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Moutohora Island Sanctuary (Whale Island) - Day Tour

92 reviews

#3 of 10 Boat Tours & Water Sports in Whakatane

Boat Tours & Water Sports, Outdoor Activities, Tours, More

Whakatane, New Zealand

About Moutohora Island Sanctuary (Whale Island) - Day Tour

Moutohorā is one of News Zealand’s little-known treasures and home to a number of New Zealand’s rare and endangered plants, birds and reptiles. Located 9 kms off Whakatāne, the island is under the protection of the Department of Conservation (DOC) with access highly restricted. Departing from Whakatāne Wharf, the journey to Moutohorā is just a short 15-minute boat ride aboard our comfortable catamaran “The Moutohorā Cat”, designed to be able to nestle right onto the shore. Once ashore, the fully-guided tour allows visitors to learn about the island's unique flora and fauna, with is a chance to see a number of different species – including saddleback, red-crowned parakeet, little brown kiwi, tui – many of which are endangered or seldom seen on the New Zealand mainland. The tour includes a visit to Sulphur Bay where geothermal hot springs come up through the sand allowing for you to dig your own hot pool on the beach and ends with a circumnavigation of the island.

Certificate of Excellence

Travelers talk about

“hot water beach”(18 reviews)
“bird life”(13 reviews)
“flora and fauna”(6 reviews)

Tours and Tickets by Moutohora Island Sanctuary (Whale Island) - Day Tour

Wildlife Island Sanctuary (Motuara ) and Dolphin Cruise from Picton

28 reviews

Discover Marlborough’s native wildlife on a half-day, small-group Queen Charlotte Sound cruise from Picton that includes a nature walk on the Motuara Island bird sanctuary. Marine biologist guides share insights into Marlborough’s fascinating critters as you watch for seals and five species of dolphin, then get a glimpse of a pristine New Zealand forest on predator-free Motuara Island—home to native blue penguins, saddlebacks, bellbirds, and more.

$66.09 per adult

Bird Watching and Dolphin Eco-Tour from Picton

10 reviews

Benefit from the wildlife-spotting skills of marine biologists on this small-group ecotour from the Picton waterfront. You’ll cruise to Motuara Island, a bird sanctuary in the Marlborough Sounds, and search the sheltered waters for wild dolphins along the way. See rare seabirds, marine mammals, and endangered land birds protected in their natural environment.

$66.09 per adult

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1 - 10 of 91 reviews

Darrenvanhoof

Reviewed March 19, 2019 via mobile

Great trip and guides

Had a great trip to the island and learnt a lot from our guides. Would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting the area. A great way to spend half a day.

Date of experience: March 2019

Thank Darrenvanhoof

Kia ora Darrenvanhoof, It was great to hear that you enjoyed your tour of Whakaari/White Island with us, and we thank you for taking the time to post this review and share your experience. Cheers!

C7603MXrobertf

Auckland Central, New Zealand

3610

Reviewed March 4, 2019 via mobile

Great trip and passionate knowledgeable guide.

having done White Island this was a delightful extra. Our guide was a Naturalist with so much knowledge and clearly really passionate about the island and kiwi conservation. We really enjoyed the pace of the trip and the beauty. Thoroughly recommend it.

Date of experience: March 2019

Thank C7603MXrobertf

Kia ora C7603MXrobertf, Thank you for taking the time to post this review, it was great to hear that you enjoyed your tour to Moutohora with us. Cheers!

MuddleEarth

Rotorua, New Zealand

Reviewed February 24, 2019

Naturally meaningful.

If you love nature and want a truly meaningful experience then I would highly recommend the guided tour of Moutohora (Whale Island) with White Island Tours. After an enjoyable cruise to the island on the powerful Moutohora Cat with Paul at the helm, my daughter,...More

Date of experience: January 2019

Thank MuddleEarth

Kia ora MuddleEarth (great name btw), It was great to hear that you enjoyed your tour of Moutohora with Kelsey, Gaia and Paul on Waitangi Day. Moutohora is a one-of-a-kind oasis and a regeneration success story, we feel very lucky to be able to show...More

wendhmagz

Waihi, New Zealand

311448

Reviewed January 10, 2019

Very interesting trip

Moutohora Island, Bay of Plenty - Spent a great four hours on a cruise to Moutohora Island, a dormant volcano and wildlife sanctuary about 8km off the coast from Whakatane in New Zealand’s Bay of Plenty. The boat trip took 20 minutes and once we...More

Date of experience: January 2019

1 Thank wendhmagz

Kia ora Wendhmagz, Thank you for taking the time to post this comprehensive review. It was great to hear that you enjoyed your tour of Moutohora: Island Sanctuary with us and the chance to witness New Zealand's bush as nature intended it - pest free!...More

Nicola B

13218

Reviewed November 6, 2018 via mobile

Fantastic afternoon..

Our tour time was changed to the afternoon which meant we had lovely weather to enjoy a beautiful island. Our tour guides were very knowledgeable- one a zoologist and the other a geologist so an ideal combination. We saw Tui and Saddlebacks and heard Kiwi...More

Date of experience: November 2018

Thank Nicola B

Kia ora Nicola B, We're thrilled that you enjoyed your recent tour to Moutohora: Island Sanctuary with us. We think she is a pretty special place, so it was great to hear that you came away appreciating the uniqueness too! Cheers!

C2MeiD613

Wanaka, New Zealand

2911

Reviewed September 29, 2018 via mobile

Well worth it!

Our 1st visit to this part of the country and we are NZers fr S Is. The trip was recommended by a friend and it did not disappoint. There was plenty to see and the explanations were adequate. Unfortunately our guide did say he normally...More

Date of experience: September 2018

Thank C2MeiD613

Kia ora C2MeiD613, We're thrilled you enjoyed your recent tour to Moutohora with us, and thank you for taking the time to post your review and share your experience. Cheers!

Clubbix

Reviewed August 21, 2018

Fun and exciting! Beautiful island!

The Moutohora Island Sanctuary tour with Peejay was amazing. Really great tour! Our guide Fiona was very informative, friendly and passionate. The island is beautiful, peaceful and lush - and the views are fantastic. The work done to keep the island's beauty is inspiring -...More

Date of experience: August 2018

Thank Clubbix

Hi Clubbix, We're a big fan of Moutohora, so it was great to hear that we have a new member of the fan club! Thank you for taking the time to post this review. Cheers!

SJRobinson306

Ohope, New Zealand

Reviewed March 24, 2018

Moutohora Island (Whale Island)

An excellent trip done with work colleagues. Luck gave us a perfect day and the chance to see a pod of dolphins on the trip out and back. It's a short boat ride and then a guided hike (not hard work at all) on the...More

Review collected in partnership with this attraction

Date of experience: December 2017

Thank SJRobinson306

Hi SJRobinson306, We're pleased to hear that you enjoyed your tour to Moutohora Island with us, including the opportunity to see a pod of dolphins, the swim at sulphur bay, and guide bush-walk, and thank you for taking the time to post your review.

pauld77772018

Southport, United Kingdom

Reviewed February 21, 2018

Not much to see here.

This tour lasted about four hours, but could actually have been done comfortably in about an hour. There's a lot of standing around listening to white noise on a radio receiver with the odd bleep signifying a Kiwi nearby (you won't see it) as well...More

Review collected in partnership with this attraction

Date of experience: February 2018

1 Thank pauld77772018

Hi pauld77772018, We’re sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy your tour of Moutohora. As with any wildlife experience some days can be better than others (namely because we can’t schedule the animals and birds to appear on a cue) but you may note from...More

AnneD5678

London, United Kingdom

208

Reviewed February 20, 2018

Moutohra

The main thing I wanted to state is that this tour was extremely disappointing for us as we are bird watchers. All we saw were saddleback and fan tails, the guides didn't seem to make any effort to find any birds for us although they...More

Date of experience: February 2018

2 Thank AnneD5678

Hi AnneD5678, We're sorry to hear your tour to Moutohora did not meet your expectations. As with any wildlife experience some days can be better than others (namely because we can’t schedule the birds to appear on a cue) but you may note from our...More

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