Active Eco
Tours
Active Eco
Tours
experience nature "hands on" with an informative boat trip, snorkeling, seal swimming and
( optional ) scuba diving and have more than 3 Hours of amazing fun
in the coves of the unique Marlborough Sounds Marine Park, Picton, New Zealand
Ride our fast dive-boat in the beautiful Marlborough Sounds Marine Park for more than 3 hours of affordable amazing fun and excitement, whether as a scuba-diver, snorkeller, swimmer or observer.
Our dramatic sheltered coastline surrounded by mountains is the habitat of many marine mammals, you can encounter penguins, sea birds of many varieties, a range of fish from stingrays to the blue cod, and marine mammals like dolphins, Orcas, whales and a variety of seals. Especially swimming with the playful fur seal in the wild is an educational and fun experience for adventurers of all ages.
Find out about the nature in the Marlborough Sounds, the various animals and plants inhabiting this environment and the history of the humans and their impact, the stories of the whalers, gold diggers, explorers and farmers
And you will love learning about and hopefully encounter the acrobats and clowns of the Pacific, the NZ fur seal in their natural habitat the Marlborough Sounds.
NINE DIVES IS OFFICIALLY LICENSED BY NZ DEPT. OF CONSERVATION
How to contact and how to find us Email us B+B in Picton Essons Valley activities More about Picton and more things to do
seals at play in the Marlborough Sounds
Picton is at the top of the South Island, the gateway to the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. The first place you get to if you come from the ferry across Cook Strait from the North Island or the last place you see of the South when you are going to the North Island. A top Food and Wine, Walking and Water sports destination in New Zealand.
You will enjoy the surrounding scenic beauty of the myriad green coves, with it's walking tracks like the famous Queen Charlotte track, The Tirohanga track and the Essons Valley Dam walk, and the many activities varying from mountain biking to scuba diving. The sheltered spots for relaxing kayaking, sailing and fishing, a real holiday destination that will keep you well occupied with fun things to do, and the opportunity to regenerate, be relaxed and refreshed whilst enjoying the scenery.
Seal swimming is just one of the many things you can do here, the Sounds are abound with wild life like dolphins, whales, penguins and rare sea birds.
When you are on a Marlborough Sounds Marine Park trip with us you are not just seeing the wonderful underwater world but of course also the green lush hills and golden sandy beaches dotted around the many coves and historic New Zealand landmarks that are so abundant in the Queen Charlotte Sound. You can even stay at our home in Essons Valley Country Park or in one of the other resorts or budget backpackers you can find on our link page, we can pick you up anywhere in the region.
Seal swimming departs daily from Picton or Waikawa Marina,
( PLEASE NOTE: DO NOT CONFUSE US WITH THE DIVE SHOP in PICTON ASK FOR NINE DIVES )
We can collect you from Picton or from your place of stay in Picton by prior arrangement, just give us a call.
BOOKINGS HAVE TO BE MADE FIRST ON 03 573 7199 or by EMAIL
The costs are $95 for an adult, $ 85 for a child, $ 300 for a family
prices may change so please confirm at time of booking, conditions apply.
You can also book at the Tourist Information Site, High Street shops or Seahorse World,
or most likely from the reception of the accommodation you stay in
Scuba
diving with seals brings in another dimension,
high speed seals zap around you in fantastically agile
maneuvers like jetfighters in the aquatic realm,
they really are the fast movers underwater !
So what happens on our Seal Swimming day ?
We are going on a sight seeing boat trip through the inner Marlborough Sounds to areas known to usually have a seal population, and visit on the way some of the interesting sites in the Marlborough Sound Marine Park, the boat will hold a maximum of 6 participants and 2 crew on board, the boat we use is a stable Mac 570 and has been tested for safety as a dive boat according to New Zealand marine authority regulations and is under survey, this means that all safety features for the carriage of passengers are adhered to. You might also be on a 9 meter Shark Catamaran and then have a maximum of 8 participants.
Once we see a group of seals we carefully approach and see if they are interested in us or playful in the water, we then make the decision to swim or to move on to the next group. You will be under the care and watchful eyes of an experienced and highly qualified dive instructor who is also a trained member of the New Zealand fire rescue, and ambulance emergency services .
You complete a standard PADI liability waiver form prior to the experience, and you will have a comprehensive safety briefing prior to boarding our craft., ask any questions or voice any concerns we will be happy to help, everyone on board will either wear a wet suit or buoyancy aid for safety reasons.
To participate in the water you should normally healthy and be reasonably confident in water and able to swim to a basic degree. The wet suit you wear will prevent you from sinking but you should be happy in small waves and maintain direction whilst swimming. If you are not all that confident in the water you can usually come along as a watching passenger
You will wear a New Zealand made 7 mm thick, diving wet suit that will keep you warm for a long period in the water , this varies from person to person and how much you swim but is usually comfortably for at least 1 hour. You will also receive a dive mask and snorkel and be instructed in it’s use, you will also get either full foot or booty fins to wear. You can use your own wet suit if you like, it has to be at least 5 mm thick to be effective.
Before fitting our wet suit you should already have a swim suit or suitable togs on underneath your street clothing, there may not be the privacy to change fully into your swim wear prior to wet suit fitting.
If you are scuba diving you should have a full scuba kit with you or have arranged to hire it from us,
If it is your own scuba kit, have all scuba equipment assembled and tested before boarding, we will not take bags or boxes on board, but have an allocated space for fins mask etc. If you need to hire part of or a complete scuba set then you should be in Unit 1 of Waikawa Marina, One hour before departure at the latest to allow for the time for Dive Marlborough to fit you out and to test and instruct you in the use of the equipment.
Please note that anything you bring on board can in principle get wet or may be damaged by impact of heavy equipment, so any cameras, cell phones, sunglasses and other expensive items are strictly taken at your own risk only.
Also remember that hats, T shirts and towels can blow away in the wind on a boat and we might not always be able to retrieve them before they sink.
We should normally be back at about 1 PM at Waikawa Bay Marina and can drop you off at your place of choice in Picton after the event. unless you are on a special whole day tour of the Sounds and weather justifies going further out into the Sounds.
If for whatever reason the master of the boat decides that the seal swim can not safely take place or no seals can be found within a reasonable degree of time, then the seal swimming is substituted with a snorkeling session in the double cove fin fish reserve
Please read the following for your safety and that of the animals;
We abandon the seal group targeted for swimming / scuba if we disrupt the normal movement or behavior of the animals, or if the animals show signs of becoming disturbed or alarmed. We do not chase and make sudden moves to target a group, we do not cut off the path of a traveling animal. we switch engine into neutral or stop the engine within a minute of coming into contact. We do not approach any closer then 20 meters to the rocks of a seal population.
RULES
Do not disturb or harass any marine mammal
Do not try and separate a group or scatter them
Do not throw anything in the water especially not food or rubbish
Do not try and prevent the animals from leaving the area or cut off it’s path
Do not make loud noises near the seals
Do not climb onto the rocks unless there is a real and imminent emergency
Do not approach to swim within 10 meters of the shore or rocks unless there is a real and imminent emergency
We have already spend fantastic days discovering the many aspect of the Marlborough Sounds with guests from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Portugal, Canada, U.S.A., Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Panama, Greece Hungary, Czech Republic, Mexico and we offer our hospitality, scuba and snorkeling services to all adventurers and world travelers. Not a qualified diver? No problem, we teach you with the best and highest qualified PADI dive Instructors in the South Island! from beginner to Padi Pro.
Apart from seal swimming
we have more trips to choose from in the
Marlborough Sounds, we have the
3 scuba-dives special,
3 dives in a day ! you dive on a wreck,, in the fish reserve and a cracker seal dive for $250*
Also the double scuba dive, starts in the morning,
diving twin wrecks or fish reserve
depart at 9AM $165* or snorkel in the fish reserve
$ 95*
An introduction dive ( PADI DSD) is $195
For the more experienced divers, have a go at the mighty Mikhail Lermontov,
a good day out for the more advanced wreck diver,
day trip or live aboard, the day trip is $245* the Mikhail Lermontov trip price even includes lunch!
PADI Discover Scuba dive for beginners or a learn to dive with a full dive course and have your discover scuba refunded
We are the highest qualified PADI scuba divers trainers in the South Island, with in house PADI Course director and IDC staff instructor
CALL 03 5737199
*All prices are inclusive of GST and Equipment, the prices may change so please confirm prior to booking
You can email seals@essonsvalley.com
Write to us PO Box 647, Picton 7250, New Zealand
Call us International on 0064 3573 9181 or in New Zealand on landline 03 573 7199 or cellphone 021 1146997
We speak English, Wir sprechen Deutsch, Wij spreken Nederlands, Nous parlez Francais.
How to contact and how to find us Email us B+B in Picton Essons Valley activities More about Picton and more things to do
Ecotours New Zealand - New Zealand nature and wildlife tours with knowledgeable guides. Ecotours include New Zealand's beautiful wilderness. Birdwatching, dolphins, seals, penguins, hiking, alpine botany, wildlife, marine mammals, sea kayaking, biking. Travel map of New Zealand ecotourism. Special Recommendations on best places and best times to visit.
(This web site is still under
construction, last updated October 2007 )
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