Dunedin Wildlife Cruise-Albatross, seals and harbour
Description
Small group tours, by Otago Harbour's most experienced skipper/guide! You wont find a wildlife guide with more experience on Otago Harbour then owner/operator Rachel McGregor. She has had 20 +years experience skippering/guiding/operating commercial vessels on Otago Harbour, including dredger, coastguard, harbourmaster and more. Modern, comfortable, safe, fast and custom built boat. Approx 1.5 hours -2 hours in duration. -Full professional amplified commentary -Quality binoculars provided. -Bathroom onboard, heated cabin -Learn about historic Quarantine Stations and old shipwrecks. -See and learn about the fishing boats, workboats, dredges and ships as we pass Port Chalmers and Careys Bay. -Look for albatross, penguins, seals, sea lions, sea birds, marine mammals and more as we cruise past roosting, breeding and feeding areas. -See/learn about the historic pilots houses, search light and gun emplacements and the old whaling stations. -Cruise around Taiaroa Head, Nature reserve.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Scenery, wildlife, shipwrecks, ocean birds, albatross, seals and more.
Albatross, seal, sea birds and much more, by boat.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- We depart a 5-10 minute easy walk, from cruise ship terminal building, Port Chalmers.
- We do not offer transport from Cruise building. Passengers need to make their own way, a flat easy 5-10 minute walk.
- Not recommended for travelers with signifigant mobility problems (must be able to step down into vessel, 300mm)
- Please be aware there could be sea spray at times, please dress warmly, just incase.
Reviews(137)
I encourage other travelers to book a tour in Dunedin through another tour provider . Our group paid in full in advance. We followed the directions given by the tour operator and we arrived early. We did not see her boat and her instructions were to not call. When we did call were told she had left and would not return to get us and not refund our money. We feel this mishap is entirely the responsibility of the tour operator as the instructions did not get us to the desired location (we are travelers in a foreign country) or offer a description of the boat. For her to deny the refund leaves us bitter toward this business and our travels in New Zealand.
Hi Andy, Lori and team, I'm sorry that you were disappointed and missed your trip. To clarify what happened, the booking instructions we send to every passenger clearly state where to meet the boat and advise passengers to be at the wharf before departure. These instructions have been used successfully by thousands of passengers over the past eight years. When the boat arrived, your group was not at the designated meeting point on the wharf. During our subsequent conversation, you explained that your group had been waiting in the nearby car park. Unfortunately, from the boat there was no way for me to see that you were there, as all passengers are expected to meet us at the dock and board directly from the wharf. As a commercial operator, I also have a responsibility to the other passengers who arrived on time. We waited beyond our scheduled departure time, but eventually had to leave. Any tour operator in the same situation would have done the same rather than delay a full trip and inconvenience other paying customers. Because six seats had been reserved exclusively for your group, those places could not be sold to anyone else and the trip departed at capacity. For that reason, I am unable to offer a refund for a missed departure. I genuinely regret that this misunderstanding occurred, particularly as you were visiting New Zealand, and I'm sorry that it affected your experience. However, the departure location and meeting instructions provided were the same instructions successfully followed by all other passengers travelling that day. Rachel Port To Port Cruises & Wildlife Tours
This tour, owned, operated and skippered by Rachel, was an absolute pleasure. Rachel's commentary was to the point and never overly effusive. She was expert at recognising birds both at a distance and on the wing, which is not to say that we didn't see birds and seals close up. If you're going out on the harbour I really recommend this tour.
Thank you so much Mary! Your recommendation means alot! Im so happy to here you enjoyed the commentary and my spotting skills! It was my pleasure to host you:) Thanks again:) Rachel
This was an excepional experienmce. We were lucky, soft rain had smoothed the ocean flat. As a rsult of schooling small fishes the albatroses were everywhere, We saw 3 seals , and one blue penguin, I can recommend the informative commentary, the great boat, and the close encouters with these magnificant birds. I have been to the land based albotross viewing and that viewiimg is a joke compared with this cruise.
Aww, thanks so much!! I super appreciate this detailed review!! I also believe the from the boat is the best way to view as we can see so much on the water. The animals we are looking for are all marine, so seeing them on or near the water is where they are at their best! Thanks again:) Wishing you all the best! Rachel
A really enjoyable trip with Rachel on board her lovely boat the Sootymaster. We were lucky with the weather and got to see some great wildlife. We learnt a lot about the area and history. Would highly recommend for a family outing.
Thank you so much for this!:) I'm so pleased you enjoyed learning a little about the area's history! :) Thank you for your recommendation, and for coming out with me! Rachel :)
Very enjoyable and educational trip on the Otago Peninsula with Rachel. She is adept at navigating and finding wildlife while engaging all on board. We had a lovely afternoon.
Thanks so much Mary, for your lovely review! :) It was a pleasure to have you onboard, and I'm so pleased you enjoyed your afternoon out on the harbour with me! Thanks again for coming out with me and your lovely words!:) Rachel :)
Short walk from cruise terminal to port. Guide was very knowledgeable about wildlife in the harbor. Nice short excursion to see the beautiful harbor.
Thank you so much Thomas! :) Im really glad you enjoyed the easy walk from the cruise terminal and your time out on the harbour. Great to hear the wildlife commentary made it even more special:) Thanks for coming out with us! And your time and efforts to review:) Thanks Rachel:)
Accurate and timely pick up instructions on s that were easy to follow . Tour guide was very knowledgable and explained wildlife and area well .
Thanks so much for your review! I’m really pleased you found the pickup instructions easy to follow and enjoyed the commentary along the way. There is so much wildlife and history packed into this little corner of the world, and I love sharing it with visitors :) Thanks again for coming out with me! Rachel :)
Awesome experience! Saw sea lions up close hunting fish, albatross soaring overhead, seal pups nursing on the shore, shags & their nests, & amazing scenery. Excellent skipper too! Highly recommend especially on a decent weather day.
Thank you so much for this awesome review! :) Im so glad you got to see so much wildlife in action! So special!:) Yes! A good weather day makes it all even more special! Thanks again for coming out with me and for the recommendation:) Rachel:)
This was an amazing experience! Rachel was such a great captain and so knowledgeable about the area, the ocean, and the wildlife. She made an effort to find all the best wildlife for us. Her boat is very comfortable and she had all items needed (binoculars, etc). Finally, she was very responsive and accommodating to our scheduling needs. I highly recommend this to anyone visiting Dunedin.
Love hearing this Morgan, thank you! :) I’m so glad you enjoyed the trip and that we managed to find some great wildlife! I really appreciate your kind words about the boat and the tour. It's my pleasure to share this beautiful area and help make your visit to Dunedin a memorable one :) Thanks so much for coming out with me and for your recommendation! Rachel :)
Saw Albatrosses, Sea Lions, Blue Penguin and many other birds. Rachel the boat owner was very knowledgeable
Thank you so much for your lovely review! I’m really glad you got to see so much wildlife! Albatross, sea lions and a blue penguin. A pretty special mix! Thanks so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it. Rachel :)
