25 years of rewarding the kaitiaki of tomorrow

Written and photographed by Lorna Doogan - National Coordinator.

For over two decades, a very special journey has taken place in a quiet corner of Northland. It’s a journey that starts in local streams, estuaries and harbours all around Aotearoa and ends in the crystal-clear, fish-filled sanctuary of Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi - the Poor Knights Islands.

Friday the 22nd of May 2026 marked the 25th Anniversary of the Experiencing Marine Reserves (EMR) Poor Knights Competition Trip. To celebrate, 28 students from seven regions across the country, each a winner of their local marine conservation or art competition, descended upon Te Tai Tokerau for a life-changing expedition.

For this year's trip we had 28 students and guardians representing 25 schools from 7 regions of Aotearoa including Northland, Auckland, Coromandel, Taranaki, Gisborne, Wellington & Nelson. Since 2002, we have taken representatives from 476 schools, totalling 650 students! Each student attends with a parent or guardian and its a chance to connect whānau to the environment. 

Want to support future Annual Poor Knights trips? Your donations make this event possible.

In addition to the opportunity to represent their school or region for the EMR Action prize, we offer the EMR Ocean Art prize. The Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation supports this special prize for young kiwis that have experienced the marine environment with EMR and display that passion and experience through art.

This is the 8th year we have offered the Darren Shields | Wettie Representative, for a promising rangatahi that shows talent for freediving. This year's winner was Jahrelle Thomas - who has now become a crew member after participating in Marine Mahi for Rangatahi.

On board the vessel ‘Perfect Day’ the group braved a rocky ride out to our snorkel site at The Gardens in Maroro Bay. Participants were delighted to see friendly blue fish, tāmure/snapper galore and inquistive Sandagers wrasse. A big highlight for many was exploring Trevors Rocks and the schooling demoiselles around it. This trip was the first time most of the students and guardians had ever visited Aorangi and Tawhiti Rangi. 

For the regions outside of Northland and Auckland. The trip continued with exploration of Matapouri by snorkel and foot.

Acknowledgements

This trip wouldn’t be possible without the support of Dive! Tutukaka and the Bobby Stafford-Bush Foundation. The event also has support from Foundation North, Whangarei Coastal Commuters, Schnappa Rock and the Matapouri Holiday Units.

Tawhiti Rahi and Aorangi - The Poor Knights Islands are in the rohe of Ngāti Wai and we appreciate being able to visit the moana around these taonga.

If you would like to get your school involved in our programme and have a chance of going on this once in a lifetime trip express your interest in a school programme here. Feel free to get in touch with our awesome coordinators around Aotearoa.

Big thanks to our regional provider partners Friends of Te Whanganui o Hei Marine Reserve Trust,  Mountains to Sea Wellington, Tasman Bay Guardians, Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society, He Awa Ora, He Tai Ora, Healthy Rivers, Living Sea

Student list 2026

Northland 

Arlo Pearce, “It was like swimming in a fishbowl!”

Chloe Olliver, “My first time snorkelling and this will be a hard one to follow.”

Timothy Barr, “Don’t take mum to the Poor Knights, she’ll get seasick! Trees are cool.”

Beau Paget, “The coolest things I saw were a big bluefish, snapper, & going into the cave.”

Stephen Roberts + Freya Roberts-Kelly, “My favourite part was popping the scuba divers bubbles. This is a special place. My second time being here, I absolutely love seeing all the smiling faces and happy kids.”

Mere Leef, “Enjoy it while you can.”

Taylah Pomana + William MacSwain, “It was out the gate amazing! I really liked the sandagers wrasse. The ocean is a masterpiece in motion. I felt at one with the ocean, special to see everyone in there experiencing it together.”

Marnix Haverkort, “Seeing the moray eel and fat snapper was my highlight.” 

John Haverkort, “It is great to give kids awesome opportunities and see them thrive. I feel so privileged to join my son, I would love to come back.” 

Tama Peterson, “I saw a scorpion fish, king fish and snapper. I loved snorkelling through the caves.” 

Stewart Peterson, “I have been out to the Poor Knights in the past but it has been a long time since I have been back. It is so pristine and it was great to see the demoiselles, blue maomao, sandargers, black angle fish in abundance. I was an avid diver and it is great to see the next generation getting excited about the ocean.” 

Joanna Barr, “So thankful for the opportunity to see our moana how it should be - full of life and variety.”

Auckland 

Zoe Carmody, "Hopping in and seeing fishes right away and going through the cave!"

Dave Carmody, "Heaps of fish, such a great day to remember."

Madeline Matanawa "Amazing rocky point covered in seaweed and covered in fish. It was a perfect frame of undersea life that I will keep in my mind forever. "

Milliana Matanawa, "This was so worth the tough boat ride out!."

Allie Nikolovska, "I liked the black angle fish, the big schools of fish and how deep it was."

Tariygan Kanuta, “Snorkelling, going inside the archway, and trying to duck dive was so fun!”

Stephanie Kanuta, “Coming here with Traiygan was the biggest highlight. I loved seeing my granddaughter so happy and excited, she enjoyed every second of being here and it was the first time I have seen her snorkelling.”

Porl Bowdler, “From Maungarei to Maroro Bay, what a journey. It was so cool to see the giant snappers literally bumping into me.” 

Rose Bowdler, “I liked seeing the big snapper.” 

Dharana and Waruna Karunaratne, “It was a fantastic experience. Thank you Mountains to Sea for the opportunity to visit a part of New Zealand we have never seen before, we will definitely be back!”

Zoe To, “The water was so clear and the fish were super friendly. It would be great to have marine reserves everywhere for people to enjoy more of this.”

Taniela Maea, “All the way along it was super fun with all the reefs and fish,”

Claire Lee, “I’ve learned a new meaning to sporty! Overall it’s been amazing, it was like an aquarium.”

Simeon Mellor-Coope, “The caves looked very spooky.”

Tim Lacerna, “It’s crazy how all the species coexist together!”

Daniella Smith, “The experience was even better than the photos!”

Taranaki 

Keith Delmar, “Beautiful out there.” 

Stellar Delmar, “I was astonished at the number of fish and how close they came to me. It has been an amazing journey.” 

Coromandel

Amelia Jones, “My favourite part was the little fish coming up in schools, closer then away then closer again.”

Lily Henderson, “My favourite thing about the Poor Knights was the variety of fish species, tropical, reef, so many.”

Gisborne 

Harper Maaka, “I saw a moray eel, and I got bitten by a snapper. I loved the colour of the reef.” 

Sommer Maaka, “A highlight was seeing all the blue maomao, how blue they were underwater versus the surface.” 

Wellington 

Nellie Sutherland, “Most people think that family and friends are the most important things in life, but for me, it’s the water.”

Nellie Bernard, “I saw jellyfish and I saw lots of fish. I liked popping the bubbles of the divers.” 

Victoria Bernard, “It was such a privilege to come here, all thanks to my daughter's hard work, I am so proud of her, I am lucky to have such a smart daughter.” 

Nelson/Tasman 

Emily Robinson, “The abundance of fish life blew me away. So beautiful and so much colour variation on the reef.” 

Grace Robinson, “ Jumping in the water and seeing the different coloured fish you don’t see in Nelson was so special, especially seeing the king fish.” 

Jake Creed, “Blown away by how much life there was. Looking down and seeing all the fish was such a highlight, especially as it was my first time snorkelling.” 

Aurora Creed, “I have never seen so many fish that close to my face before!” 

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