After an exhaustive search we have found one of the very first passengers from the first cruise in 1985. Brian Woods took part in the inaugural service and we have presented Brian with free cruises for the rest of his life. Brian joined former and current Black Cat staff members, customers and the original skipper […]
Category Archives: Akaroa and Lyttelton News
Akaroa and Lyttelton News, Akaroa New Zealand, Black Cat News
25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR BLACK CAT CRUISES
On October 20th 1985, the Charmaine set out on her first Akaroa Harbour Cruise. At the helm was Captain Ron Bingham and on board were two paying passengers. Total revenue $16. The business was partly inspired by the Hutchens family who started Fiordland Travel (now Real Journeys). Living in Te Anau we had seen what […]
Members of the Black Cat management team decamped to Stewart Island recently for the annual planning session. Pictured is the team on a deserted beach on Ulva Island.
The original Black Cat boat was called Charmaine. She was bought from the Marlborough Sounds in 1985 and held a maximum of 42 people. After three years she was sold and the larger Canterbury Cat brought from Whangarei in 1988. Prior to the Charmaine there were no cruise operators on the harbour, though one or […]
We are a finalist in this years tourism awards in the DOC sponsored conservation category. Our entry focused on the innovative conservation activities we have put in place in three main areas including reducing energy use, reducing waste and our local conservation efforts.
Good news: all of our cruises are operating as normal. Our 1860 building in Lyttelton has some earthquake issues so we are operating in temporary facilities until such time as the building is fixed or we move our check in at Lyttelton to something more permanent. More news on that as soon as we have […]
Check out this awesome blog about an Akaroa holiday and a great cruise on Black Cat: Click to View
This is the question most on people’s lips when they come for a cruise. For the last 4 years every cruise we have taken out on Akaroa harbour has recorded how often we have seen dolphins and the results are as follows. We asked crew to rate the encounters on a scale of Very good […]
Popular childrens’ television show What Now has enlisted the help of Black Cat Cruises to help with its hunt for a new presenter. Hundreds of people from around New Zealand applied for the role, and What Now are now down to three finalists. They were put through their paces in Akaroa on Sunday and the […]
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 […]