Kaikoura Kayaks — Local services in Kaikōura

UPDATED REPLY: Thanks for bringing up the booking process. I agree it was not hassle free. However, that is irrelevant to this review as it is about the experience received vs. the money paid.

Also, you told my family on mulptile occasions that this day had the best conditions and even though you offered us a refund if we did not do the tour (due to our change of mind which i appreciated and did not opt for), you still sold the day stating "It had the best conditions". At no point was the next day's weather even mentioned.

Yes, I do work in marine tourism, which is all the more reason for this review. As stated, I know marine life can be unpredictable however, we would never let someone walk away with that little of an experience. As a tourism company, customer satisfaction is in your best interest and that I'd assume you'd know. My dad does not even want to talk about the tour as it was that disappointing.

Yes, we saw a seal in the water at a far distance for a brief moment... we have seen whales on our whale watching tour and still refunded or given return trips as we knew that was not the experience that we wanted to be known for/have people paying large money for.

I understand you probably have a great product 90% of the time, but the 10% can't be ignored, and I'm lowering the stars due to this poor customer service response.

ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I don't really like to leave low star reviews in tourism as I know the days can vary a lot. However, this is based on our experience. I searched reviews before locking it in, but the experience sadly did not align, and we ended up feeling like we wasted $560 (2 kayaks).

We were not allowed to hire a kayak as planned (due to safety reasons which is understandable) but to instead have to spend an extra $100 ($280 per kayak) for 5hrs less, to go out on a guided tour... you think it would be more promising/likely to deliver a better experience.

It sounded good as the guides know the best spots. However, we did not get any wildlife interation at all, so it was just not worth the money in the slightest today.

We had a beautiful host who cared for our needs & safety, took photos and shared stories, and the scenery was nice, hence the stars. Im sure on a good day with any type of wildlife interaction it could be nice/potentially worth it, but to spend that much to only see a seal in the water 100m away (the rest were on land), no dolphins or birds and in swell, was sadly more like a chore.

I understand wildlife varies, but personally, I would brave the whale watch instead, as it was cheaper online, and they offer an 80% refund if you don't see anything. I would only consider booking this tour if there was no swell (which you can't see from land), they start offering refund amounts or return vouchers if you have no interactions at all OR it is March-May when there are many dolphins around (as you can see by marketing). Otherwise, it's just a large risk.

Honestly, we may have just had a very unlucky day, but even then, I feel that a tourism company could do better than to let people walk away with that little of an...

We had a mixed bag experience. Friendly staff but the operator prioritised their profit over offering a good experience (thus 1 star). All wildlife watching cruises were cancelled that day because of the bad weather conditions but this tour operator decided to go for kayaking anyway. When we asked if we could change it we were told we would lose the money, they are going anyway. I guess there was a pressure as because of the cyclone no one was going out for a few days. Most places decided it wasn't worth going today (but not this one)

The tour itself was ok-ish, I guess. Please note this is a large group kayaking (we had 18 or 19 people in our kayaking) so you wait a long time before everyone is sorted and on the water. The equipment was good and the guides were super friendly and fun, some more knowledge than others (some just make up stuff as they go), but they definitely try to make you have fun. We went to kayak in this 'special' place bc of the weather conditions. We basically just kayaked in an open bay. My reflections is that if you are after kayaking this operator is a good choice. If you wanted to prioritise seeing wildlife i wouldn't recommend them. We saw less wildlife kayaking with them than on our walk on the beach earlier that day. This just didn't feel like a priority, the company just wanted us out there so they didn't have to cancel the tour. I am sure when weather is great this tour gets better. Just sharing our experience so you can consider if this is the right company in case things go wrong or weather plays on you during your visit.

Updated: after seeing the reply from the provider just wanted to clarify they must have confused us with someone else. We were in kaikoura only for a couple of days and they never changed kayaking date or time for us. We stuck to the original date and time booked. We did come twice to ask about the conditions (they never reached out to us with updates as they don't call or text international numbers). The second time we visited we did request to change it bc of the continuously bad weather conditions but they said we wouldn't be refunded. We are not sure about the other guys the operator refers to in their reply, but we are sorry to hear they were more people like us who were...

Let me start off by saying I'm grateful to Matt and Miles for allowing me to come out. Matt the owner and Miles my guide were friendly, awesome and helpful. My 4 star review has no reflection on the staff or quality. I guess number one is it's hard being a big person trying to do these types of activities and can only fit in certain kayaks. Because I had to go on a sit on top even with the little seat it wasn't enough back support for me and my lower back and hips etc started giving out.. abs no longer as tough as they used to be. Someone needs to invent a metal or steel backing seat for the sit on tops that stay upright and firmly support heavy set people such as myself.. so this is not the teams fault. Secondly I know there were no guarantees id see dolphins or other wild mammals other than seals but I was still sad about it, again it's not like team kaikoura kayaks could do anything about that. Still a bit disheartening though. Once again maybe feel a Lil frustrated and bitter about not being able to go on the whale or dolphin tour boats where I would've had a better chance. I think for me too like if I had a car I would've just hired a kayak and paddled alone out there... not pay so much for a paddle. In saying these things I'll give 200 stars to Miles for paddling me back to the dock after my back and hips couldn't cope with sitting upright to paddle anymore... I should give 5 stars just for that but i think it's good to be open and honest about my personal experience through expectations especially after seeing the videos and pics on Facebook. I'd say if you would like a paddle out in the kaikoura waters with friendly and informative and fun guides and the absolute luck of seeing wildlife then definitely come out.. but just don't have high expectations like I did... it's not their fault though wildlife make up their own mind lol.. just when you spend a lot of money you hope to see what you expect I guess. I am gutted that I couldn't paddle any longer to keep going to see if we could spot anything but yeah. Thank you once again and highly recommended. I guess the good thing about having a guide is they know the water they are informative and they can help you out...