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Welcome to South Bay, a hidden gem on the stunning South Island of New Zealand. Prepare to embark on a memorable adventure as we invite you to explore the multitude of exciting activities and experiences this destination has to offer. From thrilling water sports to exhilarating hiking trails, our page is your gateway to endless fun in South Bay. Discover the beauty of nature, embrace adrenaline-filled excursions, and create lasting memories. Start planning your itinerary now and make the most of your visit to South Bay!
I've done a lot of regular kayaking but I've never seen a tour using peddle kayaks. This was my first experience of a peddle kayak and I loved it! They're so much easier and faster and so much fun to use. Our tour was about 2.5 hours on the water and we got to watch a brilliant peaceful sunset and then soon after in the twilight were treated to an exciting display of seals hunting and eating fish. It was one of the best kayak tours that I have experienced!
We could not have been happier with our sea kayaking tour: friendly staff, accommodating our young boys, knowledgable guide, we saw seals close up and all 4 of us had fantastic time and can only recommend the tour! Thanks :-)
Levi is such a cool and knowledgeable guy, and a great tour guide. Originally booked for Friday sunset tour, but due to weather had to reschedule to Sunday morning. Levi communicated the cancelation early and was very accommodating to fit me in on another tour. We arrived in South Bay to see hundreds of dolphins, and as the overcast skies cleared the morning just kept getting better. The seals are beautiful, and seeing them out in the water is so different to watching them laze along the coast. And then the dolphins ..... unfortunately stole the seals thunder. A magical way to spend my final morning in Kaikoura.
Easy and without any experience to do. The guides are very helpful and they tell you about the history of Kaikoura and the animals that live in and around the water. Was my 1 time with a kayak like this. I prefer kayaking with an oar because you „feel“ the water more.
Amazing experience it was a perfect day and I'm so glad I've finally done it. Other than getting alittle woozy from the plane turning which I didn't expect the pilot straightened the plane out and I came right. It's not very long and it was totally worth it. Five stars must try.
Fantastic adventure. The team is very helpful and the guide loves his job and is very respectful of wildlife. We were just 6 on the boat and spent more than one hour in water, swimming with seals. Do it!!
I loved it very much, and we were so lucky to see so many seal at once. The view under water wasn't that good in the beginning, but after 30min the sun was shining through and the visibility becam much better. The seals were swimming around our boat, it was really lovely :-)
It was one of the best thing we done in New Zealand! We are lucky to get a beautiful day to get closer to the fur seal, the water was very cool but it wouldn’t bother you after you see the fur seal swim right in front of you. The skipper and staff are professional.
Best thing you can do in NZ!
Fantastic experience, beautiful day also. We did the 9.30am experience and I recommend it. We saw a penguin also :) great hosts!!!! Super friendly!!
Stunning sunset view, and a close look of seals and sea birds. Lovely tour guides???, and easy control kayak??
Had such a great time on the sunset kayak peddle tour... The water was amazing views were gorgeous and we seen some fur seals which were awesome as well!! Levi was a top class guide from start to finish.. It was a bit of a cloudy day but still got some beaut pics!! :) thanks so much for a great evening!!
Amazing people amazing scenic views definitely recommend
It was canceled on the day originally booked due to bad weather but I booked again for Saturday, it was very eventful with Hectors Dolphins greeting us, a whale sighting from afar but I didn't see and then a large pod of Dusky Dolphins and a few species of Albatross, fantastic tour, very cool they have someone spotting Dolphins, staff were great, helpful and informative. Wasn't a fan of the briefing or video at the start, more suited to the swimmers or visitors from out of town, country. But otherwise amazing, thank you.
What an experience!!! To be able to swim with wild dolphins in a safe environment was incredible! We were lucky enough to see both Hectors and Dusky Dolphins!
Wow! What an amazing experience. This is something everyone needs to experience. Truly magical. Kate was amazing as were all looking after us on board. My grandchildren loved their adventure ❤️
Great crew and everything that could be controlled was done with excellence. Cheers team!
Amazing tour with Dolphin Encounter. I don't feel too comfortable in the open water, so the dolphin viewing was perfect for me. And there were quite a number of people on our boat where one person would do the Dolphin Swimming tour, while the spouse/partner can be on the same tour Dolphin Watching. What an acrobatic dolphin. They are consistently coming out of the water, even doing aerial flips. Company even told me beforehand that if their trip doesn't spot any dolphins, they would give me a refund. So can't go wrong with this tour. Hundreds of dolphins in our viewing. Cookie & hot drink during a crisp morning topped it off for a perfect expedition in Kaikoura.
The staff were so friendly and they made the experience so enjoyable - they were educational but not in a preachy way and the Dolphins were incredible
We were absolutely delighted & blown away with the Dolphins ! They were everywhere and so close and it’s a thrill that words cannot express. The Kaikoura Dolphin watch staff are very helpful & knowledgeable about the Marine & nature environment. We would happily do it again & highly recommend it as we must have seen around 250 - 300 Dolphins in a fun loving happy mode.
Very happy to have taken this tour, especially since it was a 5:45am start! We saw 3 types of albatross and many more other bird species. The captain heard on the radio that dolphins were about so he took us looking for them, which we found. I found the sea to be rough and I do suffer motion sickness, so be sure to take your motion sickness before leaving!
Wow, what a trip. This is one of the best trips I have ever done, and I've done lots all around the world. Tracy, our guide was very knowledgeable about all the birds we saw. We saw so many close up; 3 different types of Albatross, Petrels, Terns, Shearwaters, Shags, Gulls and even a little Blue Penguin. As an added bonus, we saw a large pod of Dusky dolphins on our way back. I'm still smiling now, and it's 3 days later!
Well organised and professional company. We saw about 4 different types of albatross as well as giant petrels and other birds. The boat captain puts out a cage with frozen fish livers which the birds are drawn to and we got such a long time to see the birds.
We had such an incredible time! Crew were brilliant. Within 5 minutes we spotted a pod and then within a short time we were swimming with about 200 or more dolphins. We even spotted some Hector dolphins. An experience I won’t forget!!
Best experience in Kaikoura! My bestfriend was very happy on her birthday seeing the dusky dolphins in the wild. We were also lucky to see an albatros flying and swimming around. Thanks to the lovely captain and crew of the boat. I highly recommend this activity to everyone.
Such a wonderful experience! The cruise was great and we were able to see a lot of wild dolphins jumping around the cruise! Highly recommend to people who love dolphins!!
first wow was seeing kaikoura, beach alongside snow capped mountain. then the dolphins were fun probably was expecting them to stay and play but they were in a pod moving - and there was 150 of them. One looked me right in the face and i felt contact. As we were leaving they took off and the entire horizon was a line of jumping dolphins a truly one in a million sight. staff were great
Can't even begin to say how wonderful this experience was! Thank you!!!
I did the tour with my family and we enjoyed it so much. Ruben, the guide is great and he captured my teens attention about seals information. Stunning views and perfect timing to stop and enjoy the sounds of the sea as well as watch the seals playing around. Absolutely recommend this tour. I'll come back soon.
Wow we had a very good time in Kaikoura and the best was the kaiak. Thanks Connor!
It was most beautiful experience in Kaikoura trip. Everyone traveling to Kaikoura should try this!
That was my first kayaking experience and the guide made it easy. We paddled with dolphins jumping and following us from the start to the end. That was amazing ! Thank you guys for leading us in such a wonderful place.
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