Dry suits are back for dolphin swimmers from the 1st 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.
Category Archives: Akaroa and Lyttelton News
Akaroa and Lyttelton News, Lyttelton New Zealand, Uncategorised
2000 EASTER EGGS FOUND ON QUAIL ISLAND
08
Apr
Apr
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.
05
Apr
Apr
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.
03
Apr
Apr
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.
31
Mar
Mar
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.
30
Mar
Mar
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 spread the word in Auckland.
26
Mar
Mar
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, especially when it got to us being in the water. They were so enthusiastic and it spurred us all on in our singing and tapping to get the dolphins’ attention! They made sure we knew when there were any dolphins coming towards us, and kept us safe and entertained throughout the whole trip. I’ve been on dolphin swimming trips 5 times in NZ (the other 4 all in the Bay of Islands!) but this was by far the most memorable and best run trip I’ve ever been on, and a huge part of that was down to Ian and Charlotte and also the lady at the check-in (sorry I didn’t catch her name). So a big thank you to all of the team at Black Cat Cruises. Many thanks; we’ll be recommending you to all of our friends in Christchurch.
Louise
Hi Sonya,
Thanks. I have my photos. The swim with the Dolphins was very special. A highlight in my life. I wish you and your team continued success with the high standard of environmental awareness you create on these tours. I think you set a world standard and Have no doubt you keep it.
I look forward to being on one of these tours in the near future, again. Good luck to you and your team especially with the conservation effort. Kind regards,
Valentine
24
Mar
Mar
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