Lyttelton Discovery Cruise

Board a catamaran for a refreshing discovery cruise around scenic Lyttelton Harbour, an extinct volcanic crater and gateway to the Antarctic. Your vessel skims the seas gracefully as your skipper provides fascinating commentary about the sights you’re seeing and their ties to the region’s earliest Maori and European settlers. Sip a warming cup of tea or coffee, learn of the legends of Ripapa Island, and go in search of playful Hector’s dolphins, the world’s smallest and rarest oceanic dolphin – only found in New Zealand. Gray with black-and-white markings, these petite cetaceans are often seen leaping and frolicking around these waters.

You’ll also see ample evidence of the harbor’s violent, volcanic origins. This entire sheltered body of water lies in the caldera of an extinct volcano. Your journey will reveal that much of the jagged coastal terrain left behind now serves as nesting habitat for marine birds such as spotted shags, white-fronted terns and several species of gulls. After about two hours on the water, you’ll return to the pier with a keen understanding of this scenic New Zealand seaport.