Lyttelton Harbour Wildlife Cruise from Christchurch

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Unwind in the sea air on this two-hour Christchurh Lyttelton Harbour wildlife cruise, experience the extensive local marine life including the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin - the Hector's Dolphins also known as New Zealand Dolphins.

As you depart you will see the historic township of Lyttelton, which hosts a busy working port with a fascinating history. The "first four ships" arrived here direct from the Britain carrying the first Canterbury settlers in December 1850.

The highlight of the cruise is undoubtedly the location of the Hector's Dolphin. The experience of the skipper and crew mean you can quickly locate the dolphins and spend time watching their antics. You'll also see a wide variety of coastal marine bird life.

Lyttelton Harbour was formed 11 million years ago when a massive volcano erupted and the sea. You'll notice longest lava flow on the peninsula, volcanic rocks and massive erosion caused by storms over millions of years. From more recent times you'll see old shipwrecks in the shallows as well as a 19th century fort which contains a number of disappearing guns.

The two-hour Christchurch Wildlife cruise is fully narrated by your Captain and includes free tea and coffee.

Christchurch Wildlife Cruise

Daily

Unavailable Dates:

• December 25 (Christmas Day)

Meet the free shuttle from Cathedral Square, Christchurch. The shuttle departs at 12:55pm

1:30pm

The cruise returns to original point of departure

Hotel pickup not available

Port of Lyttelton - the busiest port in the South Island handling about 1500 ships every year.

Timeball Station - a stone castle-like building on the hill above Lyttelton. It was built in 1876 with the purpose of letting all the ships in the Harbour know the exact time.

Battery Point - a gun emplacement was built in 1886 for a feared Russian invasion. The original guns, 64 pounders, weighed 7 ton and fired a 71/2-inch projectile.

Breeze Bay - Site of the shipwreck of "The Breeze".

Godley Head Lighthouse - originally built in 1865, the lighthouse was later moved down the cliff to make way for gun emplacements.

Little Port Cooper - a former whaling station. You will be able to spot the ancient stone wall built by the whalers to stop boulders rolling down the hill into their huts.

Volcanic Crater - last erupting 6 million years ago. The harbour you are cruising in is the crater of the ancient volcano and is known as a 'caldera', just like the Greek island of Santorini.

Ripapa Island - First inhabited by the Maori, the Ngai Tahu tribe built a fortified pa (or fort) here in 1872. In 1888, the British built a fort here - Fort Jervious which featured a number of very large disappearing guns.

Diamond Harbour - charming settlement dating back to 1850. It was named because of the sparkling water. Site of historic Godley House.

Quail Island - Site of an early quarantine station for the first settlers and later a leper colony. Around 1910 the island was used by Robert Falcon Scott to train his ponies and husky dogs for his ill-fated voyage to Antarctica.

Dolphins - The Hector's or New Zealand Dolphin is a native species and is one of the smallest dolphins in the world. They grow to about 1.2m (4 feet) roughly the size of a 5-year-old child. This is compared to the bottlenose dolphins, which grow up to 3 meters in length, roughly the length of a small family car.

Little Blue Penguins - If you are lucky you may see the White Flippered Blue Penguin, called Korora by the Maori. These will be swimming in the water and at first you may think they're small ducks.

Sea Birds - you may also see Cormorants, Black Backed Seagulls, Red Bill Seagulls, Welcome Swallows, Canadian Geese, Paradise Ducks, Mollymauks, White Fronted Terns and occasionally Gannets, Petrels and Albatross.