wreck of the matai

christinel876

My husband and son had the opportunity to dive this wreck with Dive Rarotonga, days later my son is still going on about his experience but this may have been more related to him enjoying the diving.

Elutka

we just wondering what it was, and find out it was wreck . after we find out the name"wreck of the Matai". the area is full of wreck, but this one you can see so close.

nzkeades

This is the wreck that is viewable right in the middle of town. It does not look much from the surface, but go closer and deeper and you do appreciate how big and old it actually is. From memory, I believe it sunk in 1916 !!!!Was great to see how the sea had turned a wreck into a place of life for fish, turtles, coral and other marine life.

Veri1959

Catching a ride on the yellow submarine from the harbour took us right over the wreck. We were escorted part of the way by Giant Trevally which were offered some food by the skipper. The wreck is easily viewed from the semi submersible.

stevew538

We took a trip on a calm day and the wreck was easily accessible for snorkeling off the reef. Lots of fish to see and plenty of bits of ship from the rudder to the bow, laid out neatly along the flat bottom. The various parts are now part of the reef with lots of growth of coral on the boilers and various bit of ship.

vickio572

Pacific Divers took us to this spot and for intro divers its a great dive site and interesting looking over the wreck

Spatchski

Unless you want to get deeper into history of the island it is not worth spending time on checking the piece of metal sticking out of the water. You can have a decent view from the shore no need to swim to check rusting piece of metal.

stucatling

Diving since the early 90's its not often you add a fish to your tick list, the Wreck of the Matai delivered this, along with a beautiful specimen of a "standard lion fish and a not very shy grouper, find the oscillating lion fish it's by the Ghost Octopus!

TamsinS163

We easily snorkelled out to the wreck from the marina and were awestruck by the amazing site of the wreck lying in 4-5m ocean. Not only is it intriguing to look at the boiler from the shore but the details of the wreck lying beneath the waves is amazing. It was well worth the swim out. Highly recommend it!

WillM119

The wreck of the Matai, just about all visitors ask what is that thing out in the water!!Seen from Trader Jacks or by the shopping area, I think its worth just knowing what it is but really not much else.....So many wrecks around the Islands.....Books have been written on these wrecks, Don Silk, the late Harbour master wrote a really good book on these wrecks, Cant recall name of the book just now, but worth a read.The part you see sticking out of the water is just the Boiler.

silverfox1946

We saw the strange object jutting out from the ocean.......and had no idea what it was until we asked! Incredible to see a piece of history so close offshore.......and in front of the center of Avarua.

nzlilibet

As others have said - not a pretty attraction. But it does play an important part in the annual Triathlon which takes place in May every year. There is always a swim in Avarua 'round the boiler' which is part of this wreck.

MarthaB710

Not much to see really, just the remains of the boiler from the old wreck. Makes you wonder how in the world it could wreck there.

29Jeanne29

We went out on the sub boat so we could see the wreck from the top of the ocean surface and then from down below through the portholes. The knowledge of the owners was excellent and it was a very interesting trip. The views of the island from the boat were awesome

Jacob15

I did my PADI 'Advanced Open Water' course with 'The Dive Centre'. I ended up doing 8 dives during the trip and this was one of them. If other divers have dived massive wrecks, they may not find this one that impressive, but it was my first wreck and so I loved it. The wreck is spread out over a small distance, so you can start at one end, then swim over the middle section and make your way to the other end. It was a bit like being in a huge fish tank, with fish who have made the wreck home.Sasha, the awesome dive instructor/owner from 'The Dive Centre' told us where we would likely find Lionfish and sure enough, there was one in the bow and one in the stern. Considering you are on a tropical Island, it's pretty cool having a dive site like this there.