Akaroa and Lyttelton News

I have been really pleased to hear back from lots of our customers about their experiences with us. Our customer survey results look outstanding and once they are fully collated I will be sharing those with you. In the meantime, check out this awesome blog about a swimming trip and esp the video with a great ending...what an outstanding experience! http://trackingteddy.blogspot.com/2010/03/swimming-with-dolphins.html

A special welcome back to Pip Journeaux who is once again the manager of our Akaroa operations. Pip was in the role 4 ½ years ago before she left to go on maternity leave. Previous manager, Liz Ditmer recently departed for a role at ATTTO.

Dry suits are back for dolphin swimmers from the 1 st of May. Customers just wear normal clothes underneath the suit and remain 100% dry. It’s a great piece of kit designed to keep you warm over the coming months.

Our big Easter Egg hunt was a sell out and we managed to give away about 2000 eggs over the 4 days of the promotion. As it was so successful we will be repeating it again next year if you missed out.

Were you one of the ones that got taken in by our April fools day prank? There were plenty who did! If you missed it we announced that we were building a floating hotel and 18 hole golf course on Quail Island. Here are the details. http://www.infonews.co.nz/news.cfm?l=1&t=0&id=50308

We’ve been cruising for nearly 25 years and over the last 12 months have seen more varieties of whales than ever before, including last weeks Blue Whale (pictured) and also Fin, Orca, Curviars beaked, Humpback, Pilot and Southern Right Whales, as well as the world's smallest whale - the resident Hector's dolphin. The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on earth and is found in all major oceans of the world. Its population has been severely depleted to commercial whaling. Today estimates have their population at between 500 and 2000 in Southern Hemisphere waters.

For the second year running, Akaroa had success at the Ellerslie International Flower show with an exhibit featuring the Akaroa lighthouse. It won the Gold Award for National Flower bed plants. There were thousands on hand to admire the display manned by Black Cat sales manager Alison Fleming. In addition images of the lighthouse (pictured) featured in countless publications.

We continue to receive great reviews on line on the many blogs and review sites. This is great feedback and very important to our marketing efforts. Here is one of my favourites and is a great example of the power of positive blogging. Here is a great blog from Michelle Acourt who did the Christchurch wildlife cruise recently when she was down for the buskers festival. Clearly Michelle had a great time and we have heard since that she has raved about her dolphin experience to others as the highlight of her trip to Christchurch, so no doubt she will...

The BBC produced reality show 'Wanted Down Under' was filming in Akaroa recently. With a massive audience of over 2 million viewers per episode the show is sure to raise the profile of New Zealand. This is the second time the show has featured Akaroa and Black Cat Cruises. The series is about British families, keen to trade in the British weather for the down-under lifestyle, who are given the chance to sample what life would be like if they moved to the other side of the world.

Hi there, Myself and my husband Mark came on the 12pm dolphin swim with Ian and Charlotte today and had a brilliant time, and just wanted to say another big thank you! Despite us arriving a bit late at the harbour (and the weather being a bit dodgy!), the lady checking us in was amazingly helpful and offered us all sorts of options in case we wanted to cancel because of the weather, but in the end we decided to go for it as it was actually my birthday so it seemed worth a go! Ian and Charlotte were both fantastic,...

Orca have been making regular visits to both Akaroa and Lyttelton Harbours recently. It’s thought pods range up and down the South Island. Orca are a natural predator of the Hector’s dolphins so though it’s an awesome sight its also good they move on! This shot was taken just outside the Akaroa Heads.

You may also be interested to know the travel site “Travel Associates” based in Australia has just named Akaroa as one of the top 5 places in the world to swim with dolphins. The top 5 spots were: Akaroa, New Zealand Oahu and Kona, Hawaii Azores Archipelago Bimini, Bahamas The Red Sea Check out their detailed list here.

Early in March 15 year old Aescleah Hawkins, supported by the WWF and Black Cat, walked from Christchurch to Akaroa with 10 others including Black Cat MD Paul Bingham to raise money and awareness of the Hector's dolphins. The walk raised $16,000 and attracted lots of media attention with articles in The Press, Sunday Times and Breakfast TV amongst others. Pictured here is Mayor Bob Parker farewelling the group and the walkers arriving in Akaroa Harbour. [gallery columns="2"]

If you are in Christchurch you may notice our new shuttle bus operating daily between Cathedral Square and Lyttelton. The bright new graphics are hard to miss. The shuttle also operates to Willowbank in the evening and so also features kiwis and other land based wildlife.

Our two largest vessels, Black Cat and Canterbury Cat now have defibrillators on board. These brief case sized medical emergency kits allow our team to better face any medical situation on board. As the only boats on the harbours with this equipment we are now an even safer option for your customers. The ‘defibs’ cost $8000 and were supplied by the Red Cross.

Fifteen year old Christchurch Avonside High School student Aescleah Hawkins has an unusual resolution for 2010 - this year, she has pledged to help stop the extinction of New Zealand's endangered Hector's dolphins. It's an apt resolution for the new decade: the UN has declared 2010 the International Year of Biodiversity, officially launching in Berlin tomorrow (11 January 2010). On 4, 5 and 6 March, Aescleah will walk the 42 kilometers from Lyttelton to Akaroa, aiming to raise vital funds for WWF's Stop Their Extinction campaign, and spreading the message of the urgent need to protect Hector's dolphins. She plans...

Hi, Just wanted to say thanks to all the staff who helped us get our car keys back from Quail Island last Wednesday - we are very grateful! Everyone was so friendly and helpful - and we will certainly be recommending the island to any of our friends who go to NZ! Thanks again, Victoria I had the pleasure to be part of the Akaroa Area School Fundraiser held last week. This included a fantastic Akaroa harbour cruise, a wonderful seafood buffet with live entertainment. The weather gods presented a perfect evening and the wildlife rallied in support of our cause....

We recently had a special screening for our Akaroa customers of The Cove. If you get a chance to see this on DVD, it's a worthwhile and moving account of how a team of freedivers, filmmakers and activists expose the needless and barbaric slaughter of dolphins in Japan. It seems all the environmental talk these days is on climate change. I'd challenge anyone to watch this movie without shedding a tear!

We have just launched a brand new web site design at www.blackcat.co.nz There is a new look and layout and we have simplified and rewritten most of the copy. The other main change is the new site has more images and slide shows so is more graphical in nature. There is also a trade section. We hope you like it!

We took part in two Canterbury events recently, the Canterbury Show, where we had a display manned by our team, and the Santa parade (pictured below) where our pirates and Hector the dolphin accompanied the Black Pearl on the annual event. Both attracted enthusiastic responses from the audiences of over 100,000 people each.