Southern Wanderer Scenic Cruises — Attraction in Banks Peninsula Community

Definitely recommend! My partner and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour! The owners John and Ollie are a family business operating a smaller but nice boat. They live in Akaroa themselves so have so much information on the Maori history, the wildlife and the surrounding Banks Peninsula area. Personally enjoyed this a lot more than a big commercialised tour as it felt a lot more personal, passionate and educational. We saw plenty of birds, dolphins, penguins and seals with an abundance of interesting facts about them. Also I found learning about the boat and systems on board to be quite interesting as well. They also gave out a cookie to everyone on board so bonus on bonus. We were also all given binoculars which was awesome to see all the wildlife what felt even closer. Fast boat with a quiet engine so could still converse easy. The tour went a little longer which was cool to be out on the water for longer and you could also ask to go to specific locations within reason so their accomodation to requests and time constraints is another great thing. 5 stars all around so definitely go and book this! Know we will be back. (Circle photo is a penguin and seal taken...

We booked on for a tour in the early stages of level 2 and we're absolutely delighted with the care taken by John and Olly. They were easily able to stick within guidelines and provide a wonderful tour of Akaroa. We received an intimate, well informed tour of Banks Penisula and were excited to see a penguin, a few albatrosses, a whale and a big group of Hector dophins that surrounded the boat. One of the things I particular loved was the amount of care and respect they have for the animals. They are not there to chase down the animals, they are there to observe and in the end the albatrosses and dolphins came to us and that was such a special moment to have. I cannot thank these...

We had a great experience on our short cruise with Southern Wanderer. John and Oli are great guides and know a lot about the peninsula and its wild life, also beyond the sea life of interest (dolphins). As other posts have already stated, it is only a small group of up to 8 people joining the trip which creates a great atmosphere and allows for a lot of your questions being answered. Moreover, the small business respects the wildlife such that the animals decide how they interact with you as visitors in their habitat. This made us feel like our trip was a very unique experience. Thanks for the...