Houkamau, decided to run a free exploration and educational event at Te Angiangi on March 29.
Houkamau said the reserve was the perfect location for several reasons including its exclusivity and the fact “you can go there and find life in all places”.
“It’s pretty much smack in the middle of nowhere - to get to Te Angiangi it’s an hour and 45-minute drive from Napier.
“You have to be committed to the day to go out there.”
Participants on March 29 got to experience the benefits of the protected site close up.
“The day was massive ... it was a real whānau atmosphere,” Houkamau said.
Backed by funding from Sports Hawke’s Bay and Water Safety NZ, Houkamau said he was able to make the event free.
Ministry of Primary Industries also attended the event, which was a collaboration with Sustainable Hawkes Bay, the Wai Connection and Mountains to Sea Conservation Trust.
Houkamau said he was inspired to run the event for all because he had also grown up wanting to learn how to dive.
“It’s something my whānau in Pōrangahau, Ngati Kere have been doing forever, is going down to these places and teaching people.”
He said he had grown up with amazing stories of going out and making the most of the natural environment and what the sea had to offer.
“We never got to experience that. By the time we were old enough to go and do that, all our uncles going and doing that were too old, so there was a big gap in our education when it came to diving.”
Houkamau said at age 15 he wanted to pursue tank diving, and was told the best way to do so was to complete a course, but a lack of local opportunity got him thinking.
“There was nothing - now that we were starting to chase those opportunities, there wasn’t any.
“My friends and cousins were saying ‘can you take our kids and can you teach us?‘”
He said the number of paua and the size of them, along with the abundance of crayfish and healthy seaweed and algae highlighted the importance of the reserve.
“The food stocks, the kina, the fish and all of those things are plentiful.”
He said one of the day’s special moments was seeing exchange students from Japan experience snorkelling for the first time.
“Honestly, when they saw a crayfish, it was pretty funny, they were in that zone - it was massive.”
He said it was beneficial for people to explore the underwater environment and learn the necessary safety skills.
“A lot of people have always wanted to do it, but they always stop. By being with a group doing that, it takes a lot of that stress away.”
Houkamau said there were plans to run a similar opportunity in late October, and hoped the event would become a biannual attraction for the area.
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.