Hi there, Just a little note to say thank you very much from myself and my family for a fantastic Swim with the Dolphin excursion on Saturday 05 June. The dolphins were a highlight of our visit to Christchurch/Akaroa over the long weekend. The weather was amazing and the dolphins obliged in more ways than one in entertaining us. The crew were very hospitable and made the trip a very worthwhile and memorable experience. Thank you again. Kind Regards Sandie TOURMASTERS South Pacific (NZ) Limited
We operate all our cruises every day of the year, subject to weather conditions of course but this is the time of year where we do all of our low season maintenance. We are about half way through this years work programme and right now we have our largest vessel on the slip (Black Cat) with the engines in 10,000 pieces. Over $500,000 per year is spent in maintenance and capital expenditure all aimed at preserving our reliability and safety record.
The great Quail Island treasure hunt was run over the summer and we have a winner. The Eksteen family from Spreydon were drawn at random from the thousands of entrants. This lucky family gets to go on an overnight cruise in Doubtful Sound and spend a night in Queenstown at the Millennium hotel. The treasure hunt will be back in December.
In many ways we see ourselves as an entertainment company putting on a massive production. The backdrop is the wonderful scenery, the props the fantastic wildlife and the actors are our team. Every year we assess how you rate our production. This year was especially pleasing with our Swimming with Dolphins rated 9.3, Akaroa Harbour Nature Cruises at 9.3 and Christchurch Wildlife Cruises 9.4 (on average out of 10). We also asked how many people would recommend our cruises to friends and family. Those who answered quite or very likely were 99.5%, 98.1%, and 85% respectively.
Check out this awesome blog about a swimming trip and esp the video with a great ending…what an outstanding experience!
https://www.aswetravel.com/things-to-do-in-australia-vs-new-zealand/
We’ve been debating this question internally for a while now and we are interested in your thoughts. There is no doubt Akaroa has a French flavour and it is a unique part of New Zealand for that reason. But should we be doing more to make the most of this? And if so what are a few good ideas? Here is one journalists opinion on how Akaroa is almost French….
http://richardtulloch.wordpress.com/2010/ 05/25/akaroa-where-nouvelle-zelande-is-almost-french/
Every year we take literally thousands of pictures of people swimming with dolphins. This year we held a competition for the best shot and here is the result. Competition winner was swim guide Georgie Shadbolt whose winning picture actually featured another team member, Charlotte White. Georgie won a digital camera for her winning photo. “It was great fun taking photos and looking for good opportunities,” Georgie said. “It got a bit competitive as we all looked for that money shot over the summer.”
Our whale sighting activity continues with sighting of a Humpback Whale and Calf on the 23rd May, No doubt they are on their way north to warmer climes. There are more images on our Facebook page.
Hello Lorna, About a month ago we received a very welcome surprise in our mail in the form of a letter telling us that we had been drawn to receive a harbour cruise. We took the opportunity to use this prize and along with the purchase of a second ticket cruised the harbour and the open sea on Sunday march 14th. This is just to say thank you for making these cruises available as prizes. The day was perfect and the vessel was about full. We had not realised the size of the harbour and of course we were interested to learn some more history of the region. Once again many thanks for your kind gesture.
Regards Martin and Jenny Nordqvist, Methven.
Just to say how much we enjoyed one of your harbour cruises last month. We didn’t get the name of the pilot, but he was great and very informative. Please let him know how much we enjoyed the cruise. We also picked up one of the Whale and Dolphin Trust’s cards and sent it off, not really expecting to receive a response. However, we are pleased to say that yesterday we received a letter from your Minister of Conservation outlining measures that have already been taken to help the Hector’s and Maui’s Dolphins. Here’s hoping that these and any further measures taken to help these creatures ensures their safe future. Once again, thanks for the cruise – and to everyone at Black Cat; they were all so pleasant and helpful. We’re back in England now with many happy memories of our stay in NZ.
Wendy and David Pearce