What’s it like on a Petrel Station tour?
Tutukaka, New Zealand
The Petrel Station seabird tours are a fantastic opportunity to spend a full day on the ocean enjoying a remarkable diversity of pelagic seabird species in one of the world’s best seabird hotspots – a unique and very memorable birdwatching and wildlife experience.
On the day…
We usually depart Tutukaka marina at sunrise and we’re out on the ocean for the next 9 to 10 hours, giving us a fantastic amount of time to experience the stunning seabirds.
It takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to reach The Petrel Station area on the continental shelf, approximately 40km offshore. Along the way, we pass through three different habitat zones – shallower waters, the offshore islands, and the deeper ocean at the shelf. Each zone has it’s own range of seabirds and experiences.
On the way out, we pass the stunning Poor Knights Islands, an important year-round seabird breeding area. In spring and summer, we often encounter huge feeding workups of 10,000+ seabirds – an extraordinary wildlife spectacle of birds, fish, and ocean life.
When we reach the shelf area, this is where we can encounter a great diversity of pelagic seabird species, including local seabirds, migrating seabirds passing through, and generally where we record most of the scarcer vagrant species. We’ll spend around 4 hours out at the shelf enjoying the stunning seabirds.
When we finish out at the shelf, we’ll make our way back to Tutukaka and may detour to the islands to visit the local Australasian Gannet colony, and in the summer months we also check out the delightful Grey Noddy which come visit.
We usually get back to Tutukaka harbour mid to late afternoon after a full day of birdwatching in one of the best seabird birding locations in New Zealand.
What seabirds will we see?
On a typical day we usually encounter an excellent diversity of pelagic seabird species, often at very close range to the boat.
Depending on season and conditions, we may encounter Albatross, Petrels, Shearwaters, Storm Petrels, Prions, Skuas and other seabird species. Naturally, there’s no guarantee on what species will be present, as it depends on the season, migration, and conditions – but that’s part of the excitement, and also why every tour can be quite different.
You can explore more about the seabird species we’ve recorded on the Seabirds of The Petrel Station page, see how the species mix changes through the year on The Seasons page, and browse our past Tour Reports which give great insights into what different times of year can offer.
Some visitors join our birding tours for the rich seabird diversity, others for the chance of speciality northern birds that are difficult to see elsewhere in New Zealand, and others for the possibility of extraordinary seabird feeding workup activity.
Many guests that have traveled a long way to get here choose to book two or more tours, as each day offshore can be a different birdwatching experience and increases the chance to encounter a wider range of seabird species.
You can also read through our outstanding Tour Reviews page to see what guests regularly say about their experience on The Petrel Station seabird tours.
Conditions on the day
Our seabird tours are an open ocean adventure activity, and we may encounter a variety of ocean and weather conditions on any given tour. Please check our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page, which includes important information on ocean and weather conditions, are the tours suitability for you, stability and fitness requirements, and many other useful points to help you prepare for the tour.
Want a unique New Zealand seabird experience?
Join The Petrel Station seabird tours for a memorable day offshore among New Zealand’s extraordinary seabird life.
Charter tours
If none of our scheduled dates suit, or you’d like your own dedicated seabird experience, private charter seabird tours are also available. These are perfect for birdwatchers, birding groups, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers.