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About Us:

New Zealand Pelagic Birding

The Albatross Encounter vessel is purpose-built for viewing wildlife at close range. With adequate deck space and open plan design, superb photography opportunities are guaranteed. Experienced guides on board are able to assist with identification of the birds and provide an educational and memorable commentary.

Kaikoura is regarded as one of the world’s hotspots for viewing pelagic (ocean-going) birdlife with up to ten species of albatross able to be found at various times of the year. The local marine environment is home to more seabird species in a compact area than anywhere else in New Zealand. Albatross Encounter provides an unprecedented close-up view of a diverse array of seabirds including albatross, petrels, shearwaters, shags, terns and other species… all within close proximity of the Kaikoura Peninsula.

Just 15 minutes travel time by boat and it is possible to encounter a number of albatross. The tour appeals to a broad cross-section of people ranging from the avid birdwatcher wishing to see as many seabird species as possible, to the wildlife enthusiast with a dream of seeing an albatross in the open ocean environment.

Alternatively, you could visit their sister company Dolphin Encounter offers two unique options, swimming with dolphins or staying on board and watching from the comfort of the boats.

Tours:

Pelagic Birding Trip, Kaikoura, New Zealand

New Zealand

Starting From NZD 125 / per person

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Wildlife:

Wandering Albatross

The Wandering Albatross has the biggest wingspan of any living bird. It is top of the pecking order and is very bold coming right alongside the boat. They breed on the Auckland Islands.

Southern Royal Albatross

The Southern Royal is the heaviest flying bird in the world and is similar to the Wandering and the Northern Royal. This species breeds on Campbell Island.

Northern Royal Albatross

This species is similar to the Southern Royal and the Wandering Albatross. It breeds mainly on the Chatham Islands with a small colony on the Otago Peninsula at Tairoa Heads.

Buller’s Mollymawk

The Buller’s Albatross has a beautiful grey head with a canary yellow bill, is very agile and can dive to up 5 metres. They breed on the Solander Islands, the Snares and also the Chatham Islands.

The New Zealand White-capped Mollymawk

This is the largest of the Mollymawks with a striking face and can be rather timid. This species is a cousin to the New Zealand White-capped Mollymawk and is often referred to as the most handsome of the albatross with a grey head. It is a very vocal species and breeds on the Bounty Islands.

Black-Browed Mollymawk

The species is one of the smallest and is common in the Southern Ocean. It has an orange bill with distinctive eye brows. They breed all around the sub- Antarctic region.

Giant Petrel

This species is brown and is large enough to be an albatross weighing in at about 4.5 kilograms. It has a reputation for attacking everything and will bite if given a chance. It is basically the marine vulture and breeds around the Antarctic.

Westland Petrel

This is one of the black petrels and it is all black with black tip to the bill. It is very similar to a white chin or black petrel and is very rear, with a population estimated at only 15000, although common in Kaikoura throughout winter. They breed in one place at Punakaiki on the West Coast of the South Island.

Hutton’s Shearwater

This is small shearwater very special to Kaikoura as it breeds only in two alpine valleys in the Seaward Kaikoura mountain range. Huge flocks of these birds are seen in the summer months and they migrate to Australia for the winter months.

Conservation:

Recently Encounter Kaikoura has focused on the Qualmark certification, achieving Qualmark Enviro Gold in 2009, which is the highest achievable level within the Qualmark accreditation system in New Zealand.

However, Encounter Kaikoura partners have been committed to conservation prior to 2003. Encounter Kaikoura consider sustainable practices as essential to their business and in 2003 they embarked on the Green Globe accreditation system. GREEN GLOBE 21 is a global benchmarking, certification and implementation system for sustainable travel & tourism. The GREEN GLOBE 21 is based on Agenda 21 principles for sustainable development, endorsed by 182 Heads of State at the Rio de Janeiro United Nations Earth Summit. It provides a pathway to sustainable travel & tourism.

Encounter Kaikoura first obtained Benchmark status in 2003 and Certification was achieved in 2004 and the following 4 years.

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