Black Cat Cruises

Amazing cruise, we saw loads of dolphins and even 3 whales! Really informative and the wildlife played the game! My girls and I loved it!

On holiday from Australia with partner staying with my daughter and her family in Darfield.We booked 4 adults, 1 child and an infant on the dolphin tour.We were able to see the dolphins, penguins, seals also pristine views of the land while on the tour which was all commentated by the knowledgeable skipper whom also detailed a lot of the history in that area too.Great family day out!!!

Great commentary and comfortable boat. Excellent way to explore the coastline and see the native wildlife.

Swim with dolphins tourIt is not actually a swim, you just float in the water. This would not be a problem except for that you don't have any mask or snorkel to look normally underwater.Although a different species of dolphins and different behaviour quite different from kaikouraA+ for the crew putting in their best effort finding the dolphins and still respecting the dolphins behaviour/natural habitat/ choices

We are avid wildlife & natural history travellers and as such have done many tours and trips around the world based on these interests. Therefore we understand that wildlife viewing can be a hit & miss affair based on the day. But our Black Cat wildlife cruise was exceptional in that we had terrific weather, sightings of large numbers of Hector Dolphins and young approaching the boat, white flipper penguins, sea lions and were able to venture into the Pacific to see a number of albatross. The commentary was great, the skipper & crew had a good knowledge of the area, history, landmarks & wildlife, plus the boat was large comfortable and stable for photography. Would highly recommend to anyone finding themselves in Akaroa looking for a quality tour. Thanks for a great experience.

The Akaroa Harbour nature cruise was fantastic - better than we had hoped! So much wildlife and really good commentary. The 2 hours flew past. Definitely worth every cent, I'm looking forward to doing it again soon.

Professional company with much respect for the dolphins!We were informed before the tour that there was a 50/50 chance that we were able to swim because the morning tour was showing no interest from the dolphins. We could get a full refund or rebook, but preferred the cruise. It was very exciting to search for the dolphins and we were lucky to see two pots joining together. It looked that there was interest and we were allowed to get in the water. Unfortunately another boat came close and the scene was disturbed.We got a 50% refund and that was more than expected (or needed). Highly recommended

Went for Akaroa Nature Cruises and saw Hector Dolphins. The cruise started at 1:30 PM from the Main Wharf Akaroa. The boat was pretty full. It was a guided tour and there was commentary throughout the boat trip, which was really nice. We saw Hector Dolphins, jelly fishes, other fishes, seals and birds etc. Also saw the natural caves carved on the rocks. The time of the trip was 2 hours in total. The whole experience was Awesome!

Great experience, had a great time with my family. All the staff are very friendly and concerning. They kept checking if we are ok as the boat can be very shaky.

Had a beautiful two-hour trip around the bay that introduced us to:- a couple of white-flippered penguins, who were having a little swim around Cathedral Cave.- four or so Hector's dolphins, including a mum and calf.- two very tired fur seals and one very angry one- a salmon farm (no salmon sighted)- some very cool rocks- the allegation that sea froth is made from the fats that break out of phytoplankton when it hits rocks... sounds fake but okThe captain's running commentary was so good and high energy I thought it must be pre-recorded, until I saw him leaning out of the cabin with a giant microphone.There are bathrooms on board and a small beverage fridge, although I didn't see anyone buy anything.