← Rock Pool Directory/ New Zealand/ Hole in the Rock

Hole in the Rock

Porirua City, Wellington · New Zealand

What have people found?

Olive anemone, glass shrimp and new zealand hermit crab turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Waratah anemone, new zealand common cushion star and neptune's necklace are the usual finds. ~135 distinct species have been recorded here, across at least 3 years of observations.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Hole in the Rock for the next three days
  1. Mon 16 Novin the dark~8:00in the dark~20:30
  2. Tue 17 Novin the dark~8:30in the dark~21:30
  3. Wed 18 Novin the dark~10:00in the dark~23:30

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from January and April.

What should you know before visiting?

Parking is about 450 meters away.
Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at Hole in the Rock?

Species records from iNaturalist

Waratah AnemoneActinia tenebrosa
New Zealand Common Cushion StarPatiriella regularis
Neptune's necklaceHormosira banksii
KinaEvechinus chloroticus
Cook's TurbanCookia sulcata
Snakeskin ChitonSypharochiton pelliserpentis
Radiate LimpetCellana radians
Spotted Top SnailDiloma aethiops
Glass ShrimpPalaemon affinis
Purple Rock CrabLeptograpsus variegatus
Olive AnemoneIsactinia olivacea
Eleven-armed Sea StarCoscinasterias muricata
Blackfoot PauaHaliotis iris
Speckled rock anemoneOulactis muscosa
New Zealand Hermit CrabPagurus novizealandiae
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.