What a wonderful experience! Several tours are offered and we did the one that had us swimming with…read morethe Dusky Dolphins. What impressed me most was how passionate everyone we came in contact was about the environment and the dolphins, stressing that we were visiting their environment and had to respect it. Swimming with the dolphins is authorized by the Department of Conservation permits which limits the number of swimmers on each tour and also the number of tours that can be operated each day (for example, the dolphins usually "rest" in the early afternoon so no tours go out at that time). You can still be on the boat and watch if you are hesitant about being in the water. Full wetsuits and snorkeling masks are provided and we had up to three opportunities to swim with the dolphins. After the swimming sessions are over, there are plenty of photo opportunities. There is also a cafe where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and a gift shop with unique items available. The Kaikoura Area was hit with a devastating earthquake three years ago and the only road to town was damaged, essentially cutting the area off from the rest of the South Island so I was especially happy to see that this business has survived.

Kaikoura is well-known for its marine attractions, and Dolphin Encounter certainly is one of the…read moremain places to visit/do here. Only issue is, everyone else knows that as well, so our group was quite large, with little personal briefing before the start, more "please watch this intro video first" style. That said, thankfully we got divided into two boats, and Encounter Kaikoura certainly knows how to deal with many people, so everything was well organized. Looking for the dolphins took a while, but that was okay since we were on the first tour of the day, so we could enjoy the very early morning sun, definitely worth a recommendation. Once found, we were quickly sent into the water and immediately had a few dolphins around us. This is something everyone who loves animals shouldn't miss, and an absolutely stunning experience. After a hot shower and changing on board (some may feel a lack of privacy at that point), we had a short opportunity to watch and photograph while the dolphins were playing around the boat, including some very young ones. If you visit Kaikoura, going at arms-lengths with dolphins is something you definitely want to do, though some may prefer the more personal dolphin experience at lesser-known Picton. Or just do both!

The whales are nice, but the dolphins are stunning; superb!!…read more This is one of the primary attractions in town, and Whale Watch Kaikoura is (I believe) the only provider. As a tour provider, they are very very good; fabulous vessels, knowledgeable and pleasant crew, well organized. We only saw a couple whales, which was very cool, but the real attraction - which we did not expect - were the dolphins. Turns out there is a school of several hundred dolphins that reside in the area, and it's very common for them to come out to play. We were stunned to find ourselves boating among dozens and dozens of dolphins, all diving in and out of the water, performing their acrobatics. At any one point there were between 50-100 dolphins around us, and this went on for 15-20 minutes. We were not expecting this at all, and it by far exceeded our expectations. Highly, highly recommended when in Kaikoura!

Whale Watch Kaikoura is the premiere way to guarantee a whale sighting in the Whale Watching…read moreCapital of the World. The tickets for this three and a half hour sea excursion are $145 and begin with a 10 minute safety briefing before you board a 10 minute shuttle bus to the boats. There are bathrooms on the boat as well as in the visitors center, so all you nervous bladder folks can relax. Once on the boat, there are comfortable indoor seats that all offer great views of the Kaikoura coastline. You have to stay seated while the boat is in motion, but the energetic crew keeps you entertained with some facts about the sperm whales, what you should expect to see and how not to get sick on the boat (pay close attention to that part). The boat has 360 outdoor viewing areas including a second floor which allow you get some incredible shots of the whales while they catch their breath and digest their food. Make sure you bring some extra batteries for your camera and clear your iPhone of all photos because every angle is more breathtaking than the next. The crew is handy in that they have technology (sonar) to tell if the whales are still underwater or surfacing and have learned the pattern of the sperm whales so well that they can tell you when they are about to dive back down. On the way back to the dock you'll be shown some videos about the whales, ocean animals and the topography of the ocean floor below. I have been two times around the 12:15-12:45 slot and have seen multiple whales on both excursions. If you're lucky you may even get a visit from a pod of dusky dolphins (I did once). Wind and weather conditions will cancel the trip, so before the check the weather and call ahead before you make the trek to Kaikoura. There is a cafe with WiFi so you can eat before or after your trip with indoor and outdoor seating. The gift shop also sells lots of fun memorabilia to ensure you never forget your adventure with Whale Watch Kaikoura. I love this company and will continue to recommend them to anyone traveling to the South Island!

Loved my tasting at this winery. Very casual tasting. They actually own two wineries. Muddy Waters…read morehas older vines and Greystone has younger. You can tell in the taste but I highly preferred the Greystone wines better. I stopped here on a 4 winery tour. This winery was my favorite of all! So much we bought a bottle of their SB to go. They also sell in the states under the name Greys Peaks. Will be on the look out for them.

Loved it. Small and intimate. We were the only ones tasting the day we stopped by. I normally…read moredon't like Sauvignon blanc but the one here is wonderful. Staff was very nice even giving me some free bubble wrap to get my bottle home.

For $79 pp we purchased a wine tour wristband @ were given a map.. Vans stopped at 26 wineries &…read moreliquor themed venues. Vans came every :30. It took :20 minutes to get to Blenheim for our first winery. A wine museum, gift shop, gin distillery, confectionery, vine village, beer garden ... we drove through magnificent wine country with rolling hills, sheep & of course vineyards. Our driver was knowledgeable sharing info about the area, wines & stops. There were people running to the van @ he was frequently running late. We had time to stop at two wineries for :30 and one for an hour lunch. At the end of the day they checked that everyone made it back to the port. We were told that we shouldn't have an issue getting lunch at any stop. We wouldn't need reservations today. However, there were cruise ships tours & Viacor tours that tied up many kitchens & wine tastings. We would have like to make more stops.

We spent a fantastic day visiting wineries, amazing lunch, and chocolate factory with Cam and his…read moreteam on our private tour arranged by Hop 'n Grape. We were picked up in a great coach at the port (shore excursion) and taken to several wineries in Blenheim and the Marlborough area. We had an amazing lunch and tasting at one local vineyard they put together for us. Additionally, we had many great tastings throughout the day, learned about New Zealand's wine making industry and living in this beautiful part of the country. Cam made this visit so personal and tailored it to our group. We met with winemakers and a local brewmaster. If you go to wine country, Hop n Grape will not disappoint. It was one of the highlights of our trip to New Zealand

We had a wonderful day with Sam Kuprus doing an out and back hike on the Routeburn Track. He was…read moredelightful and very knowledgeable! We are American and he taught us so much about the unique flora and fauna of NZ, discussed conservation and anti predation efforts. He also answered many questions we had about this beautiful and welcoming country. What an amazing and gorgeous forest walk, with epic waterfalls at the top, the azure waters of the Routeburn accompanying us most of the way!

Paula and Phil planned out a fantastic day of wine touring during our visit to Queenstown. We had…read morenever been to New Zealand prior to our trip and they did a wonderful job of recommending places to visit and eat and we took their advice on several stops. They were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed our day with them!! Thanks again from the guys from Austin, Texas!!