Date: 1/4/2006
The waters of Te Waikoropupu Springs in Golden Bay are closed to diving, swimming and other contact to protect the outstanding springs from the invasive alga Didymo. The ban applies to all the waters within the Pupu Springs Scenic Reserve, including the Main Spring, Dancing Sands Pool, Fish Creek and the Springs River. The springs are the largest cold water springs in the Southern Hemisphere and their water clarity is second only to Antarcticaâs Weddell Sea. Didymo is not always visible and it only takes one microscopic fragment to infest unaffected.