Experience a dolphin cruise in Akaroa and encounter the Hector's dolphin, the world’s smallest and rarest.
Experience a dolphin cruise in Akaroa and encounter the world’s smallest and rarest marine dolphin – the endangered Hector’s dolphin. Cruise past Akaroa’s dramatic volcanic sea cliffs, fur seal colonies, and marine birdlife, all while gaining insight into the area’s rich natural and cultural history.
Black Cat Cruises are leaders in eco-tourism. During your cruise with us, you’ll discover the fascinating behaviors of Akaroa’s wildlife, learn about conservation efforts aimed at repopulating Hector’s dolphins, and explore how we can all contribute to their thriving future for generations to come.
Dolphins are sighted on 95% of our trips, if you do not see dolphins, we will give you a voucher to go again another day. Voted one of the top 101 things to do in New Zealand by local New Zealanders!
My wife and I took some overseas family members on this Black cat trip last month out beyond the Heads in a stiff breeze and we had an awesome time with maybe just a dozen other passengers on board. An excellent informative commentary, plenty of wildlife to watch (Hectors, kekeno, penguins, petrels etc) and the crew's willingness to search, stop and watch whenever appropriate. Think the best part was booking through Book Me, saving some $25-30 pp which made the trip even more worthwhile. Thank you
It was a well run cruise. The captain’s commentary about the landmarks was very interesting. The weather was a bit rough & rainy due to southerly weather. We were able to see some seals, but didn’t end up seeing any penguins or dolphins. The company ended up giving all the passengers a re-book ticket (with no expiry date) to go on the cruise another time, as per their policy if no dolphins are spotted.
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mazz from Australia wrote on 31 October 2025
Awesome trip
Weather wasnt in our favour on our cruise day as it was quite windy and tad wet and sadly no dolphin wanted to play about with us - few penguins bobbing around and some seals lazing about - but it was a nice outing none the less. Beautiful part of the world !