An Albatross tour off the Kaikōura Coast. Meet nature’s most extraordinary seabirds close-up on New Zealand’s wild Kaikōura coastline.
Albatross Watching Tours Kaikōura
On short boat ride and you’re in an entirely new world, where you’ll discover a large variety of pelagic birds including albatross, shearwaters, petrels, penguins, gannets, skuas, terns and more.
You’re on-board a boat designed just for this experience, giving you the best perspectives to watch and take photos. With a maximum of only 11 others on each tour, it’s an intimate and special experience that brings you as close to the wildlife as possible. For photographers it’s a dream come true!
Along with the marine life which Kaikōura is well known for, there is another array of species which are unique to this beautiful coastal location. Albatross and a range of other seabird species frequent the coastline all year round and the Albatross Encounter tour enables a close-up view of these magnificent seabirds to be possible.
The species that can be viewed here place Kaikōura in the top position for sightings in New Zealand, if not the world!
One of the reasons for many different types of seabirds in Kaikōura, is the presence of the Deepwater Kaikoura Canyon which approaches within a kilometre of the shoreline at Goose Bay, south of the Kaikōura Peninsula. Upwellings of cold nutrient rich water over the shallower coastal waters produce and sustain a vibrant food chain supporting a large variety of fish species, marine mammals, and seabirds.
We always see albatross on our tours, and typically can view up to 7 different species on any one trip. We also see shearwaters, terns, shags, petrels, and occasional sightings of blue penguins, fulmars, fairy prions and skuas, depending on the time of year.
If you have never seen an albatross with all their grace and majesty and not had the opportunity to be amazed by the sheer enormity of these beautiful seabirds, now is the time to experience an encounter with these awe-inspiring wanderers of the Southern Ocean.
Our birding experts, who also skipper the boat, will share their knowledge about the species you will see, including insightful information about where they breed, their habits and behaviours and they will help you to identify the each of the different species on hand.
The tour also provides an opportunity to share a very important conservation message with you about the solid progress that is being made to reduce seabird deaths caused by commercial fishing, especially long lining. We actively support and promote the Hookpod device as the most successful breakthrough so far in reducing seabird mortality and we demonstrate how this device works on the tour.
Come and join us as we share the story of the albatross of Kaikoura with you and we know you will leave feeling very inspired by this experience.
The Albatross Encounter tour operates daily, weather permitting, except for Christmas Day.
Albatross Encounter Tour Information
- Tours last around 2.5 hours.
- All you need to bring is warm clothing.
- We serve hot beverages on board and ginger cookies which can help with seasickness.
- See our group discounts and package deals
