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Picnic Point

Otago · New Zealand

What have people found?

Queen paua, common rock crab and olive anemone turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Waratah anemone, neptune's necklace and blackfoot paua are the usual finds. ~155 distinct species have been recorded here.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Picnic Point for the next three days
  1. Mon 16 Novin the dark~2:00in the dark~14:30
  2. Tue 17 Novin the dark~3:00in the dark~15:30
  3. Wed 18 Novin the dark~4:00in the dark~16:30

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 February and May.

What should you know before visiting?

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 Picnic Point?

Species records from iNaturalist

Waratah AnemoneActinia tenebrosa
Neptune's necklaceHormosira banksii
Blackfoot PauaHaliotis iris
Cook's TurbanCookia sulcata
New Zealand Common Cushion StarPatiriella regularis
Seven-armed Sea StarAstrostole scabra
Cystophora retroflexaCystophora retroflexa
New Zealand Bull KelpDurvillaea antarctica
Wandering Sea AnemonePhlyctenactis tuberculosa
Queen PauaHaliotis australis
Variable ChitonIschnochiton maorianus
Common Rock CrabHemigrapsus sexdentatus
Speckled rock anemoneOulactis muscosa
Radiate LimpetCellana radians
Olive AnemoneIsactinia olivacea
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.