Two snorkellers enjoying the underwater world at Smuggler's Bay had to wrestle their camera back off an inquisitive octopus who staked a claim on it. Video / Franzi Schmid
A cheeky octopus delighted a Whangārei Heads snorkeller at the weekend when it grabbed her Go-Pro and spent several minutes taking selfies.
Franzi Schmid, who regularly snorkels at Smugglers Bay and has seen what she thinks is the same octopus before, said the encounter was too good not toshare.
“In a world that’s full of bad news, a cheeky local octopus might cheer us up a little.”
She and a friend headed out for a mid-morning snorkel on Sunday in crystal-clear conditions, perfect for spotting marine life.
After her friend got out, Schmid stayed in the water to look for the octopus she’d previously seen on the middle reef. She eventually spotted it, but only because it moved.
File image of a juvenile octopus. Photo / Rob Stewart
“It was so well camouflaged beside the rock,” she said.
The pair drifted along the rocks together, watching each other as Schmid tried to film it with her Go-Pro, which was mounted on a bright yellow stick. When she stopped, the octopus stopped too, but squeezed under a ledge where it could continue to peer out. Hoping for a clearer shot, Schmid lowered her camera under the rock.
“It grabbed it straight away,” she said. “It wrapped its suckers around the camera and just held on.”
Smugglers Bay is a favourite go-to spot for snorkellers on Whangārei Heads. Photo / NZME
By this time, her friend had returned to the water, and the pair each made attempts to free the device, although diving down without a weight belt was hard going, Schmid said.
For the three or more minutes the octopus had the camera, it passed it from arm to arm, perhaps trying to capture its best angle but getting lots of close-ups of suckers instead.
Schmid said the octopus wasn’t aggressive and didn’t try to eat the device, but was certainly curious to check it out.
The two dive buddies eventually freed the camera by gently twisting the stick it was attached to.
A Swiss national, she came to New Zealand when she was 18 and has been here for 22 years. While she’s lived in other centres – Napier, Auckland, and Coromandel – Northland had captured her heart and kept drawing her back, she said.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate, focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism, most of which she spent court reporting in Gisborne and on the East Coast.
