Unless you're an avid birder, you may find this--ouch--a little boring after a while. It was neat to get up close to these magnificent birds, but after about 45 minutes, we were looking at our watches. It's about a 2-1/2 hour trip. Fortunately, the guide decided to relocate, even though she said we'd done really well w/ the various species...
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Albatross Encounter, Kaikoura
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Albatross Encounter
96 Esplanade Kaikoura, Kaikoura, New Zealand
+64 3 319 6777
2 visitor photos
Ranked #6 of 19 tours in Kaikoura
15 Reviews
Type: Tours
Owner description:
Get up close and personal to the largest wingspan in the world - the wandering albatross. Boat tours to visit the majestic pelagic birds of the......
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Owner description:
Get up close and personal to the largest wingspan in the world - the wandering albatross. Boat tours to visit the majestic pelagic birds of the Kaikoura coastline.
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Brisbane, Australia
Senior Contributor
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
24 April 2012
Hi Leslie
Thank you for taking the time to write a review, we are very sorry to read that your Albatross Encounter trip with us wasn’t all you’d hoped for.
The reason we don’t combine the dolphin and albatross tours is due to our operating permits from the Department of Conservation, which you mention in your review. We do ensure...
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Leicester, United Kingdom
Senior Contributor
Did the whale encounter trip 3 years ago and wanted something different this time. This trip was fantastic. Not only saw umpteen albatross close up but also around 30 other species of sea birds, seals and dolphins. The skipper of the boat was very experienced and knowledgeable. Truly a wonderful trip and great value for money. High recommended.
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
18 March 2012
Kia Ora and thank you kindly for your wonderful review of our Albatross tour. We are incredibly lucky to get such good numbers of birds here and such variety. This is mainly due to our canyon system. Safe travels and all the best, hopefully we will see you back again one day! Encounter Kaikoura crew :)
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Budapest
Senior Contributor
We booked in advance & went out in a group of 10. The tour was very well run, the guide exceptional we were overwhelmed by the amount & variety of wildlife we saw. A great experience.
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
15 March 2012
Thank you very much for your lovely comments! We do get an abundance of wildlife here in Kaikoura and are so fortunate! I will pass your thanks onto your guide. Kinda regards, Encounter Kaikoura :)
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Carnforth
Contributor
Our guide Gary was an excellent guide and seaman. We saw fantastic bird life as well as dolphins and seals. Best afternoon I have spent in a long time
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
12 March 2012
Kia Ora and thank you for your wonderful response. I have passed on your thanks and comments onto Gary and he sends his regards. Safe onward travels. Kind Regards, EK :-)
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Victoria, Canada
Contributor
Definitely worth doing. We saw 5 types of albatrosses, 3 types of petrel, shearwaters and terns, as well as dolphins, seals and a little blue penguin. You might want to take some ginger pills (available at the booking desk) before hand if you have problems with seasickness
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
6 March 2012
Kia Ora
Thank you for your response Beth! Great to hear you saw a good variety of birds on your tour. We are very fortunate here to get such a variety of Albatross! Safe onward travels.
Encounter Kaikoura Crew :)
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Auckland
Contributor
A splendid trip with genuine up close encounters with some of the Oceans most amazing sea birds. These birds came right close to the boat - no need for binoculars or telephoto lens on the camera! A good variety, changes every day and season, but birds are there all year around. We've done the trip 3 times now (admittedly we're...
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
20 January 2012
Thank you for your trip review. You have given a great description of our tour! We are very proud to also have such experienced skippers and guides. We hope to see you again soon. Many thanks.
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Auckland Central, New Zealand
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1
person found this review helpful
I have been out on this trip four times now and loved it every time - you get to see an amazing variety of birds - the people who guide it are excellent and informative and go to a lot of effort to show you the birds and other things too - dolphins and seals - we saw hector dolphins...
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
14 January 2012
Thank you for your wonderful review! And great to hear you are a frequent visitor on our tour. We are so fortunate with the variety of wildlife that we can experience here. Top tip on the toilet!
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Albuquerque, New Mexico
Senior Reviewer
Despite some rough water, this trip never fails to please. Nowhere else can you see so many albatross species and other seabirds so close you can almost touch them. Captain Gary is incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. We were 9 from the U.S. and this was one of the highlights of our 21 day birding trip to New Zealand.
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
8 January 2012
What a lovely review to read! Thank you for taking the time to review your tour. We are so fortunate to have such an experienced and knowledgeable captain, as Gary. Hopefully we will see you another time. Kindest Regards
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Brisbane, Qld
Top Contributor
We went on the Albatross Encounter tour while in Kaikoura and it was great even in rough seas. The boat ride out to the bird watching location was very rough but the staff were great in that they told us this in advance and gave us the option to cancel and receive a refund if we didn't want to go....
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CafeEncounter, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
3 December 2011
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review; we really appreciate it! Great to hear that you braved the rough seas to experience what sounds like a spectacular trip! We're so lucky here in Kaikoura, as one of the best places in the world to see Albatross! I'm delighted that our amazing resident and visiting marine...
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Norfolk
Senior Contributor
1
person found this review helpful
Fortunately the day was calm and clear and I had booked the morning trip as these are usually the calmest. Saw at least 18 species of birds as well as Dusky Dolphins and NZ Fur Seals. This was the highlight of my time in NZ and my thanks to Skipper Gary Melville.
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Encounter Kaikoura, Front Office Manager at Albatross Encounter, responded to this review
21 November 2011
What a lovely review, thank you! Yes we do get some very good numbers here and are very fortunate! I will pass on your thanks to Gary.
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