Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises
Black Cat Cruises
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Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises
Set sail with award-winning Black Cat Cruises on a 2-hour Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruise! Spot Hector’s dolphins, NZ fur seals, and little penguins in their stunning natural habitat.
The historic French village of Akaroa is 90 minutes' drive from Christchurch. Our Akaroa Nature Cruise is 2-hour harbour adventure within an ancient volcanic crater, packed with stunning scenery and wildlife. You’ll spot the rare Hector’s dolphins (the world’s smallest and cutest!), penguins, sea birds, and dramatic volcanic sea cliffs. Plus, you’ll hear some fascinating stories about Akaroa’s history along the way. It’s a must-do summer experience!
Highlights:
• Full guided commentary on your 2-hour tour
• View the Hector’s dolphin - smallest and rarest in the world
• Take in the stunning scenery of Akaroa Harbour
• View NZ Fur seals lounging on volcanic rocks and playing in pools
• Complimentary tea, coffee or hot chocolate
• Spacious 60ft/20m modern catamaran - largest and most stable in Akaroa
Details
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Organisation |
Black Cat CruisesCommercial organisation |
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Location |
South Island ▷ Canterbury ▷ Akaroa |
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Operating Season And Hours |
Operates year round 10:45am and 1:30pm (extra sailings in summer at 3:45pm)
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Directions To Coordinates |
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Dolphin Watching
Boat Cruises
Reviews
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5.0/5
The team is so friendly and nice.
Made sure to go above and beyond to make sure we had an amazing experience.
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5.0/5
Very well organized, we sow dolphins and seals.
Very cold day but we'll remember it. I'd recommend it.
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5.0/5
Comfortable, exhilarating ride.
Complimentary drinks. Friendly, helpful staff. Interesting, reflective and informative commentary. The weather was against us for seeing penguins and dolphins but we loved the seals.
SM![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(112,224,115)" /><path d="m 150 528 Q 271 29 -228 150 Q 271 271 150 -228 Q 29 271 528 150 Q 29 29 150 528 z" fill="rgb(182,67,165)" /><path d="m 150 328 Q 246 54 -28 150 Q 246 246 150 -28 Q 54 246 328 150 Q 54 54 150 328 z" fill="rgb(73,188,90)" /><path d="m 150 101 Q 234 66 199 150 Q 234 234 150 199 Q 66 234 101 150 Q 66 66 150 101 z" fill="rgb(143,31,140)" /></svg>)
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4.0/5
Dolphins, penguins, seals were seen on the boat tour, great waves.
Guide made lots of jokes and was cool.
P![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(222,42,6)" /><path d="m 150 748 Q 296 4 -448 150 Q 296 296 150 -448 Q 4 296 748 150 Q 4 4 150 748 z" fill="rgb(159,38,37)" /><path d="m 150 335 Q 299 1 -35 150 Q 299 299 150 -35 Q 1 299 335 150 Q 1 1 150 335 z" fill="rgb(96,217,218)" /><path d="m 150 346 Q 52 248 -46 150 Q 52 52 150 -46 Q 248 52 346 150 Q 248 248 150 346 z" fill="rgb(33,213,249)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
Mostly impressed by the friendly hector dolphins!
Very friendly crew and lots to learn.
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5.0/5
Nicest wildlife, penguins, seals, dolphins (hectors) on one trip for a good price.
KG![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(156,76,105)" /><path d="m 150 600 Q 298 2 -300 150 Q 298 298 150 -300 Q 2 298 600 150 Q 2 2 150 600 z" fill="rgb(30,160,96)" /><path d="m 150 474 Q 116 184 -174 150 Q 116 116 150 -174 Q 184 116 474 150 Q 184 184 150 474 z" fill="rgb(225,95,159)" /><path d="m 150 278 Q 85 215 22 150 Q 85 85 150 22 Q 215 85 278 150 Q 215 215 150 278 z" fill="rgb(99,179,150)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
Had a lot of fun seeing many dolphins with very nice company and staff.
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4.5/5
Ticket purchase and booking easy - trip to view dolphins and other wildlife in Akaroa Harbour was excellent with good first class commentary.
PH![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(192,180,186)" /><path d="m 150 708 Q 91 209 -408 150 Q 91 91 150 -408 Q 209 91 708 150 Q 209 209 150 708 z" fill="rgb(132,164,113)" /><path d="m 150 383 Q 263 37 -83 150 Q 263 263 150 -83 Q 37 263 383 150 Q 37 37 150 383 z" fill="rgb(123,91,142)" /><path d="m 150 238 Q 143 157 62 150 Q 143 143 150 62 Q 157 143 238 150 Q 157 157 150 238 z" fill="rgb(63,75,69)" /></svg>)
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4.5/5
Black Cat is very professional and well run.
We had an excellent wildlife experience. The boat did not have many passengers so it was very personal. We saw lots of dolphins and the boat was stopped and engines off so that they would come really close. We also saw fur seals and lots of birds. The skipper gave us an excellent and informative commentary on everything we saw, and answered questions we had. It was one of the top experiences of our NZ stay.
JS![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(12,6,232)" /><path d="m 150 678 Q 165 135 -378 150 Q 165 165 150 -378 Q 135 165 678 150 Q 135 135 150 678 z" fill="rgb(120,164,176)" /><path d="m 150 331 Q 184 116 -31 150 Q 184 184 150 -31 Q 116 184 331 150 Q 116 116 150 331 z" fill="rgb(135,91,79)" /><path d="m 150 197 Q 77 223 103 150 Q 77 77 150 103 Q 223 77 197 150 Q 223 223 150 197 z" fill="rgb(243,249,23)" /></svg>)
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2.0/5
Cruise with boat to explore animals (dolphins, seals, penguins etc....) Few animals seen during the cruise, few explanations and already $80 per person, quite a lot!
TZ![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(179,114,225)" /><path d="m 150 539 Q 195 105 -239 150 Q 195 195 150 -239 Q 105 195 539 150 Q 105 105 150 539 z" fill="rgb(123,7,215)" /><path d="m 150 519 Q 69 231 -219 150 Q 69 69 150 -219 Q 231 69 519 150 Q 231 231 150 519 z" fill="rgb(132,248,40)" /><path d="m 150 215 Q 47 253 85 150 Q 47 47 150 85 Q 253 47 215 150 Q 253 253 150 215 z" fill="rgb(76,141,30)" /></svg>)
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![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(26,228,184)" /><path d="m 150 622 Q 254 46 -322 150 Q 254 254 150 -322 Q 46 254 622 150 Q 46 46 150 622 z" fill="rgb(152,186,72)" /><path d="m 150 501 Q 283 17 -201 150 Q 283 283 150 -201 Q 17 283 501 150 Q 17 17 150 501 z" fill="rgb(103,69,183)" /><path d="m 150 103 Q 290 10 197 150 Q 290 290 150 197 Q 10 290 103 150 Q 10 10 150 103 z" fill="rgb(229,27,71)" /></svg>)
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5.0/5
The team is so friendly and nice.
Made sure to go above and beyond to make sure we had an amazing experience.
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5.0/5
Very well organized, we sow dolphins and seals.
Very cold day but we'll remember it. I'd recommend it.
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5.0/5
Comfortable, exhilarating ride.
Complimentary drinks. Friendly, helpful staff. Interesting, reflective and informative commentary. The weather was against us for seeing penguins and dolphins but we loved the seals.
SM -
4.0/5
Dolphins, penguins, seals were seen on the boat tour, great waves.
Guide made lots of jokes and was cool.
P -
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2.0/5
Cruise with boat to explore animals (dolphins, seals, penguins etc....) Few animals seen during the cruise, few explanations and already $80 per person, quite a lot!
TZ -
4.5/5
Black Cat is very professional and well run.
We had an excellent wildlife experience. The boat did not have many passengers so it was very personal. We saw lots of dolphins and the boat was stopped and engines off so that they would come really close. We also saw fur seals and lots of birds. The skipper gave us an excellent and informative commentary on everything we saw, and answered questions we had. It was one of the top experiences of our NZ stay.
JS -
5.0/5
Had a lot of fun seeing many dolphins with very nice company and staff.
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5.0/5
Nicest wildlife, penguins, seals, dolphins (hectors) on one trip for a good price.
KG -
4.5/5
Ticket purchase and booking easy - trip to view dolphins and other wildlife in Akaroa Harbour was excellent with good first class commentary.
PH -
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5.0/5
Mostly impressed by the friendly hector dolphins!
Very friendly crew and lots to learn.
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4.0/5
Really good cruise of Akaroa Harbour.
Informative and got to see a dolphin, so they delivered.
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4.5/5
Nice boat trip with a free drink and cookie.
We saw penguins, seals and dolphins and the crew was very friendly, (and a little Dutch!)
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4.5/5
Commercial trip with the Black Cat to see Dolphins, we were lucky and saw lots of them.
M![](data:image/svg+xml;utf8,<svg width="300" height="300" viewBox="0 0 300 300" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><rect id="bg" width="300" height="300" fill="rgb(50,121,198)" /><path d="m 150 697 Q 131 169 -397 150 Q 131 131 150 -397 Q 169 131 697 150 Q 169 169 150 697 z" fill="rgb(46,108,147)" /><path d="m 150 365 Q 65 235 -65 150 Q 65 65 150 -65 Q 235 65 365 150 Q 235 235 150 365 z" fill="rgb(209,147,108)" /><path d="m 150 183 Q 187 113 117 150 Q 187 187 150 117 Q 113 187 183 150 Q 113 113 150 183 z" fill="rgb(205,134,57)" /></svg>)
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