I have been a birdwatcher and wildlife photographer of over forty years. The wildlife encounter from kaikoura is one of the most memorable experiences of my life. I hope that it can resume soon after the challenges from the most recent earthquake in the area....More

Do both this and the dolphin encounter (if you are a comfortable snorkeler) while you are in Kaikoura, I promise you won't be disappointed. We did both in the same day due to weather constraints and loved both tours. The albatross encounter is a much...More

If you are a bird nerd like we are, you will absolutely love the Albatross Encounter tour. Species which are rare all around the world gathered within only a few meters from our boat. WOW! If you are not a bird nerd, you'll be entertained...More

After a side trip to rescue a Hutton's Shearwater running down SH1, we boarded Encounter 2 at South Bay, and sped out to the Kaioura underwater canyon, liberating the Hutton's on the way. Tracy, our skipper and guide put out a bag of chum, and...More

We left from South Bay that is being extensively renovated with Gary our skipper and guide for the afternoon it was amazing the birds were fantastic the wandering Albatross was really unusual, we then went near some large rocks and there 6 baby fur seals...More

Kaikoura offers a unique opportunity to get up close to pelagic birds after only a short boat trip from town. Our trip this morning (at 0600) included great views of 5 albatross species and a wide assortment of skuas, gulls, petrels and shearwaters. As a...More

Knowledgeable skipper Boat loaded on trailer before launch -perfect. Lovely trip very exciting and soon seeing Royal and Wandering, then Bullers, Salvins, White Capped and Black-browed. Then Giant Petrels, Westland, a white chinned and lots of Cape Petrels. Shags were seen plus white front terns...More

We are bird enthusiasts so to see these huge birds so close was an experience we will. Never forget. But even if you just like a scenic boat trip it was great we saw hector Dolphins too and seals on the big rocks. Very well...More

I'm fortunate to be able to describe myself as a pelagic 'veteran' across four continents. Kaikoura is world famous for its sheer number of albatrosses and species diversity so close to a major landmass. Encounter Kaikoura run two different tours, one to swim with dolphins...More

I booked this tour because I was curious about the albatross and giant petrels, having never seen them in real life. I am not really a huge bird watcher and do not know a lot about them, and was worried it might just be me...More