Orca in Akaroa
Just before Christmas we were lucky enough to be visited by a friendly pod of Orca in Akaroa Harbour. Around 8 of these impressive marine mammals spent time with our vessels and the one pictured below actually nudged one of our ’swimming with dolphins’ boats giving those on board a real thrill.
Obama the dolphin
Around this time of the year Hector’s dolphins give birth. There are quite a number of little calves around at the moment, one of which is jet black. Crew on board the Canterbury Cat in Lyttelton have named the new born Obama! Calves are often quite dark when they are first born but quickly grow and lighten into the distinct three colours of adult Hectors.
Skipper meets Princess
Local hero and Diamond Harbour Ferry skipper John Rocheford was presented with an unsung hero award from Princess Anne recently. You may recall that John was involved in a daring rescue of a fisherman who had fallen overboard in Lyttelton.
Meet the team
The team at Black Cat is now in excess of 40 people, you can check out the members of our award winning team at www.blackcat.co.nz/our-team.html.
Boats float doen main street
Black Cat took part in the years Christchurch Christmas parade. Its thought around 120,000 people watched the parade this year. We showcased one of our brand new boats as our float. It featured our staff in wetsuits and drysits, along with pirates and Hector the dolphin mascot.
Quicker, easier and safer access to our vessels
Christchurch City Council recently installed new floating pontoons in akaroa making it easier and safer for our customers to board our vessels. The pontoons cost $250,000 and took around 3 months to build and install.
The Great Quail Island Treasure Hunt
There’s still two months left to take part in our treasure hunt on Quail Island. Scour the island for clues using your free treasure map. Everyone that solves the mystery gets a prize and one person will be drawn at random and get a holiday in Stewart Island. Departs Lyttelton 10.20am and 12.20pm from Lyttelton. Tel 328 9078.
Dry suit update
Swimming with dolphins customers now have the option of wearing a dry suit (where your body stays dry) instead of a wetsuit. During the summer season dry suits are not really required as the water temperature is relatively high. Dry suits are available for $15 on the first and last swims of the day from now to April and all on swims from May to September at no charge. The reason for this restriction is the suits require supervision from our crew to put them on and take them off correctly without damaging them.
Seaweek sponsorship
We’re proud to once again sponsor Seaweek with a great cruise and a special price. The dolphin watching cruises is on Sunday 1st and 8th March at 11.00am. The tour includes an informative nature and history commentary, free fact sheets and spot prizes. Adults are $30 with kids at $12.50 (50% discount). Tel 328 9078.
Great feedback
“Many thanks for the opportunity to experience, as a customer, the Blackcat Dolphin swim experience on Saturday 29th Nov. As you predicted, the weather and conditions were excellent! I spent 40 minutes in the water with 9 other tourists, and it was absolutely wonderful! We were “visited” by about 5 pods and were enthralled with their playfulness, beauty and curiosity of us [very mutual!]. Everyone was rapt with the staff, the service and the experience. At the appropriate time, I will be sharing all relevant information with the other 33 Concierge [I am part of an Adventure Tourism working group]. Cheers, Bryan. International Airline Concierge”
Today we went on your 1.30pm Harbour cruise. We wish to extend our appreciation to all crew members and especially to the captain Mark for his wonderful commentary.
He really does care about the harbour and its wildlife and this comes across in the commentary. Even though perhaps he gives a similar talk three times a day it did not sound at all jaded!! My sister in-law very much appreciated the stool she was given to sit on at the stern of the boat. Your photographer was the person who suggested this. THANK YOU Rosemary Tingle.
I am writing to let you know how absolutely thrilled we were with your service on Saturday November 22. We had a memorial service and scattering of ashes ceremony for our former singing tutor and his long term partner. The ceremony went very well, aided by your most excellent crew, namely John and Ben. I did not hear the name of the third man but he did a great job too, overall the service was wonderful and we all loved the catamaran. I am recommending your company to anyone who wants to have a function that is a little different. I’m looking forward to my next trip, one of your nature cruises. Many thanks to your company and your terrific crew for helping to ensure our service was extra special.
I just wanted to say a very big thank you for organising such a fun Christmas party for us on Friday. We all had a blast & I had such great feedback from everyone about it. We got to see the dolphins, the crew were gorgeous & it will be one of our most memorable parties for years to come. Thanks for everything & i hope you have a lovely Christmas & New Year cheers Esther. 
Did you know?
Hector’s dolphins mature usually have one calf every two to three years. Hector’s dolphins mate in late spring (New Zealand spring = September/October/November) and calves are born about a year later. The calves are 50-60cm at birth and stay close to their mothers who provide them with milk and protection until they are old enough to fend for themselves, usually at about one year old.
